# Newbie..



## Jenifer (Apr 14, 2013)

Hello everyone, I hope this is the right place. I have been interested in Schutzhund for years now, but never pursued it. Ive grown up with GSD's and just love the breed and training them, training dogs is my passion. Ive only trained for local obedience trials though. So right to the point I guess.. how do a begin the process of Schutzhund training and competing? I don't know where to begin or who to look towards for advice. I currently have a 3 month old puppy that Ive been working with on basic commands. Ive read a lot, and watched videos but I still feel Im not doing it right. I would love to get help one on one with a professional trainer that does Schutzhund/IPO but I have not the first ideal where to look, Ive read that it is best to join a club, but I have no clubs in my area( that I could find, I live by Pittsburgh Pa). Any help with getting me started would be great. Thank you so much.


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## robk (Jun 16, 2011)

Welcome to the forum. I hope you find the answer you are looking for. I really don't know what the iPO resources are like in the Pittsburgh area. Maybe others can chime in. Clubs are really helpful because you can learn so much by watching others train and over come obstacles. In protection, you really need the help of a skilled decoy. I recommend getting your hands on a copy of the book _Tracking from the Beginning_ by Gary Patterson. It will take you through the foundations of tracking. Sheila Booth's _Schutzhund Obedience_ is also a great place to start for Obedience. My recommendation would be to not even start any protection until you get plugged into someone who can help you in that area.

Good luck!


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## mnbue (Aug 18, 2011)

Jenifer said:


> ...Ive read that it is best to join a club, but I have no clubs in my area( that I could find, I live by Pittsburgh Pa)...


That's really too bad, as it's a lot easier to train schutzhund with the help of other people...I've done OB training too, and find schutzhund somewhat different (especially in how you want to raise your puppy....generally, you're trying to build and channel drives that you might want to "temper" otherwise).

I'd try a couple of things. First, try to contact any Schutzhund groups around, even if they're a drive away. If you have to train by yourself most of the time, maybe you can do a drive once a month or so for confirmation of what you're doing, some helper work, and advice?

Also, I really like training videos, rather than books, when you can find good ones. There's so much you can get out of SEEING someone train. And, you want to be clear on some of the techniques, especially if you're not going to get frequent feedback. I'm not sure what you have available, but I use a Netflix-like service for dog-training videos called BowWow Flix. There are a lot of good videos out there, but I also like the Michael Ellis videos, especially for beginners - he explains things in a really easy to understand fashion.

Anyway, enough plugs - I promise I don't have any bias other than personal experience! Good luck...hopefully you can track down a club nearby.


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## justde (Oct 4, 2000)

Did you check the USCA website for a club near you? germanshepherddog.com


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