# Is shchutzund stuitable for my dog?More Qs........



## YesMan (May 17, 2009)

Hi, I am new here and do not own German Shepherd and not going too because I am going to be a a proud owner of a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog 









I still love German shepherd though, and probably will own one someday. .

Anyway,my questions are below...(I will refer my Greater swiss mountain dog as "GSM".)

1. GSM dog does not have explosive energy level or flexibility(because of their stocky body) like German Shepherd.
Does this mean they cannot compete in agility and wouldn't be fast enough for important training phases?They have been known for their drafting ability and as livestock guardian.


2.Is prey drive important in this sport?What if the dog is not interested in chasing/hunting?Will participating in this sport triggers it or my dog just doesn't have the potential?

3.Will anything change after extensive Schutzhund training,If the dog was playful and was fine with other pets and stranger?

For example;Dog becomes suspicious of everyone and do not allow petting.Dog doesn't tolerate other pet anymore.


4.Does desex-ed dog(male) have any problem when training?Because I read in one of the post in this forum saying that desexing a male dog will hurt their perfomance in the ring.Not sure whether its in this forum though.
I am asking this because I have no intention in breeding even if my dog has a good potential as a stud dog.


Thanks if you can answer some of my questions.Please tell me if I had spelling/grammatical errors.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

1. I'm not sure. SchH does require energy and drive, you will have to find a way to motivate the dog.

2. YES. It's very hard to motivate the dog and start foundation training with no prey drive.

3. That depends on how you raise the dog. Being social in ANY context is important to me, so my dogs live in my home and constantly interact with people and other dogs. The most stable, safe dogs I have met have been SchH dogs. A poor temperament is a poor temperament, with or without SchH.

4. I don't think it really matters.


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