# Attrition rate in Schutzhund?



## Lenny (Jul 25, 2005)

I was just curious how many times(%) you see someone come to your club and is all in for a year +/-, gets a puppy, buys all the supplies and then disappears. I know Schutzhund is a lot of work and a lot of people think they are up for it but either lose interest or can’t spend the time. 

I’ve always had an interest in training but my Lenny wasn’t cut out for it.(not sure I am either) I just got her as a pet and later became interested in the sport. Now that she has past I’m considering it again. I’m thinking of just attending for several months with no dog and see how it goes. It’s hard to tell if you really like something and want to do it long term until you do it. However, I don’t want to buy a working dog and then find out it’s not for me. Not fair to the dog (or my wife). I don’t need a high energy working dog to play fetch and hike. Anyway, just thinking out loud. Any input/experience?


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

what about maybe working a retired IPO dog for a bit while you learn...sometimes people want their retirees to still stay active, but are now working a youngster. Club members may have a dog that you can work with and not have that commitment level of owning. Though you'd have to establish a relationship before all that would happen of course.

I think at the pay to trains there are more coming and going(quitting) than the core group type club.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

In my experience, it isn't that people lose interest, it is that they either start out with a dog that isn't suited for it, so they focus on other activities, or they do get that working line dog to do Schutzhund (with not prior SchH experience) because they are 200% SURE that Schutzhund is what they want to do, but then can't handle a high-energy, high-drive dog, and end up rehoming the dog (usually to another experienced SchH or working-line home), and dropping out.

That said, it has to do more with the people than the dogs. All of the current members in my club started out with dogs of different backgrounds, limited in how much they could accomplish in Schutzhund - did as much with them as possible, even if it was only a BH, or an attempted (but failed BH - but they tried! Have to give them credit for that), then went on to get a suitable dog and continue with training. 

I think the best way to know if you want to stick with it, is to stick with it with the dog that one has.


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## mycobraracr (Dec 4, 2011)

IMO both these ladies are dead on. Going to a club and seeing if someone has a dog you can work and get some experience with is a great idea. I know at a couple places I train, a lot of people have dogs that can be worked. I borrowed a friends dog for a few months while I was waiting on a puppy, just so that I could still trial and have fun. I bought my wife an older dog (well actually I bought her for me but...), to get started with and that was great. The Dog new enough to let my wife figure how to handle and communicate without trying to teach the dog and handler how to communicate. 

I see people come and go all the time. I'm not always sure what the reasons are, but it seems out of every ten or so people maybe one or two actually stick around. I think time and finaices are a big part of it, but I think people, drama and politics are the majority. It seems to me, that clubs don't stay together that long. Five to eight years, then they dissolve or split into different groups.


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## mycobraracr (Dec 4, 2011)

Oh and one more thing. I like the balanced mid/high drive dogs. I don't care for the over the top dogs. My current working female is perfect for me. She could easily go to an active pet home and be fine. I take her everywhere I go. Running errands around town town, she's with me. A lot of days at work, she's with me. Hiking, camping, running, hanging out and so on. That's what I love the most about her. The fact that we can truly live life together as a team. When we step out on a trial field, we always do well. National or world level well? No, but that's probably more to my short comings and lack of desire to be there than the dogs. We have trialed twice. We have a first place and a second place in the classes we've attempted. This Sunday we are going after a title that only two other dogs have ever achieved. I think we will knock it out of the park. Not because she's the driviest most flashy dog out there. Or because I'm the best handler in the world. But because, we established a clear line of communication early on and just work well together as a team. She's been an extremely easy dog to work with. IMO, that's the way they should be.


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## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

mycobraracr said:


> I think people, drama and politics are the majority. It seems to me, that clubs don't stay together that long. Five to eight years, then they dissolve or split into different groups.


Lol, I've noticed the drama, seen people being asked to leave groups etc. The people from the schutzhund club I'm getting to know are cautious, they ask for references and check them thoroughly, it helps weed out the trouble makers.


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## Lenny (Jul 25, 2005)

mycobraracr, That's would be the exact dog I would be looking for. A dog to go hiking with, hang with me in the garage, go to the store and then train at a relatively high level. Did you get her as a puppy?
Thanks everyone.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I also have a great dog that is a companion first and we also train in sport...he is a thinking dog, not a super high drive type.
My new pup seems to be about the same so far, very easy to live with.


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## LoveEcho (Mar 4, 2011)

I got my female with the intention of doing sport with her. However, health issues and a lack of training options put those goals on the back burner for a while. I was careful in choosing a dog who not only had excellent drive for work but an excellent off switch for home. She is an active family pet first, and now we're getting back into the swing of things with schutzhund. Having a dog that is easy to live with and having a dog who excels in sport are not mutually exclusive


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## mycobraracr (Dec 4, 2011)

Lenny said:


> mycobraracr, That's would be the exact dog I would be looking for. A dog to go hiking with, hang with me in the garage, go to the store and then train at a relatively high level. Did you get her as a puppy?
> Thanks everyone.



Yes I got her as a puppy. I know her breeder well and had the privilege of spending a couple days a week with the litter since about two weeks of age. Oddly enough, she was the one in the litter I didn't want haha. But the breeder said she was the one for me, so here we are. She's a great dog. 

There are many good breeders out there to help you find the right dog for you. Just remember, that the breeder is just a part if it. Set yourself up for success and learn all you can *before* you get your puppy. I truly believe that there is an art to raising puppies correctly. The more you learn now, the easier time you will have and the better your end product will be.


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## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

I would say that it really depends on how much you want to do the sport. Your plan, while it sounds great, I’m not sure that I’d stick around a Schutzhund training session week after week for 5-8 hours a day without a dog. Could you learn a lot? Sure. But you’ll also be just standing around. I also wouldn’t bank on other people giving you their dogs to handle. It took me months of training my own dogs, people seeing that I knew what I was doing, and an understanding with the helper for people to finally be alright with me handling their dogs. I can tell you that I wouldn’t let someone handle my dogs after seeing them just a few times.

I wouldn’t worry too much about getting a dog that “needs” Schutzhund. It’s highly unlikely that a good breeder will place their top Schutzhund prospect with you. Don’t take offense to it, but it’s just the truth. They know what the attrition rate is, and the likelihood of you sticking around is very small, so they’ll sell you a dog that’s capable of Schutzhund, but it will also be a great house dog in case you happen to not follow through with your promise of doing IPO.

Even though you’d be visiting a Schutzhund club, I don’t know if you’ll still grasp how much more work has to occur outside the club in order to have a competitive dog. So until you get that dog, you won’t have any idea what kind of time commitment this is. My thoughts are that you need to dive in head first and just do it. Get a puppy, and learn with that puppy. You’ll make mistakes, everyone does. People make mistakes with their 2nd, 3rd, and 10th dogs. Each dog is different, and you’re unlikely to make a mistake that will ruin the dog forever if you have the guidance of the right people.


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## mycobraracr (Dec 4, 2011)

I guess it's all dependent on the clubs. One of my groups had a lot of semi retired dogs. People show up for the first time say they are interested and get handed one of them to play with. The club I started with was the same way. I showed up with an 10 week old puppy so I couldn't do a lot, so I was handed the td's already titled dog to handle to learn some things. They did the same thing with my wife.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

mycobraracr said:


> I guess it's all dependent on the clubs. One of my groups had a lot of semi retired dogs. People show up for the first time say they are interested and get handed one of them to play with. The club I started with was the same way. I showed up with an 10 week old puppy so I couldn't do a lot, so I was handed the td's already titled dog to handle to learn some things. They did the same thing with my wife.


I agree....many people bring the retired dogs along to training and would be happy to let a newbie handle their older dog. Not all dogs want to be handled by a stranger, but the ones I've seen come out of the box happy to be on the field again. Though it depends on the person, acting timid or cocky would not bode well.


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## Smithie86 (Jan 9, 2001)

We use our retired dogs for training new people.

Frodo, who is now retired after 7x world teams, will be the tracking training dog. People will get chance to lay tracks up to FH, as well as handle a fully trained dog (with coaching).


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## holland (Jan 11, 2009)

I was friends with Anja's breeder and she allowed me to take her dogs-most of them already titled to schutzhund training-it was fun for me and fun for them-


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