# Schutzhund dogs as family pets



## Sealdoc (Feb 16, 2003)

How do dogs going through Sch/IPO training act at home or in public. Are they well mannered family pets that can be taken anywhere or are they to hyper etc.

Thx


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## Baillif (Jun 26, 2013)

Depends on the dog just like any dog that isnt going through the training. Some are not so great around the house some are fantastic.


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## Sp00ks (Nov 8, 2013)

I have no practical experience with this other than my breeders dogs who we have spent some time with. They have IPO certs. I don't think I have seen two more well mannered GSDs. Well behaved, friendly and happy. Of course we jumped at the chance to get one of their pups. 

So, I have to agree with Baillif that it depends on the dog, breeding, etc.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

are you involved in Schutzhund?



Baillif said:


> Depends on the dog just like any dog that isnt going through the training. Some are not so great around the house some are fantastic.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

It depends on the dog - the training won't change who the dog is. A SchH dog that is hyper and reactive, was born that way, and would not make a good family pet whether it was being trained in SchH or not.


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## Baillif (Jun 26, 2013)

doggiedad said:


> are you involved in Schutzhund?


No i do mondioring. Its not super different.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I agree with Lucia....
I know all the dogs that train in my club are family companions first and are not kenneled, they live in the homes with their families and have great off switches. 
Another club I train in has many dogs that live in kennels. 
I wouldn't expect a kennel dog to have the same set of manners that the house dogs do.


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## Sealdoc (Feb 16, 2003)

Great replies, thank you. My dog will be part of family first, breeding is supposed to be super hard, great nerves, well balanced drives which I hope will contribute to a good house pet.


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## Baillif (Jun 26, 2013)

When you get them as puppies you can do relaxation exercises with them to teach them to chill out with you. Where people get into trouble is when they set up a pattern of working the dog and putting it up working the dog and putting it up and then the dog begins to become classically conditioned to turning on when you take him out of the crate or come into the room. Make sure you set aside chill out time. 

The other thing that gets people into trouble is when they buy a green dog that was never taught to turn off. Its way harder to get an adult to learn to relax sometimes.


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## Packen (Sep 14, 2008)

Sealdoc said:


> How do dogs going through Sch/IPO training act at home or in public. Are they well mannered family pets that can be taken anywhere or are they to hyper etc.
> 
> Thx


I have 2 and they are perfect family pets as well as protectors.


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## David Taggart (Nov 25, 2012)

What your dog like - is totally depends on you, because dogs do not have anyone else around to copy. If you are a confident, polite and generally gentle person - your dog will behave absolutely the same in the street. If you are unsatisfied, with expectations failed in your life, argumentative with your wife and your colleagues at work, tend to teach your kids hard way - your dog would behave similarly. There is no reason for the dog not to be a really well behaved dog if he was raised in a family in which harmony dominates.
Though, a young dog at the beginning of training Schutzhund protection may misunderstand, that not everybody wants to play with him in the same way the decoy plays. Some people take it easy and muzzle their dogs before they get older and wiser, but on other hand - dogs are intelligent creatures, they start to understand, that this sort of game happens only under certain circumstances. For instance, my dogs knew that we go there by my Schutzhund racksack I take off the hanger. The sheer sight of it was causing whining and barking. A repeated appearance in different environments makes your dog behave accordingly. That is a very known thing, that during Schutzhund competition not all dogs perform as good as they could have done only because their preliminary training at that particular unknown place wasn't going long enough. The relationship between your dog and the decoy(s) become a very special one with time, and it may lead to a true friendship in some cases.


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## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

I don't have a family, but my working dogs are all house dogs. There are pictures on my website with my dogs hanging out with my nephew whom they see for 3 weeks once a year. They also go places with me, go visiting, travel. Last fall I placed a titled dog who is now a service dog. He goes all over, travels everywhere with his handler, has been to the casinos, restaurants, ice-fishing, etc. A sound dog is a sound dog. The training does not change that.


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## Packen (Sep 14, 2008)

lhczth said:


> A sound dog is a sound dog. The training does not change that.


100% fact, temperament is genetic.


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