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Shutzhund Training for an EM

Ryan Davis

Active Member
I have always been fascinated by the sport. Actually have a local club in my area and attend training sessions often just to watch. Several have asked why i dont enroll my Em and I laugh and tell them the only thing he will attack is the couch and thats to take a nap.

But I have came across a video that makes me wonder if I should have laughed so quickly. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iD0eHih0zto. This is the video I watched. I know some of you particapate in the sport. Do you think its possible to train an EM to do the bite work.
Now Im not thinking my current mastiff could but what about a pup that was started at a young age. Interested to hear all your thoughts and any information that would be helpful.
 

Cody

Well-Known Member
There is no reason an EM couldn't do the bite work. It would be just a matter of getting a higher prey drive pup and building that drive.
Most Mastiff's are more defensive driven dogs, but if you started young you could build up the prey drive in your puppy. You would have to be careful with some of the harder physical stuff until older but... Why not?
Give it a shot, what is the worst that would happen? You would be out, training with your dog, having a good time and bonding.
 

chris410

Well-Known Member
I have two German Rottweilers and I've done some Shutzhund training with them. You could train most dogs however, if your dog is a family dog or you are very attached then Shutzhund is probably not a good idea. Your relationship with your dog will change completely, when you are doing tracking work you will need to alter the eating schedule so that it is based around training. That means your dog may not get to eat for a full day! Some dogs in training will go up to 2 or more days without eating to get the focus in order. Bite work is fun however, with anything your relationship will require that YOU are the only one who interacts with the dog. The list goes on and I am not an instructor or expert however, I have worked many dogs and participated in some training of my dogs.

Just something to consider, I couldn't imagine doing bite work with an English Mastiff! My male Rott who is only 125lbs has such a hard bite that he requires an advanced sleeve...now throw in an EM with an even more powerful bite and it's pretty impressive.

So...the answer is YES you could however, you will need to sit down with the trainer and get more detail about the training to make sure it's something you really want to do. Hope this helps!
 
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Mari

Member
If you are interested in Schutzhund with your mastiff you should start by having your dog tested at the local Schutzhund club to see if he has the right drives to do the work. They dog will have to have a lot of stamina to run the blinds bark and speed quick enough to catch a helper on an escape bite. The dog must catch the helper within 20 paces or prtoection is terminated. So, if your English Mastiff has the right drives you want to make sure you keep him slim and get a treadmill to keep him in shape. Schutzhund is hard on a big dog. Training for Schutzhund takes a lot of committment and understanding that there is a method to the madness.

I've trained my Cane Corso Damian from Sch I to Sch III and it was lots of fun but also a lot of work and dedication. Damian weighs 120 lbs. I keep him on the slim side.