How Do I Know If My Dog Is Right for Schutzhund/IPO?

The pedigree is the key to knowing the puppy’s potential in every breed. The sport of Schutzhund/IPO revolves around working lines—generations of dogs that have proven themselves and produced similar characteristics in their offspring. These characteristics include not only the physical structure of the dog but also its temperament. Selecting the bloodlines from which you want your puppy may require advice from reputable and experienced Schutzhund handlers, enthusiasts, or further research. If you’re looking for a puppy that may be well suited for Schutzhund / IPO, you’re in the right place, as Wüstenberger-Land K9s come from elite bloodlines.

If possible, take the opportunity to observe the dog’s parents, specifically the mother (dam). The dam will mainly influence the young puppy for the first six weeks of its life. If the dam is nervous or unsure, chances are this uncertainty will be transferred to the offspring. We carefully select the dogs we breed as Schutzhund / IPO titleholders with good physical traits and a strong temperament.

When it comes to the puppy itself, a puppy well fit for Schutzhund/IPO should be adventurous and active, playing with toys shown to it by someone in an enclosure. It should also be independent enough to take that toy and go off on its own. Independence and confidence, combined with positive contact with the pack leader (the dam, at this time), will develop into the trainability traits you need.

A puppy learns from experiences, so you only want to provide positive experiences. Your puppy should be provided opportunities to explore and investigate new situations and people, but always in a non-threatening way. Remember that your goal is to build confidence in the puppy. You don’t want to dominate or oppress it.

Exposure to different environments is crucial to the general education of the dog and also to its confidence that the world is a safe place. If something makes the dog unsure, allow it to investigate slowly, but do not force the issue.

It is imperative to avoid situations where your dog would be dominated by another older or stronger dog or by another puppy. You also want to prevent disciplining or correcting your puppy, which will dampen its spirit or damage its self-confidence. This can be done by ensuring you never leave the puppy in a situation where it could cause damage to itself or your valuables.

The final area of development is drive encouragement. Natural behaviors to encourage in a puppy include playing with a ball, tug of war, hide and seek, pulling toys on a string, pursuing you rapidly when you run away, and defending itself, its family, and its home. The last behavior only appears between the ages of nine and eighteen months as the puppy matures and barks at strangers or intruders.