Why I Quit Schutzhund

Schutzhund is a competitive dog training sport that started as a breeding suitability test over 100 years ago. It involves tracking, obedience, and protection. The titles achieved are referred to as IPO or IGP.

Why I quit Schutzhund…

So it isn’t for the reasons you might think; like the hard work, many hours, & required determination. It isn’t either because of the inevitable failures or injuries. (I have endured herniated discs, broken fingers, a couple of surgeries all related to Schutzhund training.) And it isn’t from the disappointment of cruciate tears, iliopsoas injuries, or chronic tick diseases with my dogs. I have endured the heartache of this, one time a week before the Nationals competition. And we have all experienced young dogs who didn’t pass hip or elbow evaluations. No, it isn’t because of all this; it is because of the other stuff….

At first I couldn’t put my finger on it. Why was I disillusioned? Why was the sport of Schutzhund no longer bringing me joy? I have been training dogs for 38 years. I have titled 16 dogs to Bh, 10 to SchH1, 6 to SchH3, 8 HOT, 4 BHOT, over 60 titles total, and 6 National Events. Was I bored? The sport used to be a huge focus in my life. I would immerse myself, train every day, attend countless seminars, find “flow” where all my worries and even time itself would fade into the background. With just a few exceptions, the dog I was training at any given moment felt like the best dog in the world to me. When did I start to lose this? And why?

It seemed to happen so gradually that I didn’t notice it at first. I couldn’t recall when it started to slip away. But I do remember when I came to realize I was no longer just a “regular” Schutzhunder. It was when people would talk about me and my dogs on forums I didn’t even belong to. Somewhere along the line, I had been doing the sport long enough where people I never met knew who I was. At first, I thought I was just being sensitive when it felt like whole groups of people were hoping my dog and I would make a slip up while showing. Then I started to remember how I secretly wished the same on others who seemed to enjoy too much success. Was I causing them harm by doing this? Could they sense it like I was sensing it? But I don’t think this is what was causing a change in me.

So as I was stepping away from the sport I was reevaluating my life. Am I seriously mortal and all this will end one day? That is when I decided I wanted to see and experience more in life. And doing just that I headed out hiking, kayaking, and camping in some of the most remote places of our Nation. I have crossed the Continental Divide too many times to count, stood atop 14,000 foot mountain peaks, stared at the Milky Way in the darkest night sky areas of our country, spent the night on the desert floor where everything was so quiet I could hear my heart beat. I have seen antelope, elk, black bear, moose, and a whole herd of big horn sheep twice IN THE WILD! In one summer I traveled from San Francisco to North Carolina camping and watching sunrises and sunsets and experiencing the world. AND…… I did it with my dogs. They have saved me from bear in the Colorado mountains and from some strange guy in a black ski mask in a Walmart parking lot. They kept me warm on cold camping nights, helped steady my kayak (yes, one of my dogs joins me kayaking), and let me know the coast was clear when leaving my tent in the middle of the night to pee.

Even if I couldn’t quite figure out why I was quitting the sport yet, I was remembering why I started the sport. It was because of how much I valued the companionship of a loyal and courageous German Shepherd. I started the sport because I wanted to spend more time with my dog. I didn’t start the sport because I wanted to prove anything to anyone about my training abilities, my breeding abilities, or my worthiness or likability as a human being. I started the sport because I valued in my dog the same things Schutzhund was testing for back in the 90’s. And I started breeding when it seemed to me the sport was turning its back on enhancing and maintaining the breed characteristics I so admired. So maybe this was why.

It was one of those really quiet dark nights in the middle of nowhere on a backcountry camping trip where my mind chatter ceased…..where all thinking halted…. And not just for a few seconds, but for like 40 minutes! I was aware it was happening and to my delight, even without thought, I was still a complete human being…. I was still me. And actually, everything became more clear. It was then that I realized why I quit the sport. It was because of all the other stuff….. I had shifted away from doing the sport for me and my dog and instead for my haters and fans. I was trying to prove the rumors were wrong. And I was trying to save the breed. On that beautiful evening immersed in nature my reference point for who I was shifted away from the reflection I saw in others and back into myself. Just to be clear, the compliments from others had become just as intoxicating as the criticisms. But on this night, my evaluation of how I compared to others no longer hooked me.

So it was all the stuff that lead me astray from why I was really in the sport. I had become a very good trainer, and had adopted lofty goals, and I often had the type of dog I liked to train. But that dog I liked to train and whose companionship I enjoyed was no longer the dog who could help me earn my lofty goals of winning a big event; and it was because of how the sport was changing. I wanted a dog who could lay calmly by my side, who intuitively knew when to be protective, who never ran off. I wanted a dog to bring with me everywhere in life and whom I trusted my life with. Furthermore, I needed a break from the political stuff.

So to be honest, I haven’t given up the sport, but I have given up the politics. I have also given up wanting to win, because then I am betraying my perfect dog by choosing a type of dog that is trendy for what the sport currently rewards. I have given up wanting to increase compliments and decrease criticisms. I have found again, what it is like to have a relationship with my dog that is absent of needing to find ego identification.

Everything has shifted for me including how I approach training. Training has become fun instead of hard work. Because even when it is hard, I can see the bigger picture. I can see how I am helping my dog grow. I intentionally create skills within my dog such as bouncing back from a challenge and trusting in our relationship. I have grown tremendously as a person myself and much of what I have learned about life I incorporate into my training. Dogs are on a life journey just as we are. Instead of using my dog as a tool to satisfy my desire for competition, we walk together on a path of learning and growing.