German Shepherd Dog Club of Canada

Schutzhund
Recognizing that the German Shepherd was extremely
versa le and capable of adap ng to all types of
func ons, a system of standards was adapted in order
to iden fy those dogs considered to be suitable as
breeding stock. While conforma on shows established
correct type and physical structure, these working
tests iden fied the dogs who had the necessary drive,
character and overall working ability. It is from these
working tests that the sport of Schutzhund evolved.
Schutzhund training concentrates on three areas: Tracking, Obedience, and
Protec on work. Schutzhund measures the dog's mental stability, endurance,
structural efficiencies, ability to scent, willingness to work, courage and trainability.
One of the most important quali es of a Schutzhund trained dog is his complete
obedience under distrac on.
This sport is a lot of work, but it is fun, challenging, rewarding and of course as
addic ve as any of the others.
The GSDCC Inc. is set up to provide show venues for all or
most of these acƟviƟes and this is all supplied with it’s
membership/show fees and volunteers. Breeders can
adverƟse and show venues are listed in our Club
magazine and on our website.
Our Club magazine is included along
with the membership fees. There is also a
membership book for you to be able to
keep in contact with breeders internaƟonally to get informaƟon on
some of the acƟviƟes you might want to try.
Please visit our website at www.gsdcc.ca for more detail.
For informa on on more shows/ac vi es you might be able to find in your area
you may also visit www.canuckdogs.com or www.ckc.ca
As you can see there is such a variety of sports, acƟviƟes and
just plain fun you can have with your German Shepherd.
They truly are one of the most if not the most versaƟle breed in
the world. Just get out and have some fun!!
The
German Shepherd
Dog Club of Canada
The German Shepherd Dog Club of Canada Inc. (GSDCC) is the country's oldest ac ve
specialty breed club. Since its incep on in 1922 the Club has developed a dis nctly
na onal profile with member and affiliated clubs from coast to coast. We are not a
registry service, the Canadian Kennel Club is the registry for all breeds in Canada. We
are a club built to promote the breed and work as a strictly volunteer service to offer
venues of all the German Shepherd can do. They are the most versa le of breeds as
they have proven to be able to do almost anything asked of them. The most popular
venues are Conforma on (judged by a wri en standard), Herding, Obedience, Agility,
Tracking, Rally, Car ng, Search and Rescue, Police work; the list goes on.
The German Shepherd Dog is one of the most popular breeds today. They
are a rela vely new breed of dog, whose origins date to 1899. As part of
the Herding Group, the German Shepherd is a working dog developed
originally for herding sheep. Because of their strength, intelligence
and abili es in obedience training they are o en employed in police
and military roles, in forces around the world. Due to their loyal and
protec ve nature, the German Shepherd is one of the most registered
of breeds. Because of their loyalty and intelligence, they are mostly
desired as pets around the world. They are so devoted to their families
that this is what really brought their popularity to the degree it is today.
Being as this is a Club run by its members and that depends so
much on its volunteers to keep the Club's func ons going and promote the breed,
we are always looking for new members to join us in this venture.
Join us in the love of this breed and its versaƟlity
by becoming a member and volunteer.
Any Club can only be as good as its members.
We welcome ques ons, comments, and sugges ons for the club at
The German Shepherd Dog Club of Canada website. www.gsdcc.ca
The breed is so intelligent and learns so readily that it has been used as a
sheepdog, guard, in police work, as a guide for the blind, in search and
rescue service and in the military. The German Shepherd also excels many
other dog ac vi es including Schutzhund, tracking, obedience, agility,
flyball, ring sport, dock dogs and much, much more. His fine nose can sniff out
drugs and intruders and alert handlers to the presence of underground mines in
me to avoid detona on, or gas leaks in pipes buried 15 feet underground. The
German Shepherd is also a popular show dog and family companion. Please visit
our website for more informa on.
Agility
This sport is FAST and FUN! There are different trials you can train
for. Dog and master work together to run through an obstacle
course in the fastest possible me. The obstacles such as jumps,
re, tunnels, chutes, and weave each receive a different point value. It involves excellent handling skills and real team-work. The
pace is fast and furious with twisted flows and poten al chances for
off course penal es at every turn.
ConformaƟon
Showing in Conforma on is showing your German
Shepherd Dog (GSD) to a Canadian Kennel Club (CKC)
or American Kennel Club (AKC) licenced Judge against
other GSD's in age grouped classes. The judge
compares all GSD's in the classes to a Wri en
Standard. They are judged on temperament, standing
(or stacked) and how they move. The winners of the classes all compete at the end
to win points to add to their Championship or other Titles. This venue is excellent for
breeders to show the quality they are producing.
Herding
Herding is dogs working with people to control livestock,
moving them from place to place, rounding up strays and
keeping the herd together. Herding is a great way to have
fun and keep your shepherd's ins ncts strong. A great way
to make new friends and exercise too!
Dogs are used to herd all sorts of livestock, all over the world, working with human
partners to bring stock in from pasture, separate an animal from the herd, hold
groups s ll or drive them into pens. Without the dogs’ speed and agility, moving
stock would be much more difficult, if not impossible.
Obedience
Showing in Obedience is fun and can be hard work, but it is
worth every second. To have such a well mannered and
obedient large dog is exhilara ng. There are many All
Breed Training Facili es which lead to Shows to show off
your special dog. You are not really compe ng against
others in these classes, as your win is based on your score
in how you and your dog behave in each level of class. Your
qualifying score is what allows you to move on to High in Trial. The fun is that you
are marked on your mistakes also, so you have to know how to work yourself, which
makes it even more challenging. Even the handicapped can get involved.
Tracking
Training tracking dogs is common work for police or for
hunters or even for dog enthusiasts. In fact, there are
tracking dog compe ons held by various Kennel or
Schutzhund clubs. You can also train your dog how to
track at home, just for fun. You can even train your dog
how to track your children, in case you ever need to find them and get them home
for dinner or homework. Because dogs are gi ed by nature with such an incredible
sense of smell, they can find hidden items quite easily-especially with the right
training and mo va on.
Rally-O
Rally-O was developed by Charles L. Kramer as a lessformal alterna ve to regular obedience. Instead of a set
pa ern of exercises, the judge creates a course by placing
signs at different sta ons. Each sign tells the handler
which exercise is required at the sta on. The judge has a
number of exercises to choose from and they can be in
any order. Most of the formal obedience exercises are included, plus some
movements from Freestyle and agility, such as weave poles and 360-degree turns.
The cool thing about Rally-O is that handlers are allowed to talk to and encourage
their dogs during the trial. Rally-O is all about the posi ve rela onship between dog
and handler; a tude is more important than precision. Rally-O can be an end in
itself or an excellent stepping stone into other dog ac vi es such as formal
obedience, Freestyle or agility, and it’s a fun sport for keeping an older dog ac ve
and involved.
Search and Rescue (SAR)
Search and rescue (SAR) dogs are trained to perform many
tasks. Knowing what each type of dog can and can't do is
important to be able to quickly match the proper resource
with the task at hand. While there are no uniform standards at this me, many search and rescue volunteers have
common terms and standards that are used. It should be
expected that an opera onal SAR dog will be non-aggressive to other dogs and to
people, the dog should also have basic obedience and be under control at all mes.
The breed of the dog does not ma er. It is the standard and training that should be
evaluated prior to using these resources.
Many dogs are cross-trained and are able to do several tasks well. There are, however, separate evalua ons for each task, it is therefore most effec ve to use the
dog best trained for each specific task. A search effort can be maximized by u lizing
the various types of dogs in conjunc on with each other.