The German Shepherd Dog working in its original capacity as a tending dog. Pictured: Tehillah's Dangi von Hader Hof

In the early stages of  the German Shepherd breed development, the dogs served as herding dogs capable of tending large flocks of 200+ sheep. As a tending dog, they worked all day out in the open pastures with or without the human Shepherd, trotting the boundaries of the grazing area and working to keep the sheep out of bordering farmland. The dog essentially worked as a living boundary or ‘fence’ to confine the sheep to their grazing area, protecting not only the sheep from predators and trespassers but also protecting the neighboring farmland and crops from the sheep.

John Riboni's Bruno vom Midlicher Land performing a Hold and Bark during the protection phase of his SchH2.

At the very beginning of the 20^th century, there was an increase in the urbanization and industrialization of Germany. Herding became less and less popular, with fewer Shepherds (people) being able to keep and tend to these large flocks of sheep. The breed founder Max von Stephanitz saw a need for testing, preserving, and promoting the German Shepherd Dog as a utilitarian, multi-purpose breed, capable of working as a trained protection dog, police dog, and more. This test was Schutzhund, a three-phase breeding suitability test that tested the dog’s temperament, working abilities, courage, responsiveness to the handler, and versatility. In an effort to preserve the temperament and working abilities of the breed, the SV (parent club in Germany) held the first Schutzhund trial in 1901, and the rest is history. The SV further adopted the requirement that all dogs must have a Schutzhund 1 title before being bred. Schutzhund continued to gain popularity over time, and it has evolved into a highly competitive international dog sport open to all breeds displaying an aptitude for the work.

However, in April 2011, the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI)—the international kennel club that oversees all other member organizations in various countries—created a universal set of rules that would replace Schutzhund and VPG titles with one universal title of IPO, or International Prüfungsordnung. As of 1 January 2012, instead of awarding SchH1 – SchH3 titles, dogs will compete under the updated international rules and earn IPO 1 – IPO3 titles. Instead of holding “Schutzhund trials”, FCI member organizations and affiliates will now hold “Working Dog Trials” or “Utility Dog Trials.” One cannot help but wonder if “Schutzhund” will now become a forgotten term!

Overall, what does this transition mean for breeders, handlers, and owners of titled dogs? If their dogs have earned a Schutzhund title prior to 1 January 2012, then the title remains as SchH1, SchH2, or SchH3. All new titles earned after this date will now be listed as IPO1, IPO2, IPO3. There are also additional titles offered under the international working dog rules:

• IPO V-O (Preliminary working title)
• FH, FH2, IPO-FH (advanced tracking titles)
• StP 1 – 3 (Random Article Search title)
• ApR 1 – 3 (Utility Dog title, consisting of obedience and protection phases)
• FPr 1 – 3 (Tracking phase only of corresponding IPO title)
• UPr 1 – 3 (Obedience phase only of corresponding IPO title)

The goal of these working trials is to not only provide the individual dog with recognition for passing a test of its working ability, but to also promote the overall health and work ethic of working dogs from generation to generation. A German Shepherd Dog that has achieved an IPO title has demonstrated that it possesses that basic genetic working ability, trainability, and temperament that helps make this breed wonderful family protection dogs as well as versatile working dogs.

Happy training,
CK