A friend in my Schutzhund club sent this video link, of a Schutzhund club in 1936. I think it's a neat clip, because it shows a lot of things....
The obedience is less stylized here, but look at what's expected of the dogs -- they work comfortably in large groups, alongside other dogs at close quarters, and they settle comfortably with their humans at a beer garden. These are not dangerous trigger-happy time bombs, they're good pets.
Also, there are a lot of exercises seen here which have disappeared from the current sport. Remember that Schutzhund was originally a breeding suitability test (and still is, in some parts of the world) and so the dogs' hips and athletic abilities were really tested. We'd have a lot less hip dysplasia if all dogs were required to train like this before being bred! Also, a few of the protection exercises are still present in other sports but are gone from Schutzhund, such as the attack under gunfire (something critical for a police dog).
And it's fun to see what the breeds looked like seventy years ago.... Some have really changed.
Anyway, here's the clip!
Dogs in war
This is awesome!!!! Actually, the Germans used dogs to haul guns and supplies in both world wars so it's fascinating to see a Schutzhund club from the tense interval between the wars going through these attack maneuvers and then settling down to great big tankards of beer.
My favorite part is the guy biking with his dog at 5:18. Yay bike dogs!!!
Very cool!
What a neat video! You're absolutely right--those dogs do their jobs, but they aren't so high drive that they're dysfunctional, like so many Schutzhund dogs (and even herding/agility dogs) we see today.
I've been browsing your blog for a few weeks; lots of interesting reading! I've been thinking about trying tracking again and you've inspired me. :-)
Amy and the Scotties
Ch. Munro's Mildly Toasted CDX RE OA OAJ NAP NJP
Ch. Anstamm Let's Party CD RA
the baby, Anstamm Maryscot First Blush
Got me reflecting on dogs and people
Watching this video got my mind going in a completely different direction. If I think of Europe in 1936, normally I would think about the upcoming world war and how events were moving toward it, etc. Seeing the video made me grateful for the timeless quality of our bond with dogs, no matter what human events may be going on!
Rosana Hart
www.training-dogs.com
cool
thanks for sharing, very interesting :D
Neat...
Thanks for sharing. Some of those feats are pretty impressive.
-Kelly
Oops! Clarification
I didn't mean to imply that today's Schutzhund dogs are necessarily time bombs! I expect my dogs to walk through public and lie under an outdoor cafe table as well. But I thought that aspect was very obvious in the film clips.
(Added as a comment rather than as a post edit because I'm afraid of screwing up the post formatting which took me so long to get right with the embedded video!)
Laura &
www.CaninesInAction.com