Shutzhund is a German word meaning “protection dog.” These types of dogs show the best traits for police-type work and are bred to be such.

The Shutzhund tests German Shepherd dogs and different breeds of dogs for the following traits: courage, strength, trainability, loyalty, perseverance, protective instincts and the strong desire to work.

The reason for developing the test in 1900 was to protect the line of German Shepherd dogs from losing their working traits. Only dams and sires that passed the Shutzhund test and showed the best traits of the working line were able to breed and therefore pass along the great traits of a shutzhund shepherd.

There are three phases in the Shutzhund test that the German Shepherd dog must pass. The phases are: tracking, obedience and protection. In order for a dog to be given the shutzhund title it must pass all three phases in one test. The dogs that pass the test can become police dogs, search and rescue dogs, or even bomb protection dogs. Since police departments do not allow their dogs to breed, future police dogs come from a stock of dogs who are shutzhund certified.

To learn more about Shutzhund visit: Wikipedia.org/Shutzhund