Owners, dogs enjoy protection training program
Photo
Lucy, a German Shepard chomps down on Fritz Gates arm, he is the "helper," the person who suits up in scratch pants and wears a special sleeve to get attacked by the dog who is training as a Schuthund.
Photo
Rasko, a 4-year-old German Shepard, leaps over an obstacle at the command of his owner Fritz Gates. Rasko trains at Kenlyn Kennels in Edgerton and attained the highest level of Schuthund training, level three.
EDGERTON — To the uninitiated, Schutzhund sounds intimidating.
The highly regimented program teaches dogs to ignore distractions and protect their masters and homes. The trainers issue German instructions that include cornering and biting attackers.
But the intimidation quickly melts when watching Fritz Gates praise his dog, Rasko, for completing an exercise.
“That’s a boy! Yes it is,” he cooed to the 4-year-old German shepherd, who looked as if he couldn’t ask for more out of life than to chase down a wooden dumbbell and earn his master’s approval.
The O.G. Edgerton Schutzhund Club is one of three groups of its kind in southern Wisconsin. It meets Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays at Kenlyn Kennels, 397 E. Hemenway Lane, Edgerton. People come from as far as Milwaukee and northern Illinois to take part.
Schutzhund—the word means protection dog—started in Germany as a breed evaluation test. Today, any dog can participate in the training, though only German shepherds were present at a recent meeting of the Edgerton club.
It includes three components: obedience, tracking and protection. After passing obedience training, dogs can reach three skill levels, known as Schutzhund I, II and III.
Some owners use Schutzhund to train military and police dogs, but Edgerton club members train their dogs as a hobby. They participate in competitions but get the most benefit from having well-trained dogs, members said.
Dogs of all ages and skill levels mixed at a recent club meeting. Rose Barke, Milwaukee, trained her 14-week-old puppy, Bella, to spin around for a morsel of food. A couple of dogs sat in the far side of the field, waiting to be called, as their owner taught them patience and obedience.
Lucy, a German shepherd belonging to Dottie Renier of Milwaukee, chased Gates around partitions in the field. She cornered him and barked sharp, urgent yelps to warn her master that an intruder was present.
When Gates, Stoughton, came toward the dog yelling and acting aggressively, she bit the protective padded sleeve on his arm.
The protection training came in handy for Barke when she was outside her home one day with Lucy and Bella, she said. An intoxicated man started walking toward Barke and threatening her as he passed the home, she said. Lucy barked at the man until he left.
“He apparently was threatened enough to keep moving,” Barke said.
Trainers make sure their dogs know the difference between intruders and friends, they said.
“We teach them to be social and like people,” said Lori LeMahieu, Stoughton.
They also make sure the dogs enjoy the training. They use positive reinforcement and don’t force the dogs to do things they don’t want to do, Gates said.
In fact, trial judges look to see the dogs exhibiting the “joy of work,” he said.
“The dog has to look happy, wants to participate, wants to please,” he said. “You can’t do that by brutalizing.”
Aug 16, 2009 at 12:44 p.m.
Suggest removal
I have never used KK but used Country Roads Kennel and they were very understanding regarding a rescued English Mastiff we had that was somewhat unpredictable. He had no problems there and seemed to really like their play area. It was very very clean too. That was last year however we have since lost our beloved Mastiff.
Aug 16, 2009 at 10:24 a.m.
Suggest removal
Wow, I just stated that my experience with Kenlyn Kennels were not positive ones and I thought Obey U was good. We have the most docile, laid back and happy go lucky dog and I truly trust a dogs instincts!
Aug 16, 2009 at 7:43 a.m.
Suggest removal
We have had nothing but excellent experiences with Kenlyn Kennels. We started going there years ago to have our cocker spaniels groomed. After they died, and we got a new puppy (a goldendoodle), we took her for classes at Obey U and for grooming. We now have two doodles and take both there. We've also taken them there for doggie daycare and for boarding when we've gone on vacations. We've had nothing but positive experiences with everyone employed there. The facility is always clean, and they are always professional and have an obvious love of dogs.
We were there to drop our dogs off for grooming once when the Schutzhund club was there and were very impressed with what we saw.
What a nice story to wake up to!
Aug 16, 2009 at 2:39 a.m.
Suggest removal
just_my_thoughts: what doggie daycare do you go to now? we didn't have such a great experience at kenlyn so we stopped going there and haven't found anywhere else in the area.
Aug 15, 2009 at 10:35 p.m.
Suggest removal
just my thought,
i agree with you 100%.
we've had two experiences with kenlyn.
they do seem to be unhappy (around dogs -- i can't figure that out).
we had a high maintenance dog -- we left him with kk for a week.
before we went out of town, we stressed the needs of this dog and they simply shrugged it off and assured us they could handle it.
two days into our trip we got a call from them complaining about our high maintenance dog.
and it seems like both times (the other was a different, easy to deal with dog) we paid them, they certainly seemed happy to get our money and our dog out of their hair.
i vowed to never use them again.
Aug 15, 2009 at 8:21 p.m.
Suggest removal
Good doggies
Aug 15, 2009 at 7:28 p.m.
Aug 15, 2009 at 7:06 p.m.
Suggest removal
Kenlyn is a great facility. Their boarding is top notch. My dog always comes home smelling so good. Also, I took her for Obedience and Agility training at Obey-U (at Kenlyn Kennels) and John and Sara are amazing at what they can teach dogs and their humans. (Even though it sounds like Schutzhund isn't taught by John and Sara) I recommend Kenlyn to people looking for dog boarding, training, or buying a German Shepard Dog
Aug 15, 2009 at 6:18 p.m.
Suggest removal
My Golden is a level III SchnitzelHund, I swear he can hear a pack of Oscar Mayer's opening up at the neighbors.
Aug 15, 2009 at 5:06 p.m.
Suggest removal
to be a SchH3 at the age of 4 is pretty impressive. Way to go Fritz and Rasko!
The world of Schutzhund, to an outsider, seems cruel and aggressive. It isn't. It is very good for the RIGHT kind of dog and a great bonding experience for owner and dog. I enjoyed it. It is, however, tough to find the "right" club and a good "helper."
I have heard ONLY great things about Kenlyn!
Before you post a comment, consider this:
Note: GazetteXtra.com does not condone or review every comment. Read more in our User Policy AgreementPost Comment
Commenting requires registration.