It was not until later in my adult life that I learned a dog could achieve a higher level of reliability for obeying commands through formal dog training. My initial introduction to dog training was through the Sport of Schutzhund, when my husband began the quest for his next GSD. Eventually we found our soon to be Schutzhund dog. Mean while,  I observed the sport for a long time and assisted my husband with the care of his GSD before finding my own dog to train. This gave me a long time to evaluate the sport, working dogs and the different training styles before becoming completely committed to the Schutzhund.

While observing the sport, I found it very interesting that some dogs were happier and more successful than others, while performing tasks. It quickly became evident that there were various types of training methods being used for the sport. Most training styles included a high amount of old school Militaristic type training combined with the use of a toy. This was more of a punishment based training style that included heavy handed collar corrections combined with high-stimulation toy training. The goal was to motivate the dog to perform tasks with precision, while maintaining a happy and focused attitude. Although the dogs were learning to perform impressive, yet difficult tasks, most training methods being used seemed to be rather confusing for the dogs. They either lacked real desire and enthusiasm for the work, due to high rates of collar corrections; or they were overly reward focused and lost precision, due to excessive stimulation, through the over use of a toy. As a result, dogs that tried to work correctly were easily confused during training and trial. They had a tendency to make mistakes, rather than show the high rate of precision and reliability that is expected in the sport. 

Training methods that are not well balanced for the dog, cause unnecessary confusion. The dogs obviously wanted to do the right thing; but, they simply did not understand how, due to the conflict within the training program. Fortunately, there were a handful of dogs that showed a high incidence of reliability and that really seemed to enjoy the work. These were the dogs that appeared to be more in-tune with their handlers and showed genuine enthusiasm for performing tasks. These were the dogs that were trained through more of an animal behavior based training style, commonly known as Operant Conditioning,  Positive Reinforcement or "Clicker Training". These dogs were having fun with their handlers and they were fun to watch. They certainly made a significant influence on my decision to get involved in the sport. Had it not been for their trainer's conscientious decisions to accept an evolved training style, I may have never considered getting my own dog to train.

To this day, there is still a strong opposition to the high use of positive reinforcement. However, we continue to promote it through balanced training methods that are fair to the dog. We believe it is the superior training method for dogs that show genetic working drives and will preserve the true working traits of our beloved GSD breed. We have witnessed and studies document that dogs will show a higher rate of reliability for accomplishing tasks, if they are given the opportunity to perform exercises through positive reinforcement training. To this day, the German Shepherd Dog, the sport of Schutzhund and advocating better breeding practices that promote fair training methods remain a passion.