Hello everyone, I am getting back in to the Schutzhund field after a 10 year off period and I am eagerly expecting my first Leerburg pup soon. Now the big question is, I have 2 types of Schutzhund clubs near me, but which would you think is better. I have a DVG and a USA club. I know that DVG lets a lot of other working breeds compete, while USA is GSD only, any other differences I need to be aware of???
Thanks!

Go to the clubs and pick the one with the best helper.

I wrote an article on how to pick a Schutzhund club - go to my list of training articles.

VanCamp is correct about the helper.

A club has a personality - see if it fits yours.

If the club does protection training on tables - walk away from it and say thanks but not thanks.

Ed

The SchH organizations themselves add some of that flavor to a club.

SchH USA is the big dog of American schutzhund, it has the most members and the most clubs. The SchH USA Nationals are closed to all breeds except GSD's, as it is a breed club. But alternative breeds can compete all the way up to that big competition with only minor ( depending on the judge <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> ) discrimination.
SchH USA's paperwork is pretty easy to deal with! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

DVG is an all-breed organization, smaller than SchH USA. I've found the organization staff of DVG to be more helpful the SchH USA office but, and this is a *HUGE* "but", your DVG paperwork to included membership paperwork and score book requests has to go to Germany. That fact adds a huge amount of time to getting things done, and several levels of inefficency. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

A lot of clubs hold dual membership between organizations ( including the GSDCA-WDA which I simply can't bear to mention due to my past observation of them :rolleyes: )

WDA would have been my last choice. However, my club was formed AFTER I joined the group. We have DVG and USA in this area. That's the reason the group decided to add another "face" to the area. Most have membership in more than one org.
AS VC and Will said, it's more about the helper and the other members in the individual club.

Ok, I have to put my 2cents in here. Ours is a WDA club. We broke off from the "show" wda club to concentrate more on working aspect. We train with DVG members. I hold dual membership between WDA and USA. We don't do conformation or korungs, we let other clubs do that, but we do want our titles under SV or SVF judges, hence the WDA or USA for us. You have politics in all clubs, certain ones have their own "clicks", then others that accept you and your dog on your ability. Just go with what feels comfortable for you.

Our club went DVG for a couple reasons, 1) it was an ALL breed (even mixed breeds) WORKING organization. 2) we didn't have a GSD among us when we first started (even now there is only one!).
We found the process of starting up fairly simple, and the support from LV America board members has been fantastic! I can email anyone of them with questions and have a reply within 24 hours! Many times, within the hour!
As far as the paperwork goes, Will is correct that it does have to go to Germany, however I disagree that it takes much longer! Last summer I faxed off 17 scorebook application forms to Germany on July 1st, and had 17 scorebooks in my hands (in Canada) on July 14th!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> It took the Canadian Kennel Club 8 MONTHS to register my last Giant Schnauzer litter!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />
A club definitely has a personality and it really should feel right for you. You should feel welcomed, and your membership should be valued and important to the organization. That's how we try to present ourselves to prospective members. In one year (in a small community!) we have grown from 8 to 19 members with over 30 dogs amongst us!
Good luck!
Tammy.

you wrote:

Our club went DVG for a couple reasons, 1) it was an ALL breed (even mixed breeds) WORKING organization. 2) we didn't have a GSD among us when we first started (even now there is only one!).

>Gee Tammy, once you let the first GSD into your
>club, you've ruined it. :-)

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> You're funny Thomas!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> Wendy knows her place in the "pack"! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> We make her sleeve Dobes, Giants and AB's on a regular basis just to keep her humble! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> Her GSD Toby is a beautiful dog (oops, did I say that outloud??!! ) however, he's a big boy and already showing signs of mild HD! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> He's young yet, so we're not pushing the training on him, and keeping him on glucosamine, Vit. C etc. Hopefully he'll be able to continue working for a long time. Or maybe Wendy will see the light and buy a Dobe! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Tammy,
"As far as the paperwork goes, Will is correct that it does have to go to Germany, however I disagree that it takes much longer!"


Well.......I sent away for two DVG score books in early Oct. , I recieved them finally in Jan. And the only reason that I actually recieved them was due to the judge *hand carrying* them to me. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />
And it took a fair amount of intervention from the DVG America officers to get it done ( Carol Patterson *rocks*, by the way! )

In comparison, I sent away for a SchH USA score book and recieved it in 8 days.

8 days versus 91 days is a big difference in my book.
I actually offered to quit my DVG membership so that I'd be allowed to show under my SchH USA score books but DVG had no way of allowing that in their rules.

I've been a DVG member on and off for well over 20 odd years, but this incident really made me re-think about my loyalties. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />