History of the Working Riesenschnauzer Federation

In 1991 the Working Riesenschnauzer Federation was organized by a group of people interested in the welfare and working ability of the breed commonly referred to as the Giant Schnauzer in the United States. The founding members of the Club understood that the Riesenschnauzer had a long history of training and working alongside humans as a companion, an assisant or even a protector when necessary. Giant Schnauzer owners and enthusiast who wanted to participate in IGP trials and testing (formally known as "Schutzhund") had to form their own organizations in the United States in order to compete in the US and internationally.

Twenty-nine years later, the WRSF continues to promote responsible ownership, training and breeding of the Giant Schnauzer by hosting events and activities that bring people together in the spirit of education and competition. The core ideas of the organization are to recognize and support the development of the breed as it is described in it's country of origin, Germany.

Today, the Internet and advanced technology have made information available that only a few years ago would have required an exhaustive search through books, postal services and hours on the telephone.

We invite you to enjoy our website and we hope you find it useful and educational

What should I expect at the WRSF working trial?

The Trial has 3 phases. During each phase the judge observes and evaluates the handler/dog performance. During each phase the dogs ability, intensity and execution are challenged. There are 3 levels (IGP1, 2 or 3) and the higher the level, the more difficult the exercise.

Phase A (Tracking): The dog must find and follow a handler or strangers track and recover articles left behind. The track can vary from 300 paces to well over 1200 paces and is aged anywhere from 20 minutes to 3 hours before the dog begins tracking. The tracklayer walks across any terrain and the dog is expected to follow the same path, ideally from footprint to footprint, and indicating every articles left on the track by the tracklayer.

Phase B (Obedience): The dog must always obey the handlers commands and move at the handlers side while walking or running unless instructed to sit, down, stay, jump or climb obstacles, retrieve dumbells, return to or go away from the handler as directed.

Phase C (Protection): The dog must search for a hidden subject (the helper) as directed. After finding the subject the dog must guard, prevent escape, and defend any threat to self or handler. The dog must obey the handlers command to release when there is no more threat.

 What should I expect at the conformation show?

The Riesenschnauzer is evaluated according to the Breed Standard as written by the country of the origin (Germany). The Conformation judge will thoroughly inspect the dog before, during and after the dog is exercised. You might also see the Breed Suitability Test (Korong Test).

The judge will give the handler and spectator a VERBAL CRITIQUE of the following:

Temperament- (balanced, agressive or shy)

Head- (skull, stop, nose, muzzle, lips, jaws, teeth, eyes and ears)

Neck- (muscle, arch, throat and blending into withers)

Body- (topline, withers, back, loins, croup, chest, underline and tail)

Forequarters- (shoulders, upper arm, elbows, forearm, carpal, pastern, toes, nails and pads)

Hindquarters- (upper thigh, stifle, lower thigh, hocks, metatarsus, hind feet)

Gait and Movement, Skin, Coat (top and undercoat, coarsness, density and color), Size and Weight.

The dogs are required to move vigorously and also to stand freely for evaluation of conditioning, grooming and to determine what strengths and faults the dog displays. This is an honest evaluation that helps us recognize and improve the breed known as the Riesenschnauzer.

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