Statements

The working dog sport originated from police dog sports, and for good reason.
Advancements in training, ensuring the preservation of a usable...

That we need protection dog sports to maintain high-quality dogs for our agencies with service dogs for rescue, search, and protection is undisputed. However, even in private and everyday life, we can only benefit from the nerve strength and environmental security of our dogs.

Our working dogs are important for our society. Dog sports ensure that there are enough well-trained dogs available.

I am not sure if everyone realizes that there is a connection between sports and service:

Sports test the nerves; we see if our dog is still under control and cooperates with the handler over a long distance. In the context of IGP tests, we determine if our dogs are ready for deployment.

At some point, the lives of people depend on it!

From my experience as a criminal judge, I cannot confirm an increase in violations of animal protection laws associated with the topic of protection dog sports. The cases on my desk involving dog owners primarily deal with, in some cases, severe abuse of regular household dogs. These owners have acted out of overwhelm, ignorance, or outright cruelty.

As the Vice President of the International Working Dog Commission of the FCI, I have been advocating for quality in dog training for years. The primary goal is the control and humane treatment of dogs. Therefore, I find it incomprehensible that our sport is being questioned, especially considering that bite incidents overwhelmingly occur with dogs owned by non-affiliated individuals.

We need the selection of working dogs for multiple reasons: firstly, as a foundation for service use in various authorities. Equally important is the fulfillment of our working dogs, which live in families, ensuring they are appropriately challenged and engaged.