This is a complicated one. Essentially, and with a bare minimum explanation, USA (the United Schutzhund Clubs of America) is a German Shepherd Breed Club and Registry that has ties to, but is not a member of, the SV (Schaeferhund Verein, the German Shepherd Breed Club of Germany). Membership in USA clubs is not limited to those owning German Shepherds, and the organization follows closely, but not exactly, the trial rules of the VDH (The German Kennel Club). They have their own certified judges and hold both Schutzhund trials and German style conformation shows, where dogs receive a suitability for breeding rating. USA also has a breed registry, registering members' German Shepherds and litters bred by those members and issues pink papers recognized by the SV, once the pedigrees have been approved.

LV/DVG America, on the other hand, is a full voting member of a German organization, Deutscher Verband der Gebrauchshundsportvereine (DVG), or the German Association of Working Dog Sport Clubs. (See ABC's of DVG.) LV America encompasses all of North America. The goal of DVG, both in the North America and in Germany, is the training and titling of dogs, any and all breeds of dogs, including mixed and non-registered dogs. In LV America, this consists primarily of Schutzhund and obedience and tracking degrees, while in Germany, it includes agility, fly-ball, tournament sports with dogs and so on. As a German organization, we are bound by the rules and regulations of DVG, our umbrella organization, the dhv (Deutscher Hundesportverband) and the VDH, and all trials are conducted according to these rules. All LV America judges are certified under VDH rules and their licenses are recognized by the VDH and FCI (See ABC's of DVG), as are all titles earned under LV America judges. Our national championship, held annually in late May to sometime in June, selects the dog and handler team that will represent us in the dhv championship, the Deutsche Meisterschaft, held the last week in September every year. DVG is a non-breed specific organization and does not hold conformation shows, nor give breed suitability tests. Our working titles, however, are recognized by all working and breed organizations.

However, as a second alternative you may enter a DVG trial using another organization's membership, such as a breed club, and use that organization's scorebook, as long as you can prove that your membership is current with that other organization.

While it’s possible to enter a trial with a completely filled in scorebook, it’s kind of a pain to deal with. By requesting a second book when you have only a couple of spaces left in your present one, you save yourself the hassle of entering a trial with the filled in book. Because then you have to wait for the new book to arrive, send it to the trial judge with a prepaid self-addressed, stamped envelope included so the judge can enter the scores in the second book and mail it back to you. Either way, whether your book is already filled or still has a couple of spaces left in it, follow the procedure above and you should receive your fairly quickly. Remember to always send a photocopy of your scorebook, never the original.

If you do not need your scorebook in a hurry, the regular procedure is as follows:

To obtain a replacement scorebook, first contact LV Treasurer, Nancy Schick. Her phone number and e-mail address are available on the DVG America website where it lists the LV America officers. DVG/Germany charges 20 Euros (20 €) for a replacement scorebook. However, unless you have a 20 € bill lying around, it can get way more expensive than that. Even sending a bank draft in Euros from an American or Canadian bank still requires payment of German bank charges. Sending the payment with a check in American or Canadian dollars can hike the cost up to as high as 50 Euros because of bank conversion charges. We have worked it out a deal with the DVG office. In order to get a replacement scorebook, Treasurer Nancy Schick will compute the dollar/Euro exchange average for the last quarter. You will have to prepay that amount in US dollars directly to LV/DVG America. Once Nancy has received the payment, she will notify the DVG office that the replacement cost has been paid. At that point, you are to fax the information on the scorebook that needs replacing directly to the DVG office to the attention of Maria Zäske. She will issue the Ersatz scorebook and mail the replacement directly to you. DVG America will then be billed for that cost at the end of the fiscal year. You should always keep a copy of your scorebook somewhere in your files. That way you’ll always have the information available if you need it.

If you need the replacement scorebook quickly, there are two methods available to get it sent to you quickly.

After paying DVG America for the replacement scorebook, you have two methods by which you can receive the book back quickly:

• 1) FedEx the information and your written request for the replacement book to the DVG office and include a prepaid, self-addressed FedEx return envelope; or
• 2) Fax the request and information for the replacement book to the DVG office and include a customer/account number from FedEx so that the cost of the shipping has been paid in the USA.
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These are the only methods which can be used for expedited return shipping

To prevent the last minute panic situation when members suddenly realize they need scorebooks, the following procedure can be followed to make life a lot less stressful.

DVG America member clubs and their members have the responsibility to be sure that all members have obtained scorebooks well before any upcoming trials. At the beginning of each membership calendar year, a club officer should contact each and every club member and confirm that all members have valid scorebooks and know where those scorebooks are. Any new members with dogs that may be trialing at some point during the year should be given a scorebook application (form is available on the LV/DVG America website -click here)to fill out and instructed to mail the application to the Secretary of LV/DVG America, along with a check payable to LV/DVG America. Or a club officer can take on the responsibility for the scorebook applications and sending them all at one time to LV Secretary, along with a cover letter, listing the members’ names on the applications, so no one will be overlooked. The cover letter and applications must be accompanied either by a club check made out to LV/DVG America for the total number of new scorebooks requested @ $18 per application form or checks from the individual members made out to the LV for $18. By taking care of this at the beginning of the year, there should be no need for last minute scorebook applications. The LV/DVG America board officers are not, nor should they be, responsible for last minute panicked attempts to get a scorebook.

Because of the new policy requiring payment for all scorebooks issued by the DVG office, which requires that all new scorebook applications must be sent through the LV Secretary, there is no way to expedite obtaining a new scorebook by use of FedEx. Members must simply be responsible for applying for scorebooks in a timely manner.

One thing applicants for new scorebooks need to know is that normally, scorebooks are not sent to the individual applying for the scorebook, unless it’s a replacement (Ersatz) or a second scorebook (first book is filled up). Newly applied for scorebooks are normally sent to the club president or whoever is listed by the club to receive correspondence from the DVG office, just as membership cards aren’t sent to individuals, but rather to a specific club officer. So when a club member applies for a scorebook, that club officer should be alerted to this fact and should keep an eye out for the book to come in the mail. This is why having absolutely correct addresses for ALL members, and especially club officers, is so very important. Sending an address change form through channels is the ONLY way DVG/Germany is notified of new addresses and the change will be made in the data base at the DVG/Germany office.

Another thing everyone should be aware of is that the office staff doesn’t necessarily just jump on “your” scorebook application or request for a replacement scorebook the minute the LV Secretary faxes it to the DVG office. There is a staff of five employees in the DVG office. This staff is responsible for dealing with over 36,000 members, not just in our VPG/IPO/Schutzhund sport, but also Agility, Tournament Dog Sports, Obedience, Flyball and about every other sport you can think of to do with dogs, plus applications for dog insurance through the DVG group policy. The office complex in Hemer is also the central office for the dhv (Deutscher Hundesportverband), our umbrella organization, of which DVG is one of 7 organizations.

Accordingly, the staff has set up a method so that they are sure all requests, applications, questions, etc. that come into the officer are dealt with in an orderly way. Scorebook applications are processed according to when they are received in the office. It’s possible that an application can arrive on Friday and may not be processed for at least 10 days, depending on how many applications were received prior to this individual application. Add in the weekend days and it could be the end of the following week before it gets processed. And to that you have to add the mailing time from the office to your club officer.

The most important thing is that the application is completely and correctly filled out and that both owner and handler (should those be two different people) are in the DVG data base as DVG members. Any mistakes or questions on or about the application will just make the processing take longer.

So all members and member clubs and their officers must take responsibility for being sure club members have scorebooks. And just because you’re in a panic for a scorebook, don’t assume you’re entitled. Remember, that staff of five people in the office has at least 35,999 other members they have to worry about, too.

Even if the dog already has a scorebook (obtained before this mandatory ID requirement went into effect) and it gets filled up, and the owner wants a second scorebook, the second scorebook won't be issued until the office has a microchip number or a tattoo to put on the second book.

If it can do the work, it can get the title.

All participants are required to wear tan or khaki slacks and a white, collared shirt in obedience and protection, weather allowing. The shirt may be either short or long sleeved. No club insignia, logos or additional apparel which might be construed as training aids, such as vests, are allowed. In case of rain or inclement weather, raingear, sweatshirts and/or jackets and gloves are allowed, but may not exhibit any club insignias or logos of any kind. "Grubbies" may be worn for tracking.

Protection may be the most exciting and it's certainly the part a lot of breeders consider the most important because of how it tests the dog's nerve, temperament, ability to withstand pressure and stress, etc. But it still is only one part. One of the other reasons was that Germany, like the US, has had an increase in dog bite problems and unfortunately the general public sees the protection training as "teaching the dog to bite", which is, of course, absurd. So the AZG solicited suggestions from its member clubs as to a new name for the sport that would better describe, or define, what the sport actual is and what is its purpose.

They came up with Vielseitigkeitspruefung fuer Gebrauchshunde. The translation is Versatility Test for Utility (or Working) Dogs. As a name, it probably leaves something to be desired, but nonetheless is more definitive than the old name. So, the titles that are put into the scorebooks and on the paperwork read VPG 1, 2 or 3. But to most of us who have been in the sport for so many years, it remains, and probably always will remain, Schutzhund.

An applicant must be a minimum of 25 years old and may not have exceeded his or her 50th year. The applicant must have been a DVG (or in Germany, any of the dhv member organizations) member for a minimum of 5 years, and must have personally trained a minimum of 2 dogs SchH 1 through SchH 3 and successfully titled the dogs in a dhv or any other AZG recognized organization. The applicant must have also trained and successfully titled either of these 2 dogs or another dog to a BH and an FH and be able to show knowledge of the rules of the WH and IPO titles and probably now, also the FH2. The applicant should also have served as a training director for a minimum of one year and served as trial chairman in several trials. (Note: If an applicant has not served as a principal training director for a club, but can show a letter from the club training that he/she has helped with the club's training program, i.e., worked in obedience and tracking training with club members, etc., this is sufficient.)

The application must include a self-written resume by the applicant including information about his/her dog sport career within the dhv; a statement by the applicant that the cost of the training to become a judge will be borne by the applicant and that he/she will be unconditionally available for the required training and expenditure as a judge in dhv; a declaration that the applicant will assert no claims against the dhv or its member organizations or divisions or active agencies for bodily injury or loss of income that occurs as a result training to become a judge or in later performance of judging duties; a declaration that the applicant after admission to the apprentice judge program, will pursue his/her judging activity in dhv and not seek acceptance to the list of judges of a breed organization; designation of a dhv judge who can furnish information about the applicant's background and who is willing to look after and eventually provide additional schooling to him/her during the possible apprenticeship; confirmation from the dhv judge named in the above; four passport size photos.

These are the basics and there are additional rules regarding the timing of the application, how it is to be presented to the organization for comments from those wishing to do so, publication in the organization magazine (The HUNDESPORT, but we also publish the applicants' names in the DVG AMERICA magazine), and so on. Following acceptance to the apprentice program, an apprentice must complete a minimum of 8 apprenticeship trials (more, if asked) under a certified dhv judge within a maximum of 2 years. Apprenticing at trials requires written reports on the trials, explanations of points deducted or scores given, etc., and turning this all into the presiding trial judge, who will then write a report. This is all sent to the LV LRO who sends it to Germany. Following successfully completing the required apprentice trials, the applicant must pass a field test and a written test given by the dhv LRO. The test is given in English for LV America applicants. Any additional information can be supplied when, and if, someone requests it with a desire to become an apprentice judge, by contacting the LV LRO.