The first German shepherd dog was bred in the 1890s by Captain Max von Stephanitz in hopes of breeding the perfect herding dog. The Captain would go on to dedicate his life to the breed, and he eventually began the organization that would introduce and popularize Schutzhund.

Originally, German Shepherds were herding dogs, but the industrialization of Germany encouraged breeders to promote the use of their dogs as police and military dogs. Captain von Stephanitz was concerned that this change in vocation would lead to careless breeding of the dogs and undesirable traits such as mental instability. This motivated him to found the Verein fur Deutsche Schaferhunde (German Shepherd Association in English), also known as the SV.

The SV developed the Schutzhund test to emphasize the correct working temperament and ability in the German Shepherd, and the first Schutzhund trial was held in Germany in 1901. These trials continued as it was believed that they helped produce dogs of the highest working ability, in addition to eliminating from the gene pool those that couldn’t handle the workload.  Since then, many other countries and working dog organizations have also adopted Schutzhund as a sport and a test of working performance in dogs. International rules have been established, and they are administered by the Verein fur Deutsche Hundesport, or VDH (German Dog Sports Association).

The German Shepherd dog came to America following World War I, but Schutzhund did not come overseas with the breed. In the 1970s, a German immigrant set up the first Schutzhund club in the U.S., and popularity of the sport quickly spread. The first Schutzhund trial in the U.S. was held in California in the 1970s. Today, the German Shepherd Dog Club of America (GSDCA) and the United Schutzhund Club of America (USCA) sponsors trials throughout the country.

Schutzhund and IPO/IGP in today’s world are virtually the same thing. IPO (Internationale Prüfungs-Ordnung) is considered an international standard, and once operated under different rules than Schutzhund. Where Schutzhund was once geared exclusively towards German shepherds, IPO/IPG shows accept a wider range of working and herding breeds as participants. In 2004, the SV decided to conform the rules of Schutzhund to mimic those of IPO. IPO is now known as IGP (Internationale Gebrauchshund Pruefung).  These terms are often used interchangeably, despite having slightly different origins.