The literal meaning of "schutzhund" is protection dog, but schutzhund was developed as a breed suitability test for German Shepherd Dogs and encompasses more than just a "protection" component. First, in order for a dog to be eligible to compete for a schutzhund title, the dog must first pass the BH which is a combination temperament/obedience test. Human or dog aggressive dogs will have a hard time passing the temperament portion of the test. Once the BH has been passed, to obtain a schutzhund title, a dog must pass all three phases: obedience, tracking and protection. Schutzhund is not about having a personal protection dog or a guard dog although some of the concepts used to teach each discipline are similar. There are three levels of schutzhund titles - the third level is a competition level. See the links listed below for more information about the sport.
Somewhen in '98 (I forgets the exact date) my mom took me up to this place that's about an hour drive north of where we live. It was a lousy day weather wise and it was half threatening to storm and I *hate* thunder so I wasn't real happy about the whole situation and I tried to crawl under my mom's chair. Then we went out on this big field and this guy in leather pants tossed this thing past me and near me and I had no clue what it was or what to do with it. My mom was just standing there like a lump and she was NO help at all!! Then the guy went away and came back and he THREATENED us!! So I barked at him REAL loud, but then I hadda keep looking at my mom to make sure that it was okay cuz she usually tells me to shutup when I bark at people or anything else. When I barked at this guy he ran away. That was cool. Then he was talking to my mom afterwards and said that it wouldn't be easy and she said that nothing with me had ever been easy...whatever THAT means.
My mom says that my confidence levels have come up a LOT because of the schutzhund training. She says that that is a good thing. I'm retired from schutzhund protection work so I don't have to bark at the bad man and bite the sleeve and then carry it off the field. I've also learned German commands for stuff like Platz, Sitz, and Fuss. I passed the BH in May 2001 and my mom didn't have to staple me to the field for the long down.
My mom got me a little brother so that he could do all the schutzhund stuff. It's kinda nice being a couch potato, although we're still doing that 'bedience stuff.