The purpose of Schutzhund is to identify dogs that have, or do not have, the character traits required for these demanding jobs such as a strong desire to work, courage, intelligence, trainability, strong bond to the handler, perseverance, protective instinct, and a good sense of smell.

The intermediate and advanced levels of the sport and the top titles are dominated by German Shepherds and Belgian Malinois, with Dobermans, Rottweilers, and Bouvier des Flandres also quite successful.

In Germany, German Shepherd Dogs are not permitted to be bred unless they have passed at least the level one trials and obtained a title.

At any time the judge may dismiss a dog for showing poor temperament, fear or aggression, or failing one of several tests within each phase.

The BH-VT tests basic obedience and confidence around strange people, strange dogs, traffic, bicyclists, joggers, loud noises, and briefly tethered alone (such as tethering the dog to a post while its owner goes out of sight into a shop).

A dog that exhibits excessive fear, distracted behaviors, or aggression will not pass the BH-VT and so cannot go on to IGP level 1.

In the US, most clubs are affiliated with the American Working Dog Federation (AWDF), United States Boxer Association (USBA), American Working Malinois Association (AWMA), United Schutzhund Clubs of America (USCA), Deutscher Verband der Gebrauchshundsportvereine (DVG), or German Shepherd Dog Club of America-Working Dog Association (GSDCA-WDA).

Schutzhund clubs tend to be small, 20 or fewer members, because there is a limit to the number of dogs that can be trained in one session.

To a certain extent, the clubs exist to provide the specialized resources needed to train the protection phase.

Schutzhund clubs regularly hold public trials, providing the opportunity for dogs to earn titles and for handlers to assess their training progress.

A tiny number of dedicated handlers have trained their dogs to title readiness strictly from books and videos.

[16] A recent innovation in providing information on Schutzhund training is the development of videos and DVDs.

Many of the senior organizations for the sport have German names and are usually referred to by their initials in English-speaking countries.

In response to political forces in Germany, in 2004 the Verein für Deutsche Schäferhunde (SV) and the Deutscher Hundesportverein (DHV) made substantial changes to Schutzhund.

The DHV changed the name of the titles from "SchH" (Schutzhund) to "VPG" (Vielseitigkeitsprüfung für Gebrauchshunde, which roughly translates Versatility examination for working dogs).