All DVG judges are German Kennel Club (VDH) and FCI recognized.

DVG judges are available to judge trials for any AWDF-member breed club. Contact the LRO, (Director of Judges,) for information.

DVG judges are all-breed judges, understanding the different characteristics of each breed and evaluating their performance objectively. Once a year the judges meet and have a formal, two-day workshop to discuss new rules and their interpretation. All our Judges are active in the sport; training, working and competing.

If interested in the apprentice program please feel free to contact the DVG America LRO regarding the availability of the program.

JUDGES APPRENTICE PROGRAM (LRA)

To apply to the DVG Judge’s program you must:

Be a minimum of 25 years old and maximum of 55 years old
Be a DVG member for a minimum of five years
Have, at minimum, one year as training director (club or LV level)
Have been a trial chairperson for a few trials
Not be a judge in any other dog sport / breed organization
Have titled two dogs from IPO 1 to IPO 3 and one of these dogs (or another dog) must have a BH and an FH
Have been a helper (in some cases theoretical knowledge is enough)

The applicant can apply anytime during the year. (All documentation for new LRA's have to be in the DVG office prior to September 15th for the process to begin)

APPLICATION PAPERS

Submit two resumes, one from normal life and a resume about dog sport; (two separate resumes)
Make the following DECLARATIONS.
To pay for the education (the LRA gets no expenses paid)
That the LRA has and will make no claim for damages against DVG for bodily injury or loss of income that results from judges training or from training or judging assignments
To be only a DVG judge after certification
Give consent to the publication of his/her personal data concerning dog sport
Get a letter from a mentor judge that they will support you and give you further training throughout the program when you become an apprentice judge
Get a letter from your club president stating that they support you
Get a letter from your KG President stating that they support you
Get a letter from your LV President stating that they support you
Provide two passport photos

The candidate will then put everything together and give it to the club President. All of the letters and resumes get put in one package and will then get sent to the LRO

The package then gets sent to Germany to the DVG LRO, and once the board approves the new apprentice judge it will get published in LV America’s magazine and also in DVG Germany’s magazine.

If anyone has any concerns about the apprentice judge after their information has been published, they must put it in writing, sign it and send it to the LRO of the LV where the candidate belongs.

The apprentice time starts with an introduction (normally from the DVG LRO) and also a written test.

REQUIREMENTS FOR PERMISSION TO DO THE FINAL EXAM

The LRA has to judge a minimum of five trials with four different judges
Judge a minimum of 30 dogs in IPO 1 – IPO 3
Judge a minimum of 20 dogs in BH
Judge a minimum of five dogs in FH

The LRA must write up a report for each trial at which they apprentice. The report gets sent to the judge they were working with for review. The report then is sent to the LRO with comments from the judge. Finally, the report gets sent from the LRO to the DVG Germany LRO.

All requirements must be finished within two years of starting the LRA program.

James Akin-Otiko #113
Hartmut Beckman #11
Gottfried Dildei #5
Ann Dolan #61
Ted Hartman #87

Melissa Hepler #108
Amanda Hoskinson #109
Lisa Little #107
Jacki Purdham #112
Jennifer Reid #91
Jani Turkia ** (Apprentice)

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DVG stands for Deutscher Verband der Gebrauchshundsportvereine, or the German Association of Working Dog Sport Clubs. DVG is the oldest and largest Schutzhund training organization in the world. Begun in 1903, DVG was Germany's first police and service dog club and has now grown to nearly 30,000 members. DVG exists for only one purpose -- training and titling dogs of all kinds. In addition to Schutzhund and advanced tracking degrees, it offers obedience and tracking titles, providing competition opportunities for all people who love to train dogs, even the smallest of breeds.

DVG is made up of fourteen geographic regions (Landesverbands), thirteen of which are in Germany. The fourteenth is LV DVG America. The American Landesverband is divided into four local regions (Kreisgruppen), whose presidents sit on the LV Board.

LV DVG America sends a representative to Germany each year to the annual business meeting to vote on Board and membership affairs.