This article originally appeared in the November issue of Schutzhund USA Magazine.

Meet Jason Wiggins of Burlington, KY and the Wildcat Schutzhund Club

Kinetic Co-Owner, Dave Dourson, had the chance to sit down with USCA Member, Jason Wiggins, to talk about the USCA, the sport of Schutzhund and how he sees Kinetic Performance Dog Food working with his dogs.

 

Dave: So Jason, how did you get into dog training?

Jason: I started out when I was 10 training Great Pyrenees for AKC Obedience competitions. I met someone who was training Schutzhund when I was 14 and got my first dog to get started in Schutzhund. I caught the bug then and have been with it ever since. It’s just my passion and what I love to do. I was fortunate enough to have some great mentoring and have been able to evolve over the years. What training was 10 or 15 years ago is different from a lot of what we’re doing today. The standards haven’t really changed that much but the training methods have definitely evolved over the years.

 

Dave: One of the things we love about the sport is that so many women are involved. What do you see in your local club and to what do you attribute for the high female participation?

Jason: I can’t really say what the numbers are nationally but the ratio in our local club is about 50/50. The sport is really dependent on putting in the work and building that trust with your dog so we encourage anyone who wants to come out and train and be part of the sport.

 

Dave: Are there a lot of ex-police and military people involved in the sport or is the membership primary civilian?

Jason: There seem to be quite a few former Law Enforcement members involved in the sport. A lot of them, when they retire, they still love being around dogs and actively training so Schutzhund is a great way to stay involved.

 

Dave: So tell me a little bit about the Wildcat Schutzhund Club.

Jason: We’re a smaller but very active club. We only put on about one event every other year but we actively compete throughout the year. Pretty much everyone in our club has competed at the national level or higher. Most of us are really drawn to the competition but there are a number that do it to develop active protection dogs as well.

 

Dave: So your dogs are very active and under a fair amount of stress. I know you initially followed us for a while before trying Kinetic. What convinced you to try Kinetic and what have you seen since switching from your previous dog food?

Jason: I’ve been on Kinetic for a little over a year now. I initially made the switch because I couldn’t find one food which worked consistently. I was always feeding good foods but I just couldn’t seem to find one that worked across all my dogs. What I’ve found with Kinetic is all of my dogs seem to do well with it. I also like the fact that, with your various formulas, I can easily cycle between one formula and another depending on how heavy I’m training or competing and I don’t have any transition issues. A lot of our club members on now feeding Kinetic and seeing really positive results.

 

We want to thank Jason for taking the time to talk to us and for sharing his feedback on Kinetic. If you’re an active USCA member and have a story to share on how Kinetic is working in your training program, you can reach Dave at dave@kineticdogfood.com and tell him your story.