Comments

Episode-921- Security Dog Training with Joel Ryals of Dunetos K-9 — 38 Comments

  1. I’m looking for training similar to what you offer, but I live in central California. Do you have any trusted trainers in this area? If not, what exactly should I look for in a training program?

  2. Joe,
    Unfortunately, there are very few other trainers in the world that use our techniques. I know of only one other training facility and that is Baden K-9 in Ontario Canada. The most important thing you can look for in training is realism and stability. I highly encourage you to contact me at joel@dk-9.com to see if there is anything we can work out to assist you. Laying a good foundation for a dog is extremely important if you want a stable, safe and efficient protection dog. We do travel to train and we have multiple training options to help suit anyone’s needs.

  3. Great interview, but how would you approach service dogs and security? I have several for different services and I worry about security for us all, as they are trained to be docile. I take them into deep woods as well as the dangerous cities and need to know we are safe where ever we go.

    Great Day

    Shorty

    • Ray,

      Our safety measure for our protection dogs is what we call stabilization. You could think of it as high intensity obedience. Essentially we place you and your dog under various kinds of stress and distractions and train you how to maintain obedience and control.

      My service dogs are not trained to be docile. They are working lines and are always ready to work. Some of the dogs used for service animals are specifically chosen because they are docile. This could be a foundation that was laid or it could be poor working breeding that results in docile dogs. I can’t tell this for sure without seeing the dogs. But most dogs will defend if trained to do so and they act much more confidently when you have done proper protection training.

      Hope this helps.

  4. I’m a cyclist and would like some advise for dealing with dogs while riding. I’ve used dog treats effectively before while riding off-road, but don’t want to encourage dogs to come onto the road while road riding. Many cyclist use pepper spray. I ride near my house and don’t want to pepper spray a neighbors dog – bad karma and the dogs owners drive cars. I usually start talking to the dog and look at it’s ears and tail to judge it’s ‘intentions’. A spray from a water bottle usually works pretty well. Thoughts? Thanks for a good show.

    • Paul,
      I would stick with what has worked in the past, but just understand that you have to be alert to past methods becoming old hat to the dog. For instance the water bottle squirt is an easy way to ward off a dog while not injuring it in any way, but at the same time, the dog may realize there is no threat there after 3-5 times.

      I would recommend speaking to the owners about properly containing their dogs. Especially if this is an area you frequent. No matter what, do not get into an argument even if things don’t go well.

      If the situation can’t be resolved in any other way, and please try all other means first, then you might need to get law enforcement involved. But that would be my lady resort and only if you fear actual damage from the dog.

      Pepper spray can work, but as you mentioned, if an owner sees you spray their dog, you could have a more complicated situation. That is why I recommend starting with politely requesting that the owner contain their dog.

  5. I have been working with my dog (female bull terrier) since we got her 6 months ago. She was a rescue from a fmaily moving oversees with the .mil. She is almost 2 years old and I am having a hard time on getting her to not be overprotective of my child, hell any child. The correction I give her with a choke chain seems to make no impact. Do you have a recommendation on a collar or correction device that can snap through this mental block. We work with her everyday and she is really very good. I just want to fix this not by removing her instinct but getting her to turn off. Also she is my workout buddy. Running on the streets and trails biking as my wingman. sometimes I do the trails with her on my shoulders. I am close to getting her really squared away but this is one thing I have not been able to control with ease. thanks in advance

    • Jim,

      I only use and train with a prong or pinch collar. This is the same thing, but is sometimes called one or the other. These are the most humane and natural collars. The choke collars actually damage the dogs neck internally, especially with a harder dog since you have to correct so hard and do frequent.

      For more details on the prong collar, I recommend you search collars on my website. The search box is in the upper right. Search my blog and you will find some useful information.

      Let me know if you still have questions after this.

  6. Dang, Jack, you’ve done it again. Great show! Towards the end, I sensed parallels between this and the show on rearing children and thought that most of what he said about training dogs also applies to children, not that we should treat children like dogs, or visa versa. But, I’m gonna listen to it again, and see how if I can judge the percentage of the principles that cross over. Good job.

    • Hilhag,

      I often relate dog training to child rearing (I have six, soon to be seven, children). But I never relate child rearing to dog training. With dogs, they bond to their handler, often even if they are abused. But with children, you must do more than behavior modification. You must have their heart. Only then will you ba able to truly direct your children. This is not a control issue, but a love issue. Parents should desire to give wise guidance to their children to launch them in life, not just maintain control of their behavior when they are in your sight.

      But there are similarities in philosophy.

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    • Pete,

      I love Dobermans when they actually meet the breed description. What I mean is that one of the requirements for a Doberman is that they have a mild disposition. Unfortunately, most dogs that look like Dobermans are not actually Dobermans according to the breed requirements. These dogs are one of the worse affected by type breeding. I have seen many people with dogs that look like Dobermans, but don’t act like them.

      If you can find someone who still breeds actual healthy and mentally stable Dobermans, then you will have a great dog. But as a general rule I would avoid anyone breeding papered Dobermans.

      Hope this helps.

  8. OK, this podcast really got me thinking more about a trained dog for home defensive thanks Jack. Joel, I guess the biggest part I have to get over is having a “weaponized” dog in my house with three very active boys. I have seen a few videos where a bad guy touches the handler the dog attacks. What would happen when the boys start rough housing? What would the dog do? Thanks for the insight.

    • Joe,

      I have four boys and two girls. They run, play, tumble, tussle, wrestle, ride, jump on, jump over, crawl under, beside and over each other and the dogs all day long. My dogs just lay there. I will try to post some of the videos of protection training I did this past weekend so that you can see that these are solid protection dogs.

      The way we are able to accomplish this discipline in dogs is through stabilization training and personal discipline.

      It is important for anyone owning any dog to train that dog in obedience and stabilization. Our program integrates both.

      Please let me know if there are still questions.

  9. Wondering what breeds other then german shepards/ malonais d oyou recommend?

    We had Great Pyrenees but found them to be impossible to control off leash and very interested in chasing cars..our first got hit and killed at 8 mos then our second started chasing cars so we decided to re-home him rather then constantly have him leashed….

    We are now getting a new Doberman Pinscher pup in few weeks fro ma very reputable breeder of European working dobes…we want to train him to be protective under command and looking for a good trainer to work with in western NC..any connection up this way?

    We have a large property and the kids play outside, I would love if the dog would be trust worthy to stay with the kids…of course we are always watching them too right out the window….but being in the country we’ have had a string of break ins and robberies last summer…

    So thoughts on Dobes??

    • Keith,

      Please see above for thoughts on Dobermans.

      In terms of training, the only two places I know that train this way is Baden K-9 and myself, Dunetos K-9. However, I do travel anywhere in the country. Please contact me at Joel@dk-9.com to work out schedule and pricing if you are interested.

  10. What was the other kind of dog Joel had besides a sheppard? I couldn’t find it with various spellings and the malonais mentioned by Keith doesn’t pull anything up either.

    • Pulwudji,

      We work with all breeds, but the dogs I mentioned were German Shepherd’s Dogs, Belgian Malinois, Dutch Shepherd’s Dog. I also recommend looking into Airedale Terriers for those who want solid working dogs that are other than shepherds.

  11. Great show guys…Joel, I have followed your site for a couple years. You have a great reputation. Glad you moved to the lower 48 as a trip to Alaska although awesome, would be expensive.

    I just got a 4 month old female Maligator for my wife and she has been adding some of your advice to her training. She will be getting a hold of you soon, I’m sure. I would like to send her to your protection class when she and CJ (Calamity Jane) get the basic Fuss, Platz, Bring, Aus, etc., 100% down. I have heard that 9 to 12 months is a bit early for serious bite (non tug) training. Is this true?

    Thanks again to you and Jack.

    Cpl.K 95B10

    • Jim,

      We never do tug training and both my current dogs started actual bite work at 8 weeks. If they are weaned, you can start training. Of course many people crush the spirit of a young dog and mess up their foundation. But that doesn’t mean you can’t do bite work. At 12 weeks, my dogs would deploy through water and smoke for a bite.

      No rush if you are not ready yet. Having obedience down will streamline other training. I look forward to hearing from you guys.

  12. Pingback:The Survival Podcast- SECURITY DOG TRAINING WITH JOEL RYALS OF DUNETOS K-9 | McNicklebee Farm

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    • Sir,

      I hope this gets to you, as I have never responded third party like this. This is a very detailed answer with a lot of nuances based on individual circumstances. This is actually what we do at Dunetos Security. We come in and conduct a full evaluation of your home and then develop or recommend modifications to your current defensive plan.

      In a nut shell, my recommendation to those who can afford it is to have multiple dogs. This allows for some inside and some outside. In addition, in high threat areas like you are describing, you can train a dog to only accept food from known handlers. This is a little more advanced, but we do recommend that in your situation.

      I always recommend that you have a dog at your side or with the ability to be at your side instantly. Then we work out from there. If you are looking to have a more detailed evaluation done, let me know. If you desire I will travel to your location for a full evaluation. My email is joel@dk-9.com.

      Hope this helps.

  14. I am looking to do search and rescue with my shepard. I have had no luck in finding a trainer for hundreds of miles around me. I would love to work with a trainer to get him better but the way it sits now a DIY may be the best fit, do you have any dvds or online videos to help with this activity? He dose great playing hide and seek with the kids but i would like to take it further and maybe get him involved with the local SAR team.

  15. John,

    I get a lot of questions where people are trying to find local trainers. The bottom line is that I do not know of anyone in the country that trains like we do except my mentor in Canada. Basically you will either have to travel to us or we can travel to you, and we are happy to do it.

    I am working on getting some training videos done. I am working with some video production companies to hopefully have a complete basic obedience video finished and in production by the end of the year.

    For some of the more advanced things, I think that I am going to do something similar to what Jack has in his members area, where you can become a member and I will put information and videos there that really go into depth in terms of how to train.

    At present though, we are only doing hands on face to face training. Email me if you want to try to get something set up.

  16. Great show guys! I have a question for Joel about working with dogs that are for one reason or another extremely skidish. We have 2 Rott/Red Heeler mix litter mates that we rescued when they were about 4 months old, they are ñow 18 months. We have worked with Rotties in the past and knew what to expect with that side of the mixture. They are both very intelligent, one of the pup exhibits more of the Rott tendencies is extremely obedient and has really been easy to teach the basics and picked them up within a couple working sessions, but her sister is extremely skidish. She is very hard to work with it took us 6 months to get her to walk on leash she would just lay down and freeze. She will do very basic sit & lay down commands but she cowls is fear when we try to work with her. She is very bonded and very protective of our 3 children so much that we almost had a bite incident with a family member rough housing with our 3 yr old son. We are overly heavy handed with either dog and they are very much members of the family. Do you have any advice or recommendations for us to work with our skidish girl?

    Thanks!

    • Kraymond,

      I could have swore I responded to you, but it does not look like it took. Please forgive my delay. This reaction from a dog is typically the result of a heavy hand. I am not sure what their first four months consisted of, but based on the information you have given me, it sounds like you are dealing with a genetic issue.

      There is a lot that can be done for dogs like this and we could certainly work with you on your problem, but it would be unreasonable to expect that you will never deal with this again in the future. Meaning that we can make the dog’s reactions better, but we will not be able to make them go away completely.

      The good news is that if this is the result of a heavy hand (and sometimes this can be done inadvertently when they are young puppies) we can bring the dog much further along. The younger the better in either case, as the longer they deal with this, the harder it will be to begin bringing out improvements in them.

      I hope this helps, and feel free to email me at joel@dk-9.com.

  17. The interviewee stated that his dog can jump 12’… This is over 2x the current world record – perhaps he should be contacting Guiness?

    • No that isn’t what he stated he stated “I can send my dog thought a window 12 feet off the ground”, he never said the dog could free jump that high. He also said he could send his dog into an open bus window. I know exactly how that is done the dog uses the handlers back to spring up to the window. They usually make it half way in and get a bit of a butt shove as assistance from their handlers. I would imagine a 12 foot window would involve something like a truck roof (making it about 5 feet to the ledge) or perhaps a ladder. He also said dogs are now jumping out of planes on missions, I am sure he assumed we were smart enough to know that involved a harness to their trainer and a parachute.

      Additionally your “record” is a free jump and measures the dogs lowest part on the jump. If a 4′ long dog can jump 4 feet that way they could easily enter a window ledge at 7 feet, going off a trainers back would add about 2 feet. Have you ever seen dogs like this worked? I have and it is pretty amazing.

      Given my GSD, Max is 137 pounds I won’t be sending him off my back anytime soon though. One reason these guys favor smaller animals.

  18. Grande,

    When an agile dog like a Belgian Malinois jumps through a bus window, they simply jump up and “grab” the window with their front paws, and maintain their momentum right into the bus. Here is a video of a fairly overweight dog jumping a 6-7 foot fence with little effort.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NH4II3p_UtE

    A second story window is typically about 12 feet off the ground. I don’t really understand how this is possible in terms of the laws of physics, but I can tell you I have seen it done over and over again. The dog uses a bit of a running start and they almost run up the wall and into a window. My dog also uses this technique to scale 12 foot fences. Her landing is a little hard on the other side, but it doesn’t seem to slow her down. I don’t know the exact height of this wall, but it is about twice the height of the men standing near it. This is an example of what I am talking about.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Qc7ZbKq1no

    I hope this helps to clear things up.
    Joel