What Breeds Are Available?
Over the years we have worked with protection dogs, we have worked with many different breeds. With this experience we have found that the best 3 breeds for this role are the German Shepherd, the Rottweiler and the Doberman. We feel that the breed of the dog plays a big part in selecting the right dog for your circumstances as well as your preferences. Of course, breed is just one part of the selection process, the personality of each dog is very different and the bond between you and the dog will depend on both of you.
Available Breeds at Optimum K9
This is why we strongly recommend that you come and visit our facility, spend time with our trainers and meet our available dogs.
Don’t worry, if you don’t find the right dog for you, we can source and train a dog based on your circumstances and preferences. Our team have plenty of experience in this area and we feel confident we will find the right dog for you. The time it takes for your new dog to arrive at your home will increase if you do choose to do this however.
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Other suitable breeds for this role are the Belgian Malinois and the Cane Corso although these do come with different challenges. Speak with a member of our team today to understand what breed of dog will suit you and your family. We will always put the safety of your family and the happiness of the dog at the forefront of any decision making, so don’t worry, you are in safe hands.
The reason we have selected these breeds for this role is because these breeds have a natural drive which we then utilise during protection training. The dogs natural drive ensures that our training is able to focus them on the assailant/threat instead of just training equipment. You will see this in the video on the website, that the trainer drops the training aide, but the dog focuses on the assailant.
What Is A Family Protection Dog?
A family protection dog is so much more than a pet dog or guard dog. All of our dogs are trained to protect their family or handler, on command or when under threat. Our dogs have been trained to switch into guardian mode on command or when a family member is threatened but also, to be able to switch back into family pet mode on command, giving you the peace of mind that your dog is always under control. We of course ensure that all dogs are highly obedience trained, meaning they will follow commands in and around the home and while out and about, irrespective of any distractions.
What Are We Getting?
All of our dogs have a minimum of 6 months training at our facility in Essex. Our head trainer Kyran works directly with every dog with the assistance of our other trainers. This ensures that we are confident that every single dog is fully trained in every aspect and guarantees that we are confident introducing them into your home.
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Protection training includes:
- Assessment
- Deterrent Training
- Bite Training
- Scenario Training
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Before training commences, it is important that all our dogs are carefully assessed for temperament and drive in order to determine whether they have the necessary attributes to become trained protection dogs. Experience has shown us that not every dog is capable or suitable for becoming a trained protection dog.
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Deterrent training starts with building the dog's natural drive and encouraging the dog to bark. In the early stages of training, this is treated as a game where the dog learns to be confident and enjoy itself. As we progress, we tap into the dog's defensive drive by making the training more serious. We encourage natural but controllable aggression towards the ‘decoy’ and then reward this behaviour. Over time, this natural, controllable aggression becomes the standard and can now be used on command in specific threat scenarios and can extend to protecting a boundary, i.e., a garden.
Bite training starts by playing with a variety of tug toys to encourage a strong grip and tenacity to fight and win the toy. We then transition from a toy to a bite sleeve that is worn by the ‘decoy’. We take our deterrent training and have the dog bark using our controlled aggression at the ‘decoy’. The decoy will start to offer his arm to the dog in order for the dog to learn to target this area and bite the arm. Now our dogs understand the process, we add a variety of sticks and other objects to test the dogs' capabilities to fight under pressure while being exposed to gunfire, shouting, and stick hits to the harness to simulate a threat trying to fight the dog off. Over time, we will move to a ‘covert’ bite sleeve. To ensure our dogs aren’t motivated by the training aids or toys, we progress our training to using a ‘covert’ sleeve, hidden under clothing, so the dog believes it’s biting the arm and not a toy.
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The final stage of protection training is to proof the dog. We now set up real-life scenarios where the dog will need to serve its purpose and implement its training. We stage these scenarios on and off our training site to ensure the legitimacy of our dogs' training.
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Once you have selected your dog, we ensure that the dog builds a bond with you and your family, as this is vitally important to the relationship moving forward. It ensures you have the confidence with your new family member and the dog trusts you and the household. To do this, we deliver the dog to your home and spend 2 days with you settling the dog in and showing you all of the commands and ways to manage your dog. We revisit a month later and spend another day with you, taking you through the protection side of your dogs training, only once your dog has settled into their new family.
(These times can vary dependant on your requirements and circumstances)