Tag Archives: working dogs

Can I certify my dog at the end of my Canine Instructor School?

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Highland Canine Training offers a school and certification program that will teach you progressive and innovative methods of beginning your new dog training career. Whether you are interested in learning basic or advanced obedience training, behavior modification, police K-9 training, detection, search and rescue, competition obedience or sport dog training or even want to advance your skills for a dog related business that you already own, our courses are the best place to begin.

With this being said, many of our students in the past, whether the course is to learn how to test out and train protection dogs or our dection courses usually bring their on dog with the hopes that they can get their personal dogs trained and certified. The chances of getting a green dog completely certified by the end of say a 6 week course in not realistic. First off, it’s hard to say that your personal dog will have the proper drives that it takes to become a full service working dog. Please don’t take it personal if we tell you this, this course is not designed to just train your personal dog, it isdesigned to give you the tools to teach you how to choose the right working dog for the job, and to work with various canine/breeds in various stages of their training.

It seems in the past that some students only want to work their personal dogs and become irritated or offended if they are working other dogs/breeds. You must have an open mind when training dogs and many dogs have many different levels of drive and behavior just like people. If you only limit yourself to training one dog or one specific breed then your are missing so much education and are simply shorting yourself on building your skills as an instructor. For example if you are here to learn detection dogs, you can still learn so much about odor and behaviors of dogs in odor from search and rescue canines by running a track or observing the dogs work the rubble pile. So don’t limit your exposure it will make you a well rounder dog trainer!

There are many different ways to train both pet dogs and working dogs, even if you are not going to use some of the varios methods, that is fine, but it only benefits you to learn all the methods so you can understand how some dogs you may come across for brush up are trained. And who knows you may be able to take a little bit from each method and come up with a new method of training!

So, yes we have certified some personal dogs that come through with variuos students enrolled in our canine instructor’s course, but it is not a gaurentee. This course is designed to benefit those who may start up a SAR team, supervise police canine unit, or simply want to train working dogs for a living. Please feel free to give us a call or check us out on the web for various courses offered for canine working dogs!

Do female dogs make good Police Dogs?

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We trained a dual purpose police dog that is now working at a department in Alabama. The dog was trained in narcotics detection, police patrol, handler protection, tracking, article searches, agility and obedience. I trained with the dog almost every day for several months before it was eventually sold and went to Alabama. Now this wasn’t your ordinary German Shepherd. This dog was highly intelligent, extremely athletic and super talented (just check out our gallery and see for yourself). The training went something like this; show the dog what you expect one time…and it’s done. Yes, it was that easy.

As I continued to train with the dog, I had several police departments and “master trainers” come to look at it. They were in the market for a dual purpose German Shepherd and wanted to come by and see this one work. So, time after time, I had departments sending people by to watch the dog work. All of them were impressed with what the saw. However, no one was interested in the purchase. The dialogue usually went something like this: “Man that’s a really nice dog, so how old is he?” My reply was always the same “Well, SHE is about 18 months old.” Apparently the name Kira wasn’t feminine enough to clue these guys in. Or apparently they were dazzled by her work ethic and athleticism so much that they didn’t take the time to notice the undercarriage.

Once the cat was out of the bag about her gender, none of these guys were interested in working with her or giving her a second thought. I even had one handler, who stated that he had years of prior experience handling a dual purpose dog, that said “I can’t work with a B!%*h dog”. So I politely walked them back to their patrol cars and haven’t heard from any of them since.

About a month later and officer called and stated that he was in the market for a dual purpose police dog. He stated that he saw some dogs on our website that he wanted to look at. One of the dogs that we spoke about was in fact Kira. Well, I had been through the drill before and explained to him up front that Kira was a female. The last thing that I wanted was for him to drive 600 plus miles to look at her and later find out that he was a she. He stated that he had not preference as to the gender of the dog and that all that he was concerned with was whether or not the dog would work.

Well, it has been a little less than three months since the handler and Kira completed their training here at Highland Canine Training. The handler called me today to tell me that Kira “did it again” last night. He was referring to a successful track of two suspects in several car break-ins. It appears that Kira tracked the individuals for about ¼ mile and ended up at a house where she alerted to a door. After speaking with the occupants of the house, one of the suspects was found hiding in a closet and another was arrested from the home as well. All of the items that they had taken were recovered and at least four car break-ins were cleared. Great Job Kira! This adds to the other 10 successful tracks that Kira and her handler have completed along with the more than fifty…that’s right 50, felony arrests that this team has had in this short period of time.

I have seen plenty of successful police dog teams over the years. Some of the K9 counterparts were male and some were female. If you have a good quality dog, gender doesn’t matter. So the next time you find yourself in the market for a working dog, take a few minutes to look at the girls that may be available.
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The Pursuit..Dog Training as a Career!

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There is no time like the present to get started on a new career , start your own business, or simply do what you love everyday. Many people adore our four-legged friends and are intersted in pursuing a career in the dog training industry. My advice, is to go for it, there is plenty of business for everyone!

The first step is to decide which area of dog training is most interesting for you; is simply pet dog training (basic obedience and advanced obedience), behavior modification, agility, rally sports, herding, puppy training, therapy dog training, working dogs (police, detection, protection, Search and Rescue). The second area you should work on is deciding how you want to work your schedule or run your business. If you are the person who wants a little more freedom, then private lessons and group classes would be the area to focus on. However if you want the consistency of an everyday schedule, in-kennel training may be a better choice for you as a dog trainer.

Next you should narrow down a few schools that interest you, and go personally visit the site. You can get more out of personal visit than a telephone call; meeting the people you would be working and learning from can help you decide if you are a good fit for that particular school or environment. After a quick visit you can decide how much time you want to put into your career. For example, you could choose a 6 week program or tough it out and sign up for the 12 week program (which will allow you more experience by putting your hands on different breeds of dogs with different behaviors).

At Highland Canine Training we offer teaching for all the above areas of dog training. Students are able to combine classes and learn as much about as many areas of dog training as they can obsorb. Students who are just starting out,often sign up for obedience courses, but are also interested in protection courses; as a student you are able to take the both courses parallel for the length of time you wish to attend (6-12 weeks). Highland Canine also offers custom classes to fit your lifestyle. Many of our students also work full or part-time, have families, layed-off, or simply live out of state; we are able accomadate their schedules to help them earn the certification they are striving for!

Many students ask how they can gain experience after their school is finished and they are building their book of business? The answer is simple, pro-bono work with local shelter and rescue groups is the easiest way to gain experience and give back to your communities and the animals. Now more than ever, family pets are suffering because; people are surrendering their family pets at rescue groups or pounds because they are moving (leaving animals behind), have no time for the dog, or simply don’t like the dogs and will not take the time to place them in a proper home or work on fixing behaivor issues. Rescue groups will return the favor and referr business to you so everyone wins!

Finally, many people want to become dog trainer’s so they don’t have to work with people. That is not the case, the wonderful dogs usually belong to people and you must be able to communicate effectively with the owners to first off, diagnose the problem (if any), then teach dog owner’s how to work with their dogs! At Highland Canine Training we involve our students in the initial drop off of client dogs, what questions to ask the oweners, how to perform at both private lessons and group class settings, and how to teach the pet owner’s to work with their dogs and complete the “Go Home.”

If you think becoming a dog trainer may be in your near future, please give us a call or better yet stop by for a visit ,and we would be happy to introduce you to the wonderful world of dogs!

Police Dog and Working Dog Donations

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As many of you know we do a lot of pro bono work to give back to our communities.  It is a wonderful feeling to give a police/sheriff department or individual that may not otherwise have to opportunity to work a dog,mostly for financial reasons a shot at it.  Highland Canine Training donated the first Police Dog in 2006 and has carried on this project annually.  In 2007 we named the project the Paul LeBlanc Memorial Working Dog Donation Program to carry on his memory.  Paul was a bomb dog handler from Desoto County, Mississippi that has left a lasting impression on our lives; he was a good friend, passionate father, coach, and a hard working dog handler. 

Here is a break down of the communites that have benefited from the Paul LeBlanc Memorial Working Dog Donation Program:

2006- Canine “Jake” Alexander County, NC

2007_Canine “Star” Vail, Colorado

2008-Canine “Hawk” Thomasville, NC

2008-Canine “Wiley” Desoto County, Mississippi

2009-Canine “Jerry Lee” Marietta, Georgia

Many thanks to the departments and individuals that make this program possible!