What is a Protection Trained Dog?

ProDOG Trainers of Oregon specializes in highly trained personal protection and special operations K9's. We train for the private sector in the areas of family and handler protection as well as K9's for the disabled.

Many people have misconceptions about "protection trained" dogs. The first thing we generally hear is "We want a dog that attacks on command" but is not vicious. That is our trademark and speciality. We train our dogs beyond the National Police Service standards. Our dogs are highly social, community friendly guardians. They are trained from birth to be discriminating when it comes to assessing the level of threat and responding with only the amount of force which is required to defeat an attack. They are never over- reacative and they are never a liability. [More]

What is a Patrol Trained Dog?

Patrol training takes on several aspects and levels of proficiency. From a single purpose Patrol/Apprehension dog to a dual purpose Detection.Dog, ProDOG has the solution for your department.

ProDOG prides itself in producing high acheivers. We also train dogs to meet special tactical applications. From Dual-Dog Hostage Resolution, to ultra effective Tracking (True Track) and scent detection, ProDOG exceeds the needs of a security or law enforcement professional working in a volatile and dangerous world

"We are not a sport dog training entity. We talk to clients every day that have spent a pocketful of cash on a Schutzhund or Ring Sport dog, thinking they have made a great investment in the safety and security of their family. The problem is, in the real world, sport dogs fail miserably. If you are hitting the street with a Schutzhund dog or a dog trained on a field with bitebar sleeves and colorful blinds, your worst nightmare will come true when the dog is pressed in a real life threat scenario." Says Thaddeus Stacy, Founder and Protection Group Trainer at ProDOG.

When we watch the yearly trials at ProDOG we see the truth in those words. Time and time again, sport dogs compete and compete well through the obedience and tracking phases. But when they are confronted with non-traditional threats such as a bush style blind spot ambush...they retreat and become alarmed and disoriented before they finally react. It is not a case of bad dogs, it is a case of shallow and inexperienced trainers. The question you have to ask is this....when my life, the life of a third person, the life of a loved one or the life of your K9 partner is placed in harms way, and our safety comes down to the decision of a drugged out perpetrator, or terrorist, will my dog react and react decisively to defeat the attack? [More]

More nformation on Protection Work

"This is really about detection and protection." says John Wright, Executive Protection Group - ProDOG "Whether the application is a police environment or a dog escorting a family on a weekend outing, the threat is the same, isn't it? Really the only difference is the tactical applications for the dog. In a personal protection or bodyguard application, we aren't necessarily looking for a dog that will chase someone three miles to use non-deadly force to make an arrest or apprehension. We are looking for a dog with the same level of threat discrimination, and the same degree of serious dedication to a mission, as a trained police dog, it is simply a different response in a personal protection scenario. In a real-world protection situation we are looking for handler protection...not apprehension. Everything else is pretty much the same."

In the old days, personal protection training was little more than basic alarm/threat work. In other words, a dog that would react aggressively in the hopes that the aggressive posture alone, would meet the threat and dissuade the attacker. That hasn't proved to be enough in today's society. Too many bad guys are savvy to the tactics and training of typical alarm/threat dogs. Even Police dog handlers are encountering more and more perpetrators who will openly challenge a dog with the belief that they can back the dog down when push comes to shove or worse, they have drugged themselves into believing that they are stronger and tougher than the dog. Then it is a matter of bite, not bark that will save you and your family from becoming someones victim.

In our lives, we may never need a serious dog. But every day that passes hatches a new brand of bad guy. The question here is, if that situation arises, do you want to watch as the bad guy defeats your dog and begins his foul mission of hate or hurt while you stand by unable to meet the threat?

More Information on Patrol Work

For the most part, law enforcement today looks to the sport dogs to meet the needs of modern law enforcement K9. The downfall of that training modality is that 90% of the trainers who are marketing and selling " trained police K9's" never train beyond the sleeve. That is to say, in Schutzhund, Mondio and even French Ring, the dogs target and are rewarded by capturing a piece of equipment called a bitebar sleeve. Ask yourself when was the last time a armed robbery suspect or home invasion perpetrator had a bitebar sleeve on as they fled the scene of the carnage?

"Yes. We train serious dogs" said Thaddeus Stacy, "We don't live in a Mayberry world where the biggest law enforcement challenge is a local storekeeper sweeping debris onto the public thouroughfare. We live in a world where our enemies fly airliners into skyscrapers. We live in a world where perpetrators break into your home and sexually assault then kill our family members. Crime and drugs have become a very different kind of threat. Our dogs need to be on the same page."

Police Officers who handle dogs tell us that their biggest fear is that there may be a situation out in the world, where the training of their K9 partner may not be sufficient to meet and defeat the threat. It is for those situations that ProDOG exists. Serious dogs, for serious threats.

COST: $3500

COST: $5500

ProDOG Protection Work

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What is a Protection Trained Dog?

What is a Patrol Trained Dog?