When clients began sending us their dogs from Europe, it was somewhat surreal: Americans training European dogs for Europeans. As we began to understand why, it made perfect sense. We were providing something most other centers weren’t. Most training centers in North America and Europe use the same approach: dog sport training.
There are centers that outright sell Schutzhund and Ring Sport training as “protection training.” Others attempt to make sport training look like “real-life,” but clearly it’s still sport. No matter what it’s called, sport training prepares a dog for just one thing: dog sports. The obedience may be precise, but sport dogs are trained to perform for short periods in a controlled environment. Furthermore their protection training is done solely with a decoy who wears training equipment (bite suit or sleeve) and who makes very specific gestures. That scenario is unlikely to be replicated by any potential real-life threat.
We do want to make very clear that in our opinion there is nothing wrong with dog sports. We have had, and continue to have, members of our staff involved with them. At the same time, we aware that sport training is sport training, while functional training is functional training. It is possible to cross-train some dogs for both, but usually at the expense of performance in either area.
What it really comes down to can be summed up in two words: functional results. You could call it our “mantra.” The functional results begin with impeccable manners and complete off-leash control and end with skills within protection that are essential in protecting home and family. Those skills include advanced biting skills, advanced fighting skills and advanced handler protection exercises.
We offer three training programs starting with our CPI Obedience program. We then add basic protection skills to our CPI Obedience program which creates our Executive Protection Dog program. Which leaves our most advanced training, our Elite Family and Estate Protection Dog program. All of our training programs include personal instruction. We do offer in-home handling instruction to clients throughout the United States and abroad for an additional fee.