Family Protection Dog Philosophy
K9philosophy is based out of the greater Houston Tx area. K9Philosophy is a franchise of FortressK9.com (that operates out of the Orlando Fl area). I am in constant communication with Joel, who runs FortressK9, and I am always learning and always trying to level up and to give my clients the most possible value from their interactions with me.
The only way I would have gotten involved in dog training in the first place is if the person I’d be learning from had a strong philosophy and if they took a real hard look at pairing together the expected outcome with the right type of training, which is something that almost ALL of the tactical training world gets wrong in some way or another.
Some of our philosophy, which comes from FortressK9:
Consistency
I believe that ALL people are blind to many of their own faults. Clients often don’t realize that they are being inconsistent with their dogs. They act in accordance with strong and healthy boundaries on the training field and then they relax those boundaries at home or in between training sessions. Our training is specifically for working dogs; dogs that will be in public, in high stress situations, dogs that have to have a zero tolerance for unprovoked aggression; our dogs LIVE under obedience - which means that WE (the handlers) must always be consistent with our commands, our boundaries, and our expectations with our dogs. This HELPS our dogs not be confused as to when they are supposed to be “working” and whey they get to decide that they are not in the mood.
Clients often ask “Oh no! A dog that is always under obedience? But when do you ever pet or play with your dog?”. K9Philosophy has several answers to that. I give my dog treats and appropriate toys whenever I feel like it, and unlike other types of training, my dog does not have to “perform” to receive treats or chew toys. We just give our dogs affection, and toys, and treats, whenever we feel like sharing with our dogs; but we do so on OUR terms (the handlers).
And because we are always consistent with our dogs (or we try our best to strive for that) our dogs are healthier, happier, and safer with us. A dog that DOESN’T know what to expect from their handler (someone inconsistent) can lead to an unhappy, unfulfilled, and anxious dog that does not perform well under stress.
One Direction One Correction
Because our training is focused on producing high-quality working dogs, we make sure to teach our dogs that when the handler gives a command it is not a request or a suggestion. “We call them commands for a reason - we don’t call them requests” - Joel Ryals. Again, an obedient dog is absolutely a happy dog; a dog that knows what is expected of it, a dog that has strong health boundaries and a dog that wants to make its handler happy; a dog that understands HOW to make their handler happy; and a dog that stops on command when their handler sees it running out into traffic, as opposed to a dog that thinks that “WAIT!” is a suggestion.
Master Yourself - Then Your Dog
Before you can expect your dog to perform consistently at a high level, take a very honest look at yourself. If you are unwilling to put in the time and the effort, your dog will respond in kind. You must be disciplined, you must be able to control your mind and your body - and to a large degree your emotions, all before you expect your dog to do the same.
Part of my job here at K9Philosophy is to fire clients before I allow them to waste their time and money on my training. This is a GOOD thing for both parties. I must be able to be blunt and openly honest with my clients and I must be able to tell them, without hesitation “Your dog is failing because you have failed them”. Many people just want to spend money for a “magic pill” and to have their dog problems “solved” for them. I am not in that business. Although I am in the dog-world, I teach and train PEOPLE, and as such, I am doing a disservice by accepting clients that I have to lie to, or treat like children. I try my best to be polite and respectful, but I also MUST be open and honest with my clients, including speaking directly to their weaknesses - so that we can fill the world with more high quality people and high quality dogs.
Real Stress Required
Not only does high-quality dog training require “stress”, it requires the right TYPE of stress. We should be asking very hard questions, we should be looking out for “training scars”, we should be pairing our expected mission with our types of training, at all costs.
In the same way that standing at an indoor shooting range and shooting paper at a slow rate of fire would never be considered “COMBAT TRAINING” by anyone worth their salt, K9 protection training where the clients are not under stress & the dog does not actively “fight” a human threat but just bites-and-holds, is also not a proper and prudent form of “combat preparedness”.
The most REAL stress that we can provide to our clients should LOOK AND FEEL like combat. It should not look and feel like a fucking party trick “Oh put this suit on and watch how perfectly my dog will target your bicep and hang on”.
Understand and Implement the 3 Forms of Communication With Your Dog.
Handlers can communicate to their dogs in many ways. I can speak a command to my dog; I can give a gesture to my dog, or I can use lead direction (lead = leash) to get my dog to perform a certain task a certain way. When all three methods are used correctly, together, you have very strong communication lines with your dog and your dog has a very clear expectation of how they should perform for you.
You can also separate these types of communication by paring any two together, or sometimes just using one type of communication at a time. We will spend a lot of time in training making sure that you and your dog have a wide variety of options for how you can be communicating effectively with your dog.
You Are Responsible for Everything Your Dog Does, and Fails to Do.
This is not just a tool that allows us to yell at handlers when they or their dog makes a mistake. This is a two-pronged tool used to identify weaknesses that need worked on, and it’s used to CELEBRATE successes for the handler/dog pair.
We can also use this tool to give insight to handlers, meaning: If you have identified an action or inaction that your dog has shown that you do not approve of, then knowing that handlers are RESPONSIBLE for their dogs actions means that they must now be aware that they have the ABILITY to change those actions or inactions of their dog.
Every single time I have seen a problem in my personal dog, and I have decided to PUT IN THE TIME to fix it, 100% of the time the problem gets fixed. Period.
You can complain about your dog’s actions or you can identify those actions and put in the work to fix it; not both.
Dogs Are Not Humans - Humans Are Not Dogs
If a person treats another person like a dog, this would be seen as a true insult. Why then, do so many people treat their dogs like the dogs are human? This is not okay either. Humans are humans, dogs are dogs. While we can list several things that make human action and dog action similar - we are two distinct and separate species.
Dogs, too, are aware that humans are not dogs. We therefore do not subscribe to the “Alpha Dog” training philosophy. There is no need for us to tell humans that they should act like a leading-dog because…HUMANS ARE NOT DOGS.
The BEST way for us to honor our dogs, is to treat them like the things that they are…dogs. We do not abuse our dogs, we do not act dismissively towards our dogs, we honor them and we ask them to perform at their best ability the things that make them unique - their dogness.
We Give Our Dogs Freedom Slowly and Take it Away Quickly
This is one of the best reminders and best methods for securing long term, strong, smart boundaries with the dog/handler combo. When you realize that your dog has acted out and has taken advantage of their “freedom”, this is a tool to help you quickly and effectively re-establish your boundaries so that your dog can continue to operate within the rulebook that you are providing them.
Dogs are Not Machines and Are Not Perfect, Neither are We
We must be patient with our dogs, and with ourselves. We are both creatures of this Earth and are fallible to one extent or another. Expecting your well-trained working dog to act like a perfectly honed machine may work for a limited amount of time but it will be surely setting both the handler and dog up for a SEVERE failure.
The most highly specialized humans make mistakes, so do the most obedient and rigidly trained dogs on the planet.
We strive for perfection but we also understand the living breathing conditions that we are blessed with, for both us, and our k9 companions.
We Regard the Lives of Our Dogs, Completely
Many people make the mistake of thinking that they are being kind when they are actually being cruel. People may think they are being kind by continuing to bring a weak dog into high-level protection work when in reality they are being cruel by setting up a very clearly identifiable situation for failure. Governments take money from those that are producers and they give some of that money to those who simply refuse to take accountability for their own laziness which prolongs the laziness and also otherwise takes the wealth from producers that they could have used for actual well placed charity. And in many cases we allow reckless liberty in our dogs, only to have them harm another person and/or cause the injury or death of another innocent person or animal.
Regarding the life of your dog does not mean that they get to sit at the table and eat like a human, it means that we must properly lead our dogs in life. We keep our dogs healthy, we give our dogs clear boundaries and expectations, and we carry the burden of care for our dogs, always.
Watching your dog break a clear boundary by allowing them to make eye contact with you, and them slowly inching towards food that they KNOW they shouldn’t be eating, and then to say “oh well” and allowing them to break that boundary, may seem “nice” in the way that we’re letting them relax and enjoy life a little but it is in fact very sinister. Dogs with strong boundaries are happier because of the clarity of expectations, they can also be called off of a violent threat when that threat surrenders mid-deployment of your k9, specifically BECAUSE of the strong boundaries that you keep. Don’t feel bad for your dogs when enforcing your boundaries. You are LEADING your dog, not worshiping your dog.
We Must Integrate Our Dogs - From the Mundane to the Insane
The more your dog is with you, the better your relationship with them will be; especially for protection dogs.
If you are doing paperwork, your dog should be laying by your side. If you are traveling, your dog should be traveling politely with you. When you are at the range, your dog should be at the range with you.
Your protection dog can not protect you when they are not with you. Your dog will also be behaving better the more they are with you because of the stronger bond and because of the long-term consistent boundaries and expectations (both mundane and insane) that you are providing.
Discovering Something Your Dog is Averse to Means We Do More of it, Not Less.
In almost every single conversation I have with dog owners, more than 90% of them will say, during the conversation, “My dog just doesn’t do well with [pick a topic]”. Sometimes, when I am asked for my advice, I ask the owners “If your dog lived with me for a week or two, and I gave your dog back to you at the end, do you think your dog would have the exact same attitude towards [pick a topic] or do you think they would be much less averse to it and much better behaved?” This usually results in “Well… yes, but” meaning that owners are aware that there are solutions to the problem, they just don’t want to do it.
When YOU (a responsible handler) notice that there is something that your dog is averse to (doorways, lightning/thunder, other animals, visitors) you have two choices: be cruel to your dog by not allowing their growth - and babying them, or; taking the step of leadership and smartly and reasonably doing much more of the thing that your dog is averse to - thus making a stronger bond between you and your dog, and building up the confidence and the ability of your dog.
.
Thank you for checking out K9Philosophy, I really truly do love working with people and with dogs. It is one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever been involved in and I will be working with dogs until the day that I die. I am very happy, too, with the leadership and mentorship of Joel from FortressK9, where almost all of the philosophy above comes from.
At K9Philosophy, we offer in-person training just west of Houston Tx, in the Magnolia Tx area, and we offer live 1-on-1 video training with clients anywhere where our clients have internet access. Please set up a consult call with us to first see if our training is right for you, and lets get you some immediate results with you and your dog - or even before you purchase your first working dog.
Thank you.
-Pat Watson
Owner/Operator of K9Philosophy.com