Protection Dog Blog by CPI

The Center for Canine Solutions (www.FunctionalResults.com)

2010-01-06T03:05:00Z

We have officially just launched our new website The Center for Canine Solutions at www.FunctionalResults.com.

The website promotes the work we do with family pets that are sent to us from around the United States and abroad.

The same level of complete off-leash control as we do with our CPI dogs. Except in this case it's with Cock-A-Poos, Dalmatians, Labs, Golden Retrievers and just about any other breed you can imagine!

Join Us on Facebook

2009-12-06T01:06:00Z

We have finally joined the masses by starting a Facebook page. It seems to be an excellent medium for informal videos and pictures, updates and an insider's look at CPI! You can become a "fan" at www.facebook.com/protectiondogs.

CPI in Next Weeks Episode of Steven Seagal: Lawman!

2009-12-04T16:38:00Z

The episode revolves around Steven adding Frankie, a male German Shepherd, to his household.

Frankie was originally imported for a long-term client Steve Ciasulli. It took us over a year to find a dog like Frankie for Steve. Tragically, Steve passed away unexpectedly. Although Steve had Frankie for just under a year before his passing, he had said if dogs could be soul mates Frankie was his!

Frankie has explosive aggression, a “hair trigger” and is very much like a handgun with the hammer cocked back and ready at a moments notice. This is the opposite of what the majority of our clients here at CPI are interested in purchasing. When Steve passed away Frankie was returned to us. There was only one person I could think of who was capable of handling Frankie, and that was Steven Seagal. I made the call to Steven, and he agreed to take Frankie.

We brought Frankie down to Steven’s house in New Orleans. At the time there was ongoing filming being done by A&E both while Steven was on patrol and off. We had three challenges: 1.) acclimate this extremely aggressive dog to Steven in a short period of time 2.) acclimate Frankie (extremely dog aggressive) to Steven’s other German Shepherd “Kar” 3.) and do so with camera men everywhere!

The two dogs working together was as expected, very problematic. They both fed off of each other’s aggression. There was no control. It looked like Great White Sharks in a feeding frenzy! By the end of ten days (second part of the show), it was beginning to come together.

Purchasing your First Protection Dog (Part 2)

2009-08-22T14:38:00Z

This is the second part of a video offering answers to questions asked by first time protection dog buyers.

http://protectiondogblog.com/2009/08/22/purchasing-your-first-protection-dog-part-3.aspx

Purchasing Your First Protection Dog (Part 1)

2009-08-22T14:12:00Z

For most people, purchasing their first protection dog is a very significant decision to make. If it happens to be their first pet, it’s an even greater decision.

This video is intended to answer commonly asked questions about first time ownership. The video is divided into two parts, each approximately four minutes in length.

http://protectiondogblog.com/2009/08/22/purchasing-your-first-protection-dog-part-2.aspx

New Video; New Website and New Blog!

2009-08-05T15:49:00Z

The last eight weeks have been the busiest in CPI’s history. Our deliveries have crisscrossed the United States (River View, FL; Camp Springs, MD; Easton, MD; Mechanicsville, MD; Ponce Inlet, FL; Elizabethtown, KY; Yreka, CA, Youngstown, OH; Fredericksburg, TX; Charlotte, NC; Bartonville, TX; Brunswick, ME; New Lenox, IL; Savannah, GA) as well as Mexico (Mexico City; Tehuacan).

This delivery schedule was in addition to our scheduled follow-up training, in-kennel training and receiving clients at our training facility.

In spite of our time constraints we have also managed to start three new projects. A new version of our website (www.ProtectionDogs.com), a video of CPI’s training being done by our staff (present videos are of clients with their dogs) as well as a new look and direction for the protection dog blog.

Now that the two sites are under development, and we enter a less hectic time (staff vacations), we will return to updating our present sites on a regular basis.

The Reputation of the Belgian Malinois in the United States

2009-05-21T00:26:00Z

The Belgian Malinois has in general developed a reputation in the United States as having “off the wall” energy, being a liability in social settings and prone to handler aggression.They are often referred to as “alligators on a leash” and “Malligators”. I recently learned of a colleague in another protection dog training center referring to them as “the poor man’s German Shepherd”. I believe in all of these cases, rightfully so! At least based on their understanding.

That reputation has been rightfully earned because most Belgian Malinois (95% +) are imported from Holland. In Holland the Belgian Malinois are bred for law enforcement, and are tremendous at it. They have incredible drive, extraordinary power and energy that enable them to work almost without stopping. They are the first choice of most in law enforcement as well as military around the world.

The Dutch are very pragmatic. Their dogs are not registered. The Dutch do not want a breed club deciding who gets bred, and who doesn’t. Nor do they want structure taken into consideration like it is with other breeds. They breed to the most powerful dog. Period. If the dog happens to be a Dutch Shepherd, so be it. Even an occasional Pit Bull, Bull Terrier and German Shepherd makes it into the melting pot of the Dutch program. They are three times more powerful then most German Shepherds for a fraction of the cost. The Dutch breeding program works. At least for law enforcement.

The Belgian Malinois in France are far different. They are bred for the French Ring Sport. A sport that we believe to be the most difficult in Europe. The dogs must be calm and under complete control while on the field for a forty-five minute examination. As in Holland, the French requirements dictate the types of dogs, and qualities, needed for breeding. The focus is calmness, power and a strong nervous system capable of doing battle with French decoys.

This make-up of the French bred Belgian Malinois enables a majority of them to live in the home with their owners. They are well balanced, and enjoy children, company and picnics just like any other family pet.

Of course there are exceptions to both rules. There are Dutch imported Belgian Malinois living in homes. My first Belgian Malinois happened to be one. There are high-energy French dogs as well. If we put the exceptions aside, the overall differences between the French and the Dutch dogs are considerable. It is such an extreme difference that it is almost like they are two different breeds.

The reputation is well deserved. Yes, you come home to your Dutch dog to find footprints on the ceiling. (That's only a slight exaggeration!) As for Canine Protection International (CPI), we will continue to recommend our French imported Belgian Malinois.

I think the picture of Caymus probably explains it best.

Another Layer of Security (an article appearing in a magazine for professional athletes)

2009-05-19T15:57:00Z

This article on home security was written by Hannon Deutsch for Moves Magazine. Although a magazine for professional athletes, the same concern for protecting home and family are shared by most people.

When you click on the picture of the article below it will download the .pdf file.

Song for CPI Video (The Joy You Bring)

2009-03-11T03:11:00Z

I asked a friend of mine Shaun Fischer if he could create a song for one of our videos. The video was to feature clients with their dogs, with the theme being love, devotion and the willingness to defend.

We decided that we didn’t want the lyrics to be specifically about dogs, but applicable. The song developed around the notion of chivalry, defense of king and queen, home and country.

To listen to the song click the link below.

The Joy You Bring

It has been a really fun project to work on. Thank you Shaun for all the effort. It’s greatly appreciated.

Steven Seagal: Lawman (with Kar, Frankie and Team CPI)

2009-03-07T13:47:00Z

Last summer we were invited by Steven Seagal to participate in his new reality show Steven Seagal: Lawman on A&E. The show is due out this spring. Our participation was delivering and acclimating Steven’s new dog “Frankie” with “Kar” who he had purchased from us a year earlier.

Kar is a solid black French import, extremely powerful in protection but a sweetheart in everyday life. Frankie on the other hand is a black and red German Shepherd with an attitude. I think the two dogs represents two sides of Steven.

For Frankie and Kar it was not

exactly a match made in heaven. It was the process of acclimating the two dogs to one another, and getting them to work together, that was captured on film for the show.

Kar and Frankie absolutely love Steven and his wife Elle. They travel with Steven and Elle wherever they go. When in Los Angeles they also live with "Hamlet" Steven's seven year old solid black male German Shepherd. A combination of training, Steven's twenty years of working with dogs and his natural feel for them keeps this unlikely pack in harmony.

Home Invasions: Deter, Detect and a Viable Defense

2009-03-05T00:46:33Z

Over the years we have worked hand-in-hand with professionals within the security field to create comprehensive security programs and protocols. These programs incorporate our highly trained protection dogs into a multi-layered security program. The number one concern with most of these clients is home invasion. This concern spans socio-economic backgrounds, profession or being in the public eye. What creates this concern for most people is education. The awareness of our vulnerability within our own homes.

Clearly economic instability is leading to a rise in crime, especially home invasions. An article in USA Today stated, “If you come home and find your home burglarized, it’s pretty much an insurance issue. But if they break into your house while you’re there and take you captive, it’s something you never recover from.” Let’s face it, most of us live in safe communities where it feels like we are far from the risk of harm. The reality is we are usually the most vulnerable in our homes. We are comfortable, off guard and cornered.

Our homes should really be the one place where we are the most safe. Most secure. If there is a threat we should have home court advantage.

The first step to securing home and family is to understand the specific risks, and potential responses.

There are two primary tactics used in home invasions, the first is a crime of opportunity. It is simply a matter of a person waiting for unsuspecting homeowners to arrive home. As the homeowner gets out of their car (driveway or garage) the attack takes place, usually from behind. The homeowner is then forced into their home. The second type of home invasion is a forced entry at a front or rear door. A common saying among professionals is “locks keep honest people out”. That is because of the construction of most doors, door frames and hardware (including locks) are incapable of withstanding a forced entry.

An alarm system alerts law enforcement to a break-in. That presupposes the alarm is on. Often home invasions take place when alarm systems are turned off (just after returning home or in the middle of the day). Even if the alarm is on there is a wait for law enforcement to arrive.

If we want to increase the safety and security of our homes and families, we need to deter potential invaders altogether. If one does take place the next critical piece is being safe and buying time until law enforcement arrives. Should these intruders be intent on not being stopped, a viable means of defense will be required.

There are many different layers of security available to address each of these specific levels of threats. There are specially built re-enforced doors, door frames, specialty hardware, laminates for glass (resist bullets and breaking); handguns and the tactical training to use them safely and effectively, safe rooms and the list goes on. A comprehensive security program can easily run into $200,000.00 or more.

Highly trained protection dogs, such as ours, provide multiple layers of protection that no other single system can provide. The first is a deterrent. Criminals consistently do not back down when faced with a gun. After all, tough guys get shot. That same person will not only back down from a protection dog but can do so without loosing face. No one wants to be attacked by a dog. The appearance of our dogs, as well as the way they carry themselves, clearly communicates this is not your typical dog. The message is clear: wrong home, wrong family!

As a deterrent, the dog must first be seen or heard. If the dog is not seen or heard, chances are the dog will see or hear them. A protection dog provides detection, your personal “early warning system”. Whether this be in your home during the night or in your garage as you get out of your vehicle, seconds matter.

Let’s say the threat is escalated and a home invasion is taking place. Your dog is with you on one side of your home. The entry takes place on the other side. The most essential action to take is creating distance between you and the threat. The next step is to buy time while waiting for law enforcement to arrive.

A highly trained protection from CPI includes an exercise called the “Secure”. This is an exercise unique to our company. On command the dog runs to your side. He or she remains by your side positioning himself or herself between you and the potential threat, all while showing aggression. The dog does this all while off-leash without the need for restraint. This enables you to move freely, including getting children together and positioning yourself in the safest place possible. Even the most incoherent person would typically be unwilling to walk into your dog’s radius while showing aggression.

As a last line of defense, if harm is imminent (the intruders are armed), then the dog is used to attack while you evacuate your home. Only once law enforcement has arrived will you take back control of your dog and stop the attack. Until then the dog is engaged in saving your life.

A highly trained protection dog is a valuable addition to any home and family security system. The fewer layers of security in place, the greater the importance and benefit of owning a highly trained protection dog.

Mark Smith Video (Interview; Footage of Obedience, Protection and Interacting with Family)

2009-03-04T23:00:00Z

We have just updated CPI’s website (www.ProtectionDogs.com) with a new video. The video is of Mark Smith and his new dog “Hammer”, a Belgian Malinois. It was filmed in early February at Mark’s home in Southern California.

Mark is a leader in the network marketing industry. When we first spoke I immediately thought of Amway. You know - coercing friends and family into buying things they really don’t want and a garage full of laundry detergent. After three days of watching Mark and his colleagues at work I soon learned that my impression was an outdated image of the industry. At least of Mark, his team and company.

Mark’s business is Pre-Paid Legal, a low cost pre-paid legal program much like purchasing health insurance only for legal services. As a successful business coach he has a lot of exposure. He is often sought out by magazines and television shows for interviews. Most include a lifestyle piece which ultimately expose his home and family to readers and viewers.

I remember Mark’s first call to us. Mark said “When I travel my wife is home taking care of our two children. I want to know, hands-down, my family is safe. Especially when their guard is down.”

The video shares his experience of Hammer, CPI staff and the delivery process. There is a lot of footage of Hammer in obedience, protection and interacting with the family. All taken during the first three days of owning Hammer.

To view the video Click Here.

Thank you Mark for now opening your home to our viewers. We really appreciate it.

Khaled Behisy - Director of Training (Background)

2009-02-27T21:44:00Z

My background is pharmacy. I’ve earned a degree in pharmacy (registered pharmacist) from Zagazig University just outside of Cairo in Egypt. I have been interested in animals the entire time I was growing up. We had a weekend home in the country where we had dogs, cats, rabbits, chickens, goats. You name it, we seemed to have at least one of them. I was always interested in dogs.

A vacation in Boston provided an opportunity for me to visit CPI. Little did I know John and Bogomil would have me in a bite suit the very first day. They both claimed I was a natural. I wasn’t convinced but it sure was fun. I extended my first stay to include the entire summer vacation. My new hobby was CPI!

I spent the following two years training in Boston whenever not in school in Egypt. The problem was while in Egypt trying to study all I would think about is Boston and training dogs. I needed a fix! Bad!!

A relative of mine worked in police work. They contacted the Egyptian K9 law enforcement center and arranged a visit. It wasn’t long before I was instructing them on how to improve performance in obedience, protection and even detection work. Keep in mind I had no previous experience with detection. I ended up taking a formal course in explosive detection while still in pharmacy school.

My involvement eventually led to the sale of dogs in Egypt for CPI. John visited and fell in love with our culture, especially the shisha (hookah) cafes. We ended up setting up a satellite facility to increase sales and expand into the Arab Gulf countries.

The decision was made to close the training center in Cairo when CPI opened its facility in the Czech Republic. Ahmed and “Little Moo”, Ian, Katherine, John and I moved the facility, including 12 dogs, from Cairo to Prague. I think we turned the airport upside down. It looked like an entire country was being relocated.

We all loved the Czech Republic, it was an amazing experience. I had already decided that Boston was my home. Boston is where I wanted to be. So did everyone else. We finished getting the kennel set up, turned it over to Jirka and we returned home.

At this point I am the senior most trainer at CPI. It’s interesting to have been a part of CPI over the last ten years. Many parts of our training program John and I developed together. We’ve always all learned from one another as we do today.

John H. Whittaker (Managing Director) - Background

2009-02-27T21:43:00Z

My background is very simple - dogs. The obsession started at fourteen when I visited K9 Command Dogs in New York City followed by Federal Guard Dogs in North Smithfield, R.I.

The owner of Federal Guard Dogs, Gene Corcini, had been an innovator who was ahead of his time in the field of protection dogs. As Gene’s facility was local to me I began to more or less badger him for a job. One that I was far too young to be given. At fifteen Gene finally gave me the job in hopes of getting rid of me. Instead I became more obsessed, especially of Gene’s favorite: the Rottweiler. As they say, the rest is history.

I was introduced to the sport of Schutzhund, with my first trial being the DVG National Schutzhund Championship. Tom Rose won the championship and it was really inspiring. I joined a local Schutzhund club (Ocean State Schutzhund Club) where I titled my first dog. At the time the Training Director was David Wood. Although not a professional trainer, Dave was extremely talented. He had a thorough understanding of dog behavior and performance training. It provided a great foundation for which I am still appreciative and draw upon.

This was followed by working with Rick Francis in Orlando, at the time a “Schutzhund personaility”. This eventually led to Edgar Kaltenbach in Germany. By that time I was already becoming interested in the more difficult dog sports of French and Belgian Ring and KNPV. Even with these more difficult dog sports it was clear: dog sports prepare a dog for dog sports. Perhaps because of my introduction to dogs being protection dogs my interest was in functional protection. The problem was that outside of dog sports performance was extremely poor, including even the national police dog championships.

I decided to apprentice under Paul Theissen, the Chief Judge of the DVG in America (national Schutzhund organization) and owner of a police dog center. Paul was from Germany and had been involved with Schutzhund all his life. He was one of the first people I found to be bringing performance training to police dog and personal protection training. Paul was old school in a lot of ways, as well as hard core. We worked exclusively with the KNPV suit (I think the design hasn’t changed in 50 years!) in the hot Florida sun hour after hour. To this day I’m not sure how I survived.

It was really the training of Armin Zirm in Germany that had the greatest influence. Armin drew heavily on Schutzhund for precision obedience, French Ring for decoy work and German K9 law enforcement for functionality. He developed a program of training that drew enough attention in Germany that he was awarded all of the Mercedes and BMW security dog contracts.

Over time contact with elite police dog units in Germany, work with professionals in the field of executive protection, innovative trainers in Europe (such as Dany Maison in France) and eventually my own staff would contribute to what has become CPI’s advanced training programs.

Ultimately it is the correct understanding of dog behavior that training techniques must be built upon. That combined with the ability to think “outside of the box” is at the heart of everything we do at CPI.

CPI Website (www.ProtectionDogs.com)

2009-02-26T12:56:00Z

Thank you for visiting CPI Unplugged! Please do visit CPI Unplugged's sister website www.ProtectionDogs.com. The website is designed to be informative, has photos of many of the dogs we have available as well as videos of dogs in both obedience and protection.