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Archive for April, 2009
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009
The relationship between you and your protection dog is mutually beneficial. Dogs have a strong desire to please their handler and true protection dogs also possess a natural desire to defend. In return, your dog is rewarded with the stable and balanced household that you provide as well as regular praise that lets the dog know he or she is making you happy. CCK9’s unique method of training focuses on this dynamic, therefore eliminating the need to use toys, tugs, or food as a reward (it also eliminates the use of shock collars and other unnecessary means of force).
 As handler and guardian, you are responsible for ensuring the optimal health of your protection dog; the diet you feed your dog is an integral part of providing a balanced environment. I’m often consulted regarding my opinion on which diet to choose. Hands down, I’m a fan of the excellent- but controversial-raw food diet. We feed all of our dogs at Command Control Canine LTD a diet that consists of at least 70-80% raw meat (beef, turkey, duck, venison, lamb). Egg is also a protein source. My preference is to switch the types of raw meat used every few days in order to vary the fat content as well as keep our dogs stimulated. Bones, fed raw and with some meat on it, are given several times a week. The other 20-30% of the diet consists of fruits and vegetables. Onions, mushrooms or tomatoes should not be used. When starting the diet, keep an eye on any gastrointestinal problems your dog may have and try to eliminate trigger foods. On top of this, I like to add in about 2000 mg of fish oil supplements.
When preparing the food, be sure to massage it with your hands in order to get your scent on it. It is just one more reminder that the leader is the supplier of the meal and serves to maintain the respect that the dog has for you. In the wild, wolf pack leaders will eat first and then the rest of the pack will finish. The pack is used to tasting the leader’s saliva on their food. For this reason one of our clients swears by spitting in her dog’s food daily. We don’t do it but it’s an interesting theory.
There is a lot of controversy surrounding the raw food diet. That the diet may not be balanced or increases the risk of introducing germs or infection tops the list. I have not had this experience but one tip I can offer is that I deep-freeze our meat for a period of time before thawing it for preparation. Also, we prepare large batches and freeze them until right before use. The benefits of the diet outweigh the risks and allow the dogs to eat a diet that they have been feeding on for billons of years.
There are commercial foods that attempt to mimic the raw food diet. For the most part, my suggestion is to create your own meals. It may cost slightly more than commercial dog food but your protection dog is a long-term investment. The dividends- the security of you and your family- are well worth the extra cost.
Tags: CCK9, CCK9 Facility, Dog nutrition, Protection Dogs, Raw Food Diet
Posted in Canine Health, CCK9, Command Control Canine Ltd, Nutrition, Protection Dogs | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009
St. Georges University, on the island of Grenada, is dedicated to providing top-notch security for the benefit of its students, employees and surrounding community. Rapid expansion of the campus combined with worldwide increases in crime and US Department of Education requirements spurred administrators to think outside of the box. After considering many options they opted to assemble a team consisting of eight highly trained and dedicated patrol officers combined with eight custom trained guard dogs. This decision turned out to be a complete success.
The staff in charge of implementing the program focused on five companies before deciding on Command Control K9 Ltd as the ideal provider of the eight dogs needed. Administrators had extremely specific requests and felt that CCK9 was best equipped to handle their requirements. All of the selected guard dogs had to be highly sociable and not pose a physical threat; all of them must serve to complement their handler. CCK9 was very happy to customize the canines to these exact specifications and supplied eight guard dogs that had been trained specifically in perimeter patrol. The K9 officers are now completely in control of any situation with the benefit of having a canine that is alert to any suspicious activity, will growl on command and serves as a visual deterrent. Perry Ahlgrimm, CEO of Command Control K9 Ltd, personally structured the intense two week training course as well as yearly maintenance courses. He continues to have an ongoing dialogue with St. Georges University.
Administrators at the university are pleased that CCK9 was able to provide dogs that met their very stringent criteria. If it weren’t for the versatile training methods employed by CCK9 the K9 unit would not be as successful as it is. They also appreciated Mr. Ahlgrimm’s professionalism, objective attitude and trustworthiness in addition to his superior training skills. In fact, Mr. Ahlgrimm was also consulted in screening potential K9 Unit security guards for the University.
CCK9 is proud to have provided a security solution to St. Georges University. They are dedicated to providing dogs custom tailored to a client’s situation and needs. Diligence, superior dogs, flexible training, attentive staff and a can-do attitude is what makes them a leader in the industry.
Tags: CCK9, German Shepherd, Grenada, Guard Dogs, K9 Patrol Unit, Perry Ahlgrimm, Protection Dogs, St. Georges University
Posted in Announcement, CCK9, Command Control Canine Ltd, German Shepherd, Guard Dogs, K9 Patrol Unit, Protection Dogs, St. Georges University, Training | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009
Springtime around the kennel is the most exciting time of the year. It means warmer temperatures and longer daylight hours. This translates to more time spent exercising and training our dogs, more hours practicing agility on the course and extended bite work time.
 Although we have an indoor training rink we prefer to work outside. Great weather also allows us to perform aquatic exercises. The dogs are deployed across the pond, engage the target suspect and are then commanded to release and return to the side of the handler. Giving our dogs challenges like this prepare them for any situation they may encounter in the real world.
Spring is also whelping season. Cindy, one of our top Belgian Malinois, just whelped five strong, dense pups. Our newest litter still has a few pups not reserved; please feel free to contact us with any questions.
Lastly, CCK9 has started a series of landscaping projects, including ingenious dens on the west side of our 105 acre state of the art facility.
We’ll keep you posted.
Tags: CCK9 Facility, German Shepherd, Guard Dogs, Protection Dogs
Posted in Announcement, CCK9, CCK9 Facility, Command Control Canine Ltd, German Shepherd, Protection Dogs, Training | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009
Five German Shepherd protection dogs are the newest additions to the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s office. They are “multi-purpose dogs” for the sheriff’s department, which can do drug sniffing, tracking, criminal apprehension, and search or rescue. The sheriff’s office already had two dogs in their K-9 division, but they were trained only for drug sniffing. If the sheriff’s office had to track a suspect or chase down a criminal, they had to call in dogs from other agencies. Those agencies obviously had to respond to their own calls first, so the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s office had to wait. Now, with five elite German Shepherd protection dogs, they have K-9 officers that can do it all. The drug-sniffing dogs are still on the force, and handle most of the drug and narcotics cases.
The dogs are technically four German Shepherd dogs and one Dutch Shepherd, named Balt, Jeager, Dibbs, Romo and Grimm, with Jeager being the odd one of the bunch. The officers assigned to each dog endured a four-week training course with the animals, and then took them home to be cared for as family pets. Each dog became a member of the family, and a constant companion for the officers. Like all elite protection dogs, the German Shepherds are trained to be gentle at home, but serious and dedicated while on the job.
Tags: CCK9, German Shepherd, Guard Dogs, K9 Patrol Unit, Police Dog, Protection Dogs
Posted in Announcement, CCK9, German Shepherd, K9 Patrol Unit, Protection Dogs | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009
 When it comes to protection dogs, most customers normally request a male dog. The military, law enforcement and clients seeking K9 security dogs overwhelmingly feel that males are the most physically imposing and effective visual deterrent. Therefore, the majority of dogs that I train are males in order to meet this demand. It is unfortunate, however, that the special attributes that a female brings to the table aren’t widely known. All in all, female protection dogs are extremely capable; they just have an image problem.
Marketing over the years has misaligned female dogs as weaker and less able to defend their handler. Nothing could be further from the truth! Once females have been introduced into their new family they almost always bond closer to their family than their male counterparts. More affectionate and less independent, watching over and protecting their owner is a much deeper emotional affair. The intensity of their bite, when in defense, is actually greater.
It has been my experience that female protection dogs are much easier to train and learn at a faster rate. They are adept at integrating into their new family and swiftly blend into any situation they are consigned to. They are fantastic at blending with family pets and children. Size really isn’t an issue since there are plenty of females that are physically formidable. Command Control K9 is able to provide any size or build that you desire, male or female.
One of my own personal protection dogs is a female. CCK9 produces exceptional dogs and Emma fits the CCK9 profile of everything an outstanding protection dog should be. Yet there is a certain ‘protective tension’ that can be felt when she is at my defense. Teeth bared, saliva, stiff stance, intense growling, just as spectacular as my male personal protection dog but with a slightly more hot-blooded twist. She’s a protection dog with the added benefit of being like an over protective mother all rolled into one.
So when you call us to talk about ownership of a protection dog, whether it be a German Shepherd, Belgian Malinois or Dutch Shepherd, please keep an open mind when considering gender. You’ll be very happy with one of our males but the benefits of the female canine should be recognized.
Tags: CCK9, CCK9 Facility, dog training, female Protection Dogs, German Shepherd, Personal Protection Dogs
Posted in CCK9 Facility, Command Control Canine Ltd, Family Safety, German Shepherd, Guard Dogs, Protection Dogs, Training | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009
All dogs are smart, but certain breeds are consistently at the head of the class. And German Shepherd puppies are one of them. PetMD recently released their list of the 10 Smartest Dogs, and to no surprise, the German Shepherd was number three on the list. The two breeds smarter than the German Shepherd were the Standard Poodle and Border Collie.
German Shepherds were ranked high for their intelligence, courage and dependability. They noted that German Shepherd dogs are easily trained and will obey commands the first time they are given. German Shepherds were originally bred to be intelligent, athletic herding animals, so they made the transition to guard dogs, police dogs and protection dogs quite easily. In fact, German Shepherd protection dogs are now used in countries and cultures around the globe.
Tags: German Shepherd, German Shepherd Puppies, Guard Dogs, Protection Dogs
Posted in German Shepherd, German Shepherd Puppies, Protection Dogs, Puppies, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009
The Belgian malinois litter was born March 20, 2009.
She had five big pups, 4 Male & 1 Female.
We still have 3 available, first pick, second pick, fifth pick.
They are all BIG, with large heads, great bone density.
Photo taken at 3 day of age.
The pups will be suitable for high end law enforcement, tactical military work, or top level personal protection dogs.
Tags: Belgian Malinois, Belgian Malinois Puppies, female Protection Dogs, Guard Dogs, Personal Protection Dogs, Protection Dogs
Posted in Announcement, Belgian Malinois, Belgian Malinois Puppies, CCK9, CCK9 Facility, Command Control Canine Ltd, Family Safety, Home Security, Protection Dogs, Puppies | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009
Keeping protection dogs and family pets healthy is always a top concern for owners. But what happens when our good intentions actually end up hurting our best friends? In a recent study at the University of Wisconsin, researchers found that vets and dog owners all over the country may be over-vaccinating dogs and causing health problems. Basically, in an effort to make their pets healthy, people may actually be making them sick.
Dr. Ronald Schultz, a pathobiological scientist at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine has been studying canine vaccines for nearly forty years. In his research, he has found that immunities can last an entire lifetime in canines. This means that quite possibly, people only need to vaccinate their dogs one time, instead of the yearly vaccinations that many family pets and protection dogs now receive.
The annual vaccinations are usually comprised of a single shot that includes vaccines for over 16 different canine diseases such as Lyme disease, parvovirus, distemper and more. The rabies shot is often given every three to five years, but Dr. Schultz’s findings also show that this may be over-vaccinating dogs as well. He has studied the antibody levels in dogs as they progress through their lifetimes, and his data has shown that the dogs retain their immunities to these diseases for many years, sometimes even until natural death.
Over-vaccinating dogs can lead to side effects like skin problems, allergic reactions and even autoimmune disease. Dr. Schultz’s research is becoming widely acknowledged by vets across the country, who are rethinking the annual schedule of vaccinations. His results could lead to cheaper vet visits and healthier pets and protection dogs.
Tags: Belgian Malinois, Belgian Malinois Puppies, Canine Health, Dutch Shepherd, Dutch Shepherd Puppies, German Shepherd, German Shepherd Puppies, Guard Dogs, Vaccination
Posted in Belgian Malinois, Canine Health, Dutch Shepherd, German Shepherd, Protection Dogs, Puppies, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009
Pit Bulls are of the most ferocious and toughest dog breeds in the world, so many people wonder why they aren’t used as elite protection dogs. Especially since they are so strong, agile, and aggressive. While its true that pit bulls are athletic dogs that can both inflict and withstand a lot of pain, they are simply too unpredictable to be trained as elite protection dogs.
There are many pit bulls that make great family pets and guard dogs. These dogs are lucky enough to have very caring owners who take the time to train and socialize them properly. However, more often than not, pit bulls are not trained and the animal reverts to its instinctive aggressive nature. Sometimes these untrained dogs attack neighbors, other animals, or even newborn infants.
Pit bulls were bred for centuries to be used in dog fighting and bull baiting, and only with extensive, proper training, can this tendency for violence be controlled. Unfortunately, many pit bull owners don’t bother with training, or even worse, they encourage the aggressive behavior. Pit bulls are found in animal shelters across the country because of lazy or uninformed owners.
Pit bulls do make excellent guard dogs, and can be used for basic protection of your home and property. Many pit bulls will instinctively attack an intruder, and the mere sight of a pit bull is often enough to scare away criminals. Some pit bulls can be even trained to attack on command, but the consistency of attack and release can be sketchy. Put simply, they are highly trainable, yet have been known to sometimes rebel. German Shepherd puppies and Belgian Malinois, on the other hand, are consistent, predictable, and make perfect elite protection dogs.
Tags: dog training, Guard Dogs, Pit Bull, Protection Dogs
Posted in Family Safety, Guard Dogs, Home Security, Training | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009
It happens all the time.
I’ll deliver a personal protection dog to a new family and we’ll conduct the multiple day training course. The deeper we get into the training the more excited the family gets regarding all of the special abilities their protection trained German Shepherd, Belgian Malinois or Dutch Shepherd possesses.
I understand the excitement since I have the pleasure of working with these very special canines everyday. Even after all these years I still get a rush from demonstrating our dog’s defensive abilities and unique skills.
Commonly, the enthusiasm over their new protection dog spills over and they want to tell everyone- and I mean everyone- about their security dog/alarm system/newest family member. The neighbors will hear about him, coworkers will learn about him, acquaintances may be treated to an impromptu demo.
Trust me, I get it. Protection dogs are like a human bodyguard in a dog suit, so amazing that you want to tell everyone about it. So at the end of the training course I generally address this issue to the family. True, there are a few people – those with regular contact such as trusted household staff or extended family members-that need to understand the seriousness of your security dog. However, I strongly advise against telling anyone outside of your immediate circle about the extensive education in defense your dog has received. It’s a complicated world and no one purchases a protection dog if they don’t have concerns over their personal safety. Just like you wouldn’t tell everyone that you have installed a new alarm system in your home or advertise that you carry pepper spray in your pocket during your morning jog, you lose a certain edge by not being discreet about your dog’s capabilities. While it’s true that a security dog is an effective deterrent in itself many violent crimes are committed by a person that the victim is acquainted with. Knowledge of your canine’s protectiveness will give them the advantage in strategizing their crime.
CCK9 takes privacy very seriously. It is for this reason that CCK9 employees never disclose the names or any other identifying information (including occupation) about our clients. We do provide references- as many as you like- but only with express permission from the client and only by giving a first name and cell phone number.
So, it is up to the owner how open they want to be about their canine companion’s unique training. But trust me when I say that we will maintain your confidentiality at all times.
Tags: Belgian Malinois, CCK9, Dutch Shepherd, Family Safety, German Shepherd, Home Security, Personal Protection Dogs, Protection Dogs
Posted in Belgian Malinois, CCK9, Dutch Shepherd, Family Safety, German Shepherd, German Shepherd Puppies, Guard Dogs, Home Security, Protection Dogs | No Comments »
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