My company trains $175,000 protection dogs
A company specializing in high-end protection dogs priced at $175,000 explains their rigorous training process, which spans two years and includes stability, obedience, and socialization. Dogs are delivered with personalized training and lifetime annual check-ins with the family. In 20 years of operation, only one dog has ever had to actively deploy its protection capabilities.
Summary
This transcript provides an inside look at a company that trains and sells elite protection dogs for $175,000. The business emphasizes that these animals are not traditional pets but rather highly trained assets meant primarily to serve as a deterrent, with physical protection capabilities available if ever truly needed. The trainer describes the work as an almost dance-like process, where everything is purposeful and deliberate to bring out the best in each dog.
The training curriculum focuses on three core pillars: stability, obedience, and socialization, with the goal of producing dogs that are excellent citizens in everyday life. Commands are taught in German, as illustrated by the example of 'sitz' meaning 'sit.' By the end of their approximately two-year training program, each dog has mastered around 20 commands.
Once training is complete, the company hand-delivers the dog to the client's home and provides five days of customized, bespoke training for the family. Within 45 days, the team returns to conduct protection-specific scenario training. Clients are contractually obligated to have annual check-ins with the company for the dog's entire working life, which is expected to be a minimum of 10 years. The company notes that in its 20 years of operation, only a single dog has ever had to deploy its protection skills — doing so to create distance and time for the family to reach safety.
Key Insights
- The trainer claims that in 20 years of business, only one dog has ever had to actively deploy its protection capabilities — specifically to create distance, space, and time for a family to reach safety.
- The company positions its dogs primarily as a deterrence asset, with physical protection being a secondary, last-resort capability that families invest in as a safeguard.
- Dogs are trained using German commands, such as 'sitz' for sit, and complete a roughly two-year training process in which they master approximately 20 commands.
- The company provides five days of bespoke, in-home training upon delivery and returns within 45 days to conduct protection scenario training specific to the client's environment.
- Clients are contractually required to engage with the company for annual visits for the entire working life of the dog, representing a minimum 10-year ongoing service relationship.
Topics
Transcript
[0:05] It's like almost like a dance with the dog to try to bring out the most out of them. Everything we do is very purposeful and specific for a reason. >> Good. Good. >> Families are investing in this asset as a deterrence first and foremost, but also to have the capabilities if, god forbid, that was ever necessary. In 20 years of being in business, one dog has had to deploy to create distance, space, and time for his family [0:35] to move to safety. Good out. Good job, buddy. >> So, really, what are we training the dogs in? First and foremost, stability, obedience, socialization. We're looking to create dogs that are good citizens. Nessie seats. So…
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