Family protection dog - Jenson

Family Protection Dog - Jenson

After a truly horrendous incident that took place a mere hundred or so yards from our home and began with my wife and thirteen year old son being pushed and taunted, and ended with my son being punched and my wife having her handbag stolen, I made a decision I'd never allow my family to be subjected to such violence and intimidation again.

I'd heard of the concept of "protection dogs" through a family member living in the States, and decided to investigate the situation over here in the UK. I didn't have a budget in mind - my first priority was a quality, well-trained dog capable of not only acting as a visual deterrent, but with the ability to protect my family and home, too

I searched the internet, put together a shortlist of potential companies, and then came across the website for K9 Protector. Three ex-police dog handlers/trainers with literally decades of hands-on experience between them at the very sharp end of dog training convinced me they should go straight to the top of our list! So after discussing things with the family I made the call and talked to Al Bly, the managing director of K9 Protector, for close to an hour. Through his extensive experience he seemed to completely understand our predicament, the turmoil we'd been through, all the hurt and frustration we'd felt, and then explained the role of a family protection dog and the difference it could make to our lives. I was extremely impressed by his calm reassurance and knowledge. By the end of the conversation I felt absolutely certain that if anything could make our problem disappear, it was one of his highly-trained dogs.

So we arranged to meet and four days later I flew down to Bristol Airport and was collected and driven to the K9 Protector offices in Melksham where I met Al. I was immediately impressed by how much thought and consideration he'd given to our problem since we'd spoken. Clearly both he and his team had “been there and done it” through their time with various police forces, but they were kind, considerate, incredibly reassuring and totally professional. I felt amongst friends and couldn’t wait to meet the dogs they felt could best solve the problem we faced. I met each of them - well-balanced, sociable and confident creatures, and then saw what they were capable of when faced with a threat. Their training was explained to me in detail - why some dogs were selected, why many were rejected, how courage and character were paramount, and how the dogs are trained in the most testing and varied environments in the same way they’d trained their police dogs.

After I returned home, and with the help of some videos I’d taken on the day, my family and I made a choice – a mid-sized male German Shepherd dog imported from Europe. We all travelled south together as a family for the two-day handover course and to be honest we were blown away by what we saw and experienced.

We were taken to fields, woods, houses and towns and learnt how to handle our new “Protector” in every possible environment. Nothing fazed the dog – he excelled in every situation.

Once home, he settled quickly. His obedience is exemplary (which is very important as my wife and son often handle him) but his presence and capability have meant that my wife and son feel truly protected whenever he’s around.

He’s a wonderful dog, confident, alert and honest, and I truly wouldn’t be without him. Thank you to everyone at K9 Protector!

Dr H Wyatt, Edinburgh