# want the best of the best in palm beach area



## iphunt3r (Oct 29, 2011)

hey there guys, ive had some of the best dog trainers for my dogs in the past and none have impressed me enough to return to them! not even the great Ivan in Tampa! paid him over 5K and got back a scared peeing dog! lol my question is that i want the BEST gsd or just dog trainer possible in my area! i want to teach him almost everything in protection. mostly to protect my 19month old daughter at all times and costs! i don't him to let ANYONE near her unless its me or the mom! my pup is 11 months old and is VERY aggressive cause of a good friend of mine is a k9 cop and we have taught him all the off-leash stuff and some watch commands but missing bite work and other protection stuff. 

bottom line, who do you guys recommend in the south florida/palm beach area?


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Are you not planning on hiring baby sitters? Or letting your parents or other family members hold the baby? Or is your plan to lock up the dog when the baby's grandparents want to hold her? 


You have a VERY aggressive 11 month old German Shepherd and a 19 month old baby. End well this will not.


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## gsdraven (Jul 8, 2009)

I recommend a really good lawyer on retainer.


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## iphunt3r (Oct 29, 2011)

well as long as me or my wife are around any1 can get her but im saying in a case where shes alone or we are outside working on the yard and some guy approaches the house. but anyways whats a good trainer in this area? and what u mean a lawyer? what does 1 have to do with getting a lawyer??


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## Twyla (Sep 18, 2011)

iphunt3r said:


> and what u mean a lawyer? what does 1 have to do with getting a lawyer??


You have a very aggressive 11 month old GSD - your words. You have a lawsuit waiting to happen and at the same time you are going to be fighting for your dog's life.


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## iphunt3r (Oct 29, 2011)

im sitting on 3 acres of land , him biting some1 is the least of my worries. you guys keep missing the point! im looking for a DOG TRAINER


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## zyppi (Jun 2, 2006)

You expecting someone to take an 11 month old pup and turn him into Cujo?

You're looking for trouble and it will probably backfire on you, or heaven help her, your little girl.

Concentrate on having the pup bond with the child - and you, and he'll protect what's his.

No dog can protect you or your child from someone intent on harm - they can't run through bullets.

Your child shouldn't be out playing without your supervision anyway.

PS - hope this is all your idea of a joke!


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## JKlatsky (Apr 21, 2007)

First. I think we have to remember that Lassie and Rin-tin-tin are fictional characters. Yes, dogs are amazing animals that do amazing things for the people they bond with, but realistically expecting a very young dog to babysit your toddler and tell friend from foe is just plain silly. Additionally at 11 months old a dog is still a puppy. And if it is in fact VERY aggressive, it's probably from an unconfident place. K9 handlers (no offense to law enforcement) are almost never regarded as quality dog trainers since they rarely understand what they are doing. 

Second. I suppose if I had this problem I would look at Phil Hoelcher.


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## BlackPuppy (Mar 29, 2007)

German Shepherds have a natural protective instinct. If they are properly socialized, they will know the bad people from the good people. I've been on this group many years and there are always stories that illustrate the amazing intuition these dogs have. 

Sorry, but I wouldn't let a K9 handler "train" my dogs. I've been to a few professional trainers and the only one that actually helped me was Ivan. BUT, I do my own training. I would never send my dog away to a training boot camp. If you want to know why, do a search here.


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## iphunt3r (Oct 29, 2011)

hes already very protective of her, hes always with her 24/7 even sleeps in her room. she cries he cries, she drops her toy he will pick it up and put it in a corner for her. he comes from a 5th gen pure breed with papers and all active police K9 mom and dad. this dog is mint! was a gift from a good friend of mine whos lead k9 cop here in south fl. and what i want done can be done! its already been shown to me but the guy who does that kind of training died in a motorcycle accident a few months ago when a truck didnt see him and ran him over. 

so lets forget the daughter part and the aggressive part etc, whats a good trainer for protection work? from what i take from this forum STAY AWAY FROM k9 trainers lol i got that

what else?


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Your dog, if peeing all over himself, is not aggressive, he's scared out of his mind. You are ruining the dog by trying to train a soft dog in a hard way.
Just work on undoing the damage caused by your sending him to crappy trainers.
He'll be protective out of love for his family.


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## cowboy17 (Sep 26, 2011)

Your 5K trainer agitated a dog that was less than 12-18 months old?
Not wise. Mental maturity hasn't been reached yet. It is not ready for this yet.

Bond and engagement is what you need. Picking up toys and sleeping in the room is not, nor does it develop bond.

Does your dog look at you? Is it's attention on you all the time?
Who's the handler? You or your daughter?

Have you done reading on IPO, PPD or Schutzhund?
Visited or looked for a club? 

Go back to the basics. 
Help your dog rebuld it's confidence. eg. Play tug and ALWAYS let it win.

It's not that hard to get a dog to bark and bite. It's a lot harder to get it to let go and recognize the difference between hostile vermin and good people..
The dog needs to be mature before any of this can go on.
Also, your dog may just be too soft for this kind of "work"

Just in case you were going to try it yourself, agitating your dog to open up protective instincts, develop bite etc, is NOT to be done by the handler. Last thing you want is that dog hating on you.

It can go wrong really quickly if not done correctly.
Be careful, do your research and know fully what you are getting into and what both the pro's and con's are before you end up with a really bad situation with your young child.

There is a ton of useful information on this site, and many very helpful people. I wish you well in your journey.


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## iphunt3r (Oct 29, 2011)

no no no, this is a brandnew pup! the other dog that was peeing him self is long dead! i havent sent him away anywhere just yet! 

u guys stop reading at a certin point. 

let me see how i can phrase this;

I'M LOOKING FOR A NEW DOG TRAINER FOR MY NEW PUPPY WHOS HAD SOME ADVANCED OFF LEASH TRAINING FROM A K9 COP. LOOKING TO DO PROTECTION WORK WITH HIM

hope that is clear enough


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Perhaps the meaning was lost in translation, due to poor sentence structure (I re-read your first post).

I have no idea. But your desire to "protection train" a puppy to guard your child is bizarre at best. A GSD will naturally protect his family out of love and devotion to that family.

The best thing you can do is obedience train him and love him and he'll be there when you (or your child) need him.


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## cowboy17 (Sep 26, 2011)

oh....

In that case, the new dog trainer is you.


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## DunRingill (Dec 28, 2007)

Do you have a pedigree you can post? Just because I love looking at pedigrees....

As to the trainer....it's really hard for me to give you advice in this area. I don't send my dogs out for training, I prefer to be directly involved. Plus 11 months is rather young for the type of training you are asking about.

REALLY, you don't think Ivan is a good trainer?? 

What does "good trainer" mean to you? How do you define that?


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Maybe you should join a Schutzhund or PSA club.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

iphunt3r said:


> u guys stop reading at a certin point.


No, the problem is that you never made it clear in your original post that the dog you sent away for training and got back scared and peeing wasn't the same dog you have now that you're looking for a trainer for. 

JKlatsky, who is in your area, suggested Phil Hoelcher. Have you contacted him?

Or as Emoore suggested, look for a Schutzhund or PSA club near you.


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## wolfstraum (May 2, 2003)

You post something on a discussion board- it gets discussed.....giving out answers without qualification on an inquiry is rarely done....discussions take on their own life and go off on many tangents.

Agree with others, you want to make this dog into a weapon, then you better have **** good insurance and a lawyer and be prepared to have a hysterical child if the dog DOES bite someone and your insurance company demands he be euthanized.

Lee


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## Twyla (Sep 18, 2011)

iphunt3r said:


> my pup is 11 months old and is VERY aggressive cause of a good friend of mine is a k9 cop and we have taught him all the off-leash stuff and some watch commands but missing bite work and other protection stuff.


How about starting this over.

Please define what you mean by 'VERY aggressive'. What does he do that makes you say he is very aggressive? 

Honestly, the fact that this is a 11 month old puppy that you state is very aggressive is a huge red flag. I'm not a pro, nor have anywhere near the experience as so many others on this forum but what I do have is an aggressive 13 month old pup. He 'may' be able to protect me, but my job is to make sure I don't put him in a situation that would happen and protect him. 

Your next step should actually be to have your pup evaluated by a trainer specializing in aggression, then make future decisions based on that.

If you choose to skip that, and move forward with the training you are asking about, then yes, retain a lawyer. And not leave the baby alone with the pup, no matter the bond you feel is forming between them. 

Congratulations on the training that you have accomplished with him. That will serve you and him well regardless of the direction you decide to take him in.


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## zyppi (Jun 2, 2006)

Ok, new pup?

Start the right way with this guy.

Find a trainer who will work with you. Don't send the pup off, you need training on how to train your pup.

I just moved from Palm Beach County two years ago. There are a couple there, but wouldn't touch one that says they can train your dog to attack with a ten foot pole.

Just the sight of a GSD is enough to rattle almost all would be evil doers.

If this pup is happy and bonded to you and yours, your only problem will be keeping him from becoming too protective.

Sound backwards? Get to know the breed a little better!

I lived on a large piece of property when my children were small and the GSD I had then was raised with love an basic obedience only. He would, however, let no stranger near my children or their friends.

My current twosome just cornered some workmen ( they came in the back door) in the kitchen. They simply backed the poor fellows up against the cabinets and held them there... silently staring at them. I didn't notice until they'd been held there until I walked through the kitchen and saw what was going on. The men were afraid to move or call out.

And no, they've had no 'protection' training.

IMHO, you're lacking the understanding that this breed has been bred to guard and defend. The worse thing you can do is let that instinct get out of control.

Have fun with the pup, bond with him, teach him basic manners and let him mature.

Don't know his pedigree, but some lines, males especially, don't really mature until they're 24 months old.


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## iphunt3r (Oct 29, 2011)

ok, let me start all over

I have a 10 month old pup whos trained off leash and some basic "watch" and "go get him" commands. when i said aggressive i meant VERY determined to work hard at what ever i tset him out to do. this pup is super smart and loves working. 

i want to teach him more protection work, something like bark on command and maybe a "show teeth" trick. i would also like to do some bite work with him just so he knows all of his available weapons if he ever has to use them. i would also like to teach him how to jump over fences if that were ever the case.

I LOVE to work with a trainer hand and hand. thats 1 thing i didnt like about Ivan. i dont want to send him off to anywhere. all the training he has thus far was done here at home or at the park with my K9 cop buddy. I even had the Sheriff's office come to my house and ask if they could use my dog for breeding. 

my goal is to have an advanced trained dog who will most of all protect my family.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Never heard of a Sheriff's department that had their own breeding program, must be fairly new.

Is there a PSA club in your area?


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