Meet man’s best friend
People are increasingly welcoming family-protection dogs into their homes, says expert training company K9protector
MOST people lead very busy lives and rarely think about home or personal security— until an incident provokes them to do so. In the past 10 years, the team at K9protector has seen not only an increase in customers investing in their family’s safety, but also customers being proactive and investing to prevent incidents, rather than acting ‘after the horse has bolted’.
K9protector has a team of experienced staff who are former Home Office, police and civilian trainers. In the past decade, they have supplied more than 320 highly trained family pets into homes all over the UK, as well as abroad.
The dogs supplied by K9protector integrate seamlessly into family life and live with you as your family pet. However, as CEO Alaster Bly explains, they are very
much a ‘pet with a tool kit built in’. This tool kit is the ability to react when commanded and, sometimes, when not to fearlessly defend those in their charge.
All family-protection dogs go through a rigorous testing and training regime, from breeding, selection and socialisation through to training. Those that complete the programme are then available to be purchased as family-protection dogs. The training process takes roughly two years and involves periods of observations within family situations, with children and other household pets.
People from all walks of life invest in a family-protection dog, from people in the public eye to those with a general concern about crime. They might be anywhere from 21 to 81 years of age—there really is only one determining factor, which is their concern about the impact of crime on their lives and the desire to be proactive in preventing the worst-case scenario.
A recent customer, LADY VG, from Suffolk, describes her recent experience: ‘I found Alaster’s website while researching personal protection dogs—k9protector came up with photos of different dogs,
Owning a familyprotection dog gives you great peace of mind and a family member that loves you
all fully trained to a high standard. The dog I chose stood out as a beautiful and noble creature and, when I finally met him down at K9, it was love at first sight. I could also tell that he was more than a bit of a favourite of Alaster’s and the team and I wondered if I and my home would be good enough to take such a prized dog.
‘A month later, the handover and owner training was scheduled. I was extremely nervous that I might not be good at it and the dog might not settle. However, I should not have worried. Alaster and his assistant came for a couple of days so that I and four of my members of staff were instructed with extreme care, good humour and patience and, within a matter of hours, we were all comfortable and confident to be able—if needed—to give the dog his task. Apart from that, on an everyday basis, the dog is a joy—we all adore him and he us. In fact, so impressed were we that we have taken another dog from K9, a female dog, and they make a perfect pair.
‘One can immediately tell these dogs have been trained with kindness and patience. They are so well adjusted and make a lovely addition to our family. I feel completely safe and secure in the knowledge that both dogs would immediately respond to my order to dissuade an intruder with extreme prejudice if required to do so. I cannot recommend Alaster and his team too highly.’
CEO and head trainer Alaster elaborates: ‘I first started the business 10 years ago, after seeing the development of personalprotection dogs in America. At the time, I was serving as a police constable and dog handler in Wiltshire Police.
‘I am very proud of what we do here— we train family-protection dogs to the highest standards. We have seen the business grow and it has enabled us to expand the breeding programme and have a dedicated training centre.
‘Owning a family-protection dog gives great peace of mind and a family member that loves you and will place itself in harm’s way if required. Every fully trained dog comes with a comprehensive handover package, where the new owners are trained for two or three days on how to handle their new family member and how to care for him or her.’
For further information, please visit www.k9protector.co.uk