Protection Dog Bender Courtesy of Patriot K-9 Services Inc

This is one of the best protection dogs for sale we
have had.  A great friend when not working and he's
truly fearless.

All our protection dogs are trained while under gunfire.  European bred and imported from the
finest working dog lines in the world.  We offer unparalleled training, experience, and a 100%
satisfaction guarantee.

Meet Hero Dog Remy

Remy is a Dutch Shepherd that at two years old came to Patriot K-9 Services in north Texas to be trained with other explosive detection dogs, with additional duty as a patrol dog. From the very beginning Remy was an enthusiastic trainee that relished finding explosives so he could be rewarded by getting to play with his toy the trainer would throw for him. He loved his job and would later prove his value as he excelled at training to include protection dog training. He was desensitized during his weeks in training to gun fire and explosions he might expect while doing his job. The noise of the explosions actually seemed to increase his desire to work. In addition to training required of him to be able to find explosives, he underwent training to protect his handler and apprehend a fleeing suspect if necessary.

After months of constant drills at finding different explosives hidden in cars, building, suitcases, and even on people, Remy was deemed extremely efficient at finding explosives and was ready to prove his worth on the new war on terror raging in Afghanistan.

As he completed his training an urgent request for explosive detection dogs teams that could deploy to Afghanistan came to Patriot K-9 Services. Remy was going to be deployed.

A Patriot K-9 Services team on entry point security

New Kids on the Block

To meet the urgent request for dog teams coming from the Army, Remy was driven to DFW Airport and put on a commercial flight to Frankfurt Germany with his handler. After arrival in Frankfurt the pair spent several days at the hotel resting up after their long airplane ride. Within days the team made the 40 mile trip to Ramstein Air Force Base, home of the 86th Airlift Wing on a military bus. The war was still being ramped up and the base was a beehive of activity while soldiers and equipment were flown in and out.

Soldiers waited in the USO calling home, some slept in chairs waiting on flights that would take them downrange to the war. Remy waited his turn with the others. When Remy and his handler's names were finally called after days of waiting, the pair boarded the C-17 with other troops and equipment, and settled in for the 6 hour flight to Kabul.

After two days in Kabul, Remy boarded a C-130 with other soldiers for his final leg to Kandahar that would be his home for the next two years. On arrival in Kandahar, opening of the aircraft's door allowed the intense heat of the Afghanistan summer in. It was the most intense heat he and his handler had experienced. Texas heat in the summer can be intense but this was a whole new level. Remy and his handler, along with several other Patriot dog teams, were now the first dogs of their kind introduced to the base that was at the forefront on the war on terror, the coalition base in southern Afghanistan, Kandahar Air Field.

The Mission Begins

On arrival, the various military units there just didn't know what to make of the new dog teams at their disposal. The teams were the first they had used since the Army had taken Kandahar back from the Taliban and they didn't understand how capable they were. They would soon learn. Remy, along with the other teams were assigned to entry point security at the base.

Locals delivered everything from gasoline to building supplies and water by day while many worked with the Taliban by night. Every vehicle coming onto Kandahar Air Field (KAF) was searched for explosives by the teams. It was tedious and boring work but vital to base security. The work went on 7 days and nights a week for months before the teams were asked to go into the field. This was the news that everyone had been waiting for.

Remy bite training

Special Forces Call to Duty

The K-9 compound was a very popular place with the soldiers of KAF. The dogs had proven their worth over the months by finding explosives designed to kill and disrupt operations before they could be detonated, which of course everyone was grateful for. They were also a reminder of home for many that had dogs of their own they had left behind while deployed. Some of the dogs were Labrador Retrievers or "waggy tail" dogs as some dubbed them, and were always glad to be petted by anyone that came by.

One of the visits in the summer of 2004 was by a Captain with the Special Forces unit there. Captain "Robert Fanning" asked if an explosive detection dog team could be spared to go with them on an upcoming mission. Remy's handler, who had previously been an Army Ranger, made the team a logical choice to go. SF teams were known to participate in direct action missions of the utmost importance. The team packed and were flown out to the forward operating base (FOB) they would be working from within days.

A day after arriving at the FOB, Remy was accompanying the SF unit on his first mission to find an insurgent that was known to be building IED's at a village in the mountains. The team was inserted a few miles from the village by helicopter and hiked the remaining distance so as not to warn the insurgent they were looking for and enable his escape. Arriving at the compound in the early morning hours, they saw no activity and started to enter through the door of the earthen hut. Remy's handler suggested they let him apply his trained nose around the door before trying to open it. While carefully smelling the crack around the door Remy stopped, sat down, and stared at the door. This was how the explosive detection dog had been trained to respond.  

The structure was surrounded while a couple of the soldiers went to the back and entered through a window. When they made their way to the front door they found it booby trapped with numerous grenades that would have detonated had they opened the door. From that point on Remy was a hero around the people he worked with. He had undoubtedly saved several lives.

Remy out with Special Forces

Disaster Strikes

Missions came and went, all performed successfully over the ensuing weeks for Remy and his handler while embedded with the SF team. One routine patrol on this particular morning was just that, routine. Nothing out of the ordinary was expected with no particular action anticipated.

Remy mounted up in the back of a truck with his handler driving as the SF soldiers drove various vehicles, everything from Humvee's with machine guns mounted on them to 4 wheelers. As they made their way down a road that was little more than a trail through the desert, their luck ran out. The front tire of the dog truck ran over a pressure plate that was connected to an anti tank mine. The resulting explosion sent the truck six feet into the air. Windshield was blown out, the front wheels and tires were missing, hood and fenders were blown away. The truck was totally destroyed. Remy's handler was unconscious as the SF medic and others drug him from the cab. He was alive.

Remy, in his crate in the back, was unhurt. He was led away from the immediate area by a soldier while a medic attended to his handler. Remy was trained to protect his handlers and no one was taking any chances of him thinking they were trying to hurt him as they preceded to treat his injuries. After further examination it was determined the handler had miraculously escaped serious injury. He had suffered broken bones in his feet, black eyes, and a bloody nose from the blast. The communications officer called a medivac helicopter to fly the injured handler and Remy back to KAF. Days later the handler was airlifted home for treatment of his injuries while Remy waited for him at at the base.

Some weeks later he returned after successful treatment of several small broken bones in his feet that were suffered when the blast came through the trucks floor. He was reunited with Remy and both were excited to get back to work. The team returned to the FOB they had been working out of and continued their work for with SF for over another year.

Dog truck after IED explosion

In the End

After Remy and his handler returned to the FOB the team continued their valuable work. Remy came out of Afghanistan and back to Texas in 2005. He was retired by Patriot K-9 Services that owned and trained him. Remy and the rest of the Patriot K-9 Services dog teams were credited with finding 15 tons of explosives, IED's, and various weapons systems while in Afghanistan.

Patriot found Remy a forever home with an ex Vietnam era dog handler and his wife in Michigan. Good job Remy! We are very proud of you and many thanks for your service.

E Collar Training by Patriot K-9 Services 

E collar training, or as some erroneously call it, a shock collar, is an outstanding tool that can drastically cut the time needed to train dogs in a myriad of training scenarios. These devices have come a very long way from the first ones seen in the 60’s which were first used by trainers of bird dogs. These trainers had to be able to correct their dogs at distances of a mile or more. At that time they were either ON or OFF, produced a lot of power, and did not have selectable power settings as we have today. Today’s modern collars offer varying levels of stimulation starting with barely perceivable and adjustable to higher levels and vibration only. Most have a momentary button for a short stimulation and a continuous one that produces stimulation as long as the button is held down (most have an auto cut off at 10 seconds of so).

E collars ARE NOT used as a torture device and are not to be used until a thorough understanding of the do’s and don’ts are mastered. This is only an introduction. The proper use of these devices cannot be adequately covered by this short article.

RULE # 1. Use the smallest amount of stimulation that your dog can perceive. All brands of collars are different and all can produce different levels of power for the same setting (1, 2, 3, etc). How do you decide what level your dog needs? I use it on myself touching the probes of the collar to my inside forearm while on the lowest setting, but that’s just me. I do so to get a feel for the stimulation level of every new collar, especially each new model I buy. I’m not recommending everyone do this. Position the collar on the dog. It must be tight so the probes make contact with the skin, not the hair. With the collar on its lowest setting push the “momentary” button which will produce stimulation of less than a second. This is called a “nick”. Did the dog turn his head? Did he look around like “what was that”? If so, that’s where you begin and will most likely be all you need unless you find the dog in a training scenario where his distraction level is so high a higher setting may be needed. If there was no reaction at all you may need to go to the next higher level.

Rule # 2. Proper timing is essential so that the dog will understand what caused the sensation he feels. Stimulation used too soon or too late will do nothing but confuse the dog. An example of proper timing would be teaching your dog to come to you. I do this with a long rope snapped to his collar. When he’s walked as far from me as he can I push the continuous button. I then immediately pull the rope while giving the “here” command. The INSTANT the dog starts towards me I release the button. The dog will soon understand he turns on and off the stimulation he feels with his behavior. In record time he will understand if he starts towards me when he first hears the command he will never even feel the stimulation.

Rule # 3. See rule #1. Also, read more in depth literature on the subject. E collars are outstanding pieces of equipment that greatly enhance training for many dogs but your training can regress by weeks or even months if not properly used.

NOTE: Not all dogs can be trained with the help of an E collar although the vast majority of them can. The dogs that can’t be helped with an E collar are on each end of the spectrum with “soft” dogs on one end and aggressive ones on the other. Too soft of a dog and he can totally withdraw from any training. Inappropriate use of a training collar on an overly aggressive one (protection dogs for sale) and the trainer could be taking a trip to the ER for stitches.

Scent Cone Basics by Patriot K-9 Services 

                                          Explosives detection team Courtesy of Patriot K9 Services 

Scenting conditions that your dog must work in can vary greatly.  It will vary with the time of day, temperature, humidity, and wind. The hotter and drier it is, the more difficult it is for your dog to pick up on the scent cone.  The best conditions are moderate to cool temperatures with some humidity, warming conditions, and no wind (or a very light breeze depending on topography).  This situation can most often be expected to occur in the mornings.  The warming conditions will evaporate the humidity which takes the scent with it in an upward direction (no wind conditions) before flattening out relatively close to the ground.  In the evening the opposite will occur.  That is, the cooling will return the scent cone closer to the ground if warming air has caused it to be lifted. Remember! Hot air rises and cold air sinks carrying the scent cone with it each way.

With that in mind, the best times of the day for an air scent detecting dog are mornings and evenings with cooler temperatures, some humidity, and little or no wind.  On the other hand hot weather with no humidity, as you find in many parts of the Middle East for instance, or the deserts of the western United States, do not give the scent a chance to rise, move, and disperse as efficiently as it does in ideal weather conditions making hard work for a scent trained dog.

Whether a tracking dog, bird dog, drug dog, or explosive detection dogs , they are all at the mercy of the conditions they are being asked to work with.  The scent cone they are looking for does not always run parallel to the ground.  It can begin after leaving the source to rise vertically, especially on the hot days with no wind.  In that case the dog would have to be standing on top of whatever he’s trained to detect to give a positive indication.  It can settle in “pools” on the ground.  It can flow down a hill much like water.

So how can we use these facts to help our dog help us?  If possible, when working in hot conditions where you suspect the scent cone to be rising vertically, try to work the dog from above the suspected areas to be searched then continue your pattern to the lower area.  This would more often than not apply to outdoor searches than it would to vehicle or building searches.  Of course always enter the search from downwind when possible.  On very hot dry days slow your search pattern substantially to give your dog the best chance of picking up the scent cone.  If your K-9 has given a positive indication where there is obviously nothing there, try searching upwind with a criss cross pattern keeping in mind how scent cones move. Weather, obstacles, and air flow may have him thinking he is at the source when he’s not.  Remember, our dogs are great at what they do but they are not a magic bullet.  Our dogs are just one more tool we have at our disposal.  Use your head to help him use his nose.