Owning a Working Dog as a "Pet"? | SOURCE

Hey everyone, and welcome back to this week's source episode. Today I'm sitting down with our two trainers, Simon and Brandon, and we're going to talk about what it's like owning a pet working dog. And pet is used very loosely. We're basically just going to be exploring what it's like to own a working dog, a high drive dog, in a household setting. Simon, can you tell us a little bit about your working dog?

Uh, so my dog's name is Vargas. Has nothing to do with our CEO. That was just the name he came with from Holland, and I decided to keep it. My dog is an explosives detection patrol and a tracking dog as well that I take home with me every day, and I bring him to work with me every day. I've done some work with him as well. I utilize him in training for the trainer students, and I also do use him for our kennel staff so they can get their first bites. That's usually our little prospect dog we utilize, so he serves many different functions at CCU.

And Brandon, what about you?

Oh yeah, my dog's name is Mika, and she's a personal protection dog. She has been used in the past for bites here at CCU, just for trainer students and things like that.

So What are some of the unique challenges or responsibilities that you come across as you own a working dog as a pet?

You definitely need to take into consideration others in your household. Obviously, you know, sometimes I think for some of our handlers too, we try and take a— take into consideration their home life. If they got kids at home, we really don't want to set them up with a dog that is going to have issues with that because although we should keep them separate, you know, the dog does live with them and we don't want to put them in a position that's going to be compromising. Yeah, I kind of learned about this firsthand because I actually have two working dogs. My other one is a Dutchy named Kaiser. He's a retired police dog that I got from a department and You know, he has a bite history on myself and others, but, you know, it was a dog that I took in to rehabilitate, and I didn't really think about it until I actually brought him home and he was starting to bite me, you know. Although I can handle that dog, you know, there are other individuals in my home, including my wife, and a family member that we care for, it's something that you really need to think about before, because the worst thing that could ever happen is if one of my dogs was to attack either my wife or the other individual in our home, because I would just feel awful about that. So I've taken certain actions to mitigate that risk. Obviously they're not just running around my house willy-nilly, you know, but they're also not in the crate all day. I do training with them. I work on stuff with them. I keep them active because they need that.

Now, Brandon, you do have kids and you have a personal protection dog. So how does that work for you? What challenges, responsibilities do you find coming up on the daily?

Yeah, I Like you said, I have kids, and so, you know, they're obviously going to be my number one concern when it comes to having a personal protection dog. And so, you know, something kind of Simon touched on a little bit, just kind of keeping everybody safe. I bring my dog to work with me every day as well, um, just once again kind of so she's not cooped up in a crate or stuck in in her kennel all day at the house. And so being around the kids and things like that, you know, I have her around the kids, and then when we travel or anything like that, I actually put a muzzle on her just to kind of mitigate any issues that could arise, you know, and have some sort of— be able to have some sort of control over her. And then when it comes to any kind of traveling or anything like that, I have to consider, you know, where I'm going to board her, which obviously is here, or if I've got somebody, you know, a friend or something that's able to watch her and kind of take those things into consideration. And then also I have other dogs in the house as well, um, who are not working dogs, they're just pets. Mitigate any kind of risks or anything like that.

Yeah, I mean, you've got high drive dogs in a house with little kids, right? You know, so how do you really handle those energy levels in a home setting?

Uh, yeah, one of the things, you know, I am fortunate enough to have a job that lets me bring my dog to work, but also, you know, when I go home, I do do some work with her, whether it be some tracking stuff or just some obedience. Sometimes I just go out there and play ball, like throw the ball with her. Um, and then on the weekends, you know, having kids and things like that, we're all over the place, so I just take opportunities that I am kind of sitting around the house not doing anything, just to kind of take her out and do some sort of training. I like concentration tracks for her, um, pretty much every weekend just to kind of keep her engaged and so she's not chasing things around the house.

Yeah. What about you, Simon, for Kaiser and Barbie?

Um, yeah, I mean, along those same lines, you know, just wherever I get the opportunity because Vargas is a tracking and explosives dog. You know, I've put out some black powder, some training aids to let him hit it on. So whenever I do get the opportunity, as much as I can, I try and get out and just keep him proficient and build his, uh, detection abilities.

Yeah.

Um, with Kaiser, I haven't really messed with his detection. It's been a while since he's done it and he's getting up there in age. Not that he's not active. So I kind of just working control with him, working obedience and just a lot of playing, tossing the ball. I live in a pretty rural area, so I got woods and tree lines and stuff. So just tossing a ball out there, letting him hide. It's probably like his favorite thing is just playing fetch, so I figured he might as well enjoy it. He's a salty little cop, so yeah.

But as far as actually balancing whole life and kids, whole life with wife and family member, and the needs of the dog, is that just something you've had to like adjust to over time, or is that something you had a routine going into it because you already had one working dog?

Yeah, like I said, I keep my dog— if my dog's not out training or working with me, I keep him crated. And that's just because he doesn't do well as a house dog. Yeah, especially Vargas. And it's not— although I've experimented with Kaiser, obviously those experiments went poorly. Um, you know, he's not just a dog that you can trust running around the house being a pet. Because there comes a lot of risk with it. But that's just— even with Vargas, like, sure, I could kind of teach him house manners, but that's not my intent or purpose with him. So having him in his crate and then taking him out to go, um, you know, it, it does take up some time. You do need some time. Um, so if you work, you you know, working a busy schedule. If you— it's one of the biggest things. If you don't have the time for a working dog to keep them active and keep them working, then it's likely not a pet or a type of dog that you want to bring home. Yeah. Um, I would— with anyone that's looking to get a dog, I would, you know, try and number one, see if you have the time for the dog and Number 2, get a dog that is going to suit your lifestyle. That's not going to, you know, require a lot of your time if you don't have a lot of time to give. If, you know, if you're not in the working dog world, if it's sport or police work or anything of that nature, More likely than not, you don't need a working line Malinois. You know, they're, you know, desirable, and a lot of people have a lot of interest in them. You know, it's, it's just not feasible for someone that works in an office all day and maybe has a family and kids and works a lot of overtime and doesn't have time for that dog because that's just going to cause issues and ultimately you're not going to fulfill everything that that dog needs, um, to operate and live a happy lifestyle.

Yeah, that's a great point. Actually, we see a lot of working dogs in shelters now because of that. But even for you, Brandon, so you had 3 kids in the house and brought in a personal protection dog who was already trained whenever you brought her in. How did you sort of balance that between kids' routines, you and your wife's routines, and now throwing a working dog in the mix?

Well, fortunately we kind of had a routine because like I said, we do have other dogs, so they get fed on a schedule and things like that. So when it came to, you know, taking care of another living being, I guess you could say, it kind of just— it worked out and fits into our schedule. Hey, look, I feed all 3 dogs, you know, and then let them all out and go to work, things like that. And then when it comes to kids, a lot of it was— a lot of it is spent just kind of working when the kids are doing other things that I'm not, you know, not involved in. If the kids are laying out for a nap or something like that, it's an opportunity for me to be able to go and do some kind of work with her.

I mean, Ultimately, I know that if I didn't have this occupation and I worked in another occupation, that the dogs that I have, I wouldn't be able to adequately care for and give them what they need. So I'm very fortunate, and I always say that I'm fortunate to be able to work in this industry, but it allows me to have time for these dogs and being able to take these dogs to work with me, and it's a blessing, and I feel very privileged to be able to do something like that.

Yeah, so Brandon, your dog was trained to live in a home setting as a personal protection dog, but Simon, your dog was not trained for a home setting initially. So whenever you first came through CCU's handler course, He was trained like all of our other working dogs are trained, which is, you know, a lot of training time and kennel time. So how did you transition him from CCU into a home setting?

I didn't. I mean, I really didn't. My intent was always to work him, so I never had the intention of making him a house dog and You know, I've seen the— I've had individuals come through that, you know, they don't like the idea of crating or kenneling their dog, and they have this idea that the dog needs to be part of a family. And from just my experience, I'm not saying that it can't be done, maybe with certain dogs, certainly, but from my experience I've seen the negative effects of that on dogs' performances out in the training field. So that's something that I never wanted to diminish from my dog because, um, I like the fact that anytime I take him out, you know, I know that he's going to be ready to work. And even in the house, if I just let him run around the house He's sniffing everything. He's sniffing my cabinets. He's looking for explosives. He's looking for something to do, and I don't want to correct him for that. And I just, I don't see it being necessary to try to house train him, but that's just for me personally because I have two pet dogs in the house and And, you know, it's just more feasible for me to— he has a task, he's got a job to do. When that day comes where he's got to retire, then absolutely, you know, come be part of the family. But I like to know that anytime I take him out to either go work or go train, I'm not going to have any issues with it. With that, none of that is going to suffer per se. So yeah, I mean, even with Kaiser, he does transition well into a house dog, but with his bite history, it's something that I just really can't risk. Obviously I let him be a house dog when no one's at home and it's just me and him, because if he bites me, it's not the worst thing in the world. Although I will call AJ and tell him that I need to go to the hospital because my pet bit me. I do allot him that time because at least from what I can see, he was let out. He begs for food constantly. So just certain things that I notice about him, like, tells me that he's already been kind of integrated and housebroken, whereas Vargas, like, he doesn't care about food.

Anything.

He's just trying to work, and that's ultimately all he wants to do.

So yeah, and that goes back to what you said before though about not wanting to change these dogs. Like, you knew going into this the time that it was going to take to keep them enriched, so you knew that going in and making efforts to not change Vargas's drive, for example. How does that affect you with a personal protection dog? Dog though, Brandon, bringing her into your home setting?

There are things like he had mentioned, like she'll beg for food, and she has no issues laying on the couch. With a personal protection dog, I want her to be social. I want her to be able— she's a little bit older, so I want her to be able to just enjoy life. Um, so it's not something that I'm not hounding her when she jumps on the couch. I'm not like forcing her in a crate all the time. I hang out with her and I kind of play with her a little bit and stuff like that. I kind of just let her be a house dog essentially, but it's, it's just because there's a different, um, she has a different purpose and her mentality needs to be a little bit different than somebody like Vargas. Yeah, I just kind of, um, I kind of let her be a dog. She wants to get on the couch and hang out with me, she just gets on the couch and hangs out with me. Um, I don't feed her people food even though she tries to beg for it. I can't— I think it's safe to say somebody in the past has given her people food. Um, uh, but yeah, I just kind of let her be a dog. I don't really— she already has.

Deborah. Deborah gave the dog people food.

It was definitely Deb.

But, uh, so I, I, um, she gave Quan a whole two-piece from Popeyes before.

I saw it.

Quantum versus Thorwald? With the size.

Yeah, so I, you know, I don't really— I don't, like I said, not having necessarily a detection dog or somebody like that, you know, I kind of let her do her own thing and hang out.

Yeah. But I wouldn't say that it necessarily kills their drive. I just think that it— I mean, the drive is natural. Dog either has it or they don't. I just think that it can create some unfocus or confusion is what I'm kind of meaning. It's not necessary that the dog's drive just goes away because he's a house dog. The drive can still be there, but It's just I don't want to collude anything with my dog. I don't want that confusion per se. And, you know, even just having them, the dog, around my family members. For example, like Vargas, I like that he doesn't beg. I actually despise dogs that beg. That's, that's one of my biggest pet peeves. But I just don't like that, like, don't look at me while I'm eating. Um, I think that's something that I experienced around Europeans when I was flying, when I was in Japan. I didn't know this, but Europeans stare at you. They do. And I had Japanese people—

European?

I was— there's Europeans there. Yeah, it's, it's Tokyo.

Understood.

Japanese keep to themselves, but Europeans will stare at you. And I was trying to enjoy a bowl of udon at the Tokyo International Airport, and I had this grunge guy like staring at me while I was eating, and it was probably the most irritating thing I've ever experienced. And that's how I feel like with dogs as well. But that being said, to kind of go back on the topic, I having that dog out and about, and especially if I'm not home, you know, I have other family members to account for, and I don't expect my wife to learn everything there is to know about canine training, and I don't want to leave that into her hands where she may make a mistake or something might incur that I have to go fix down the road. So it's kind of just for me just keeping a well-oiled machine. That it's calibrated and ready to go to and have that focus necessary. Because if he jumps up on the countertop and wants to sniff the upper cabinets, you know, obviously my wife's going to correct that, and that's not necessarily something I want to correct. That's something that I want to encourage him to do, and there's ways of going about handling that situation, and I can't expect my wife to handle it in a certain way that's appropriate because she doesn't have that background and understanding.

Yeah, so that's really one of those areas where owning a working dog in a home environment really is a challenge because there are things you don't want to encourage for a working dog, but you might encourage for a pet dog, and vice versa.

Yeah, certainly, or discourage and say no.

Yeah. Okay, how do you teach your dog or train your dog to tell the difference between work and home behaviors?

One thing I will say about, like, we kind of touched on it a little bit and you were saying, like, you know, I need my dog to be social. It's kind of useless to have a personal protection dog if she can't be around the kids, things like that. And so just kind of learning her and bonding with her a whole lot more than is what I've kind of focused on a whole lot versus like, hey, these are your people, you need to be protective of all of these people just as much as me. And so just kind of making the transition from whatever lifestyle she was living before, because she is a little bit older, to the lifestyle that I live with younger kids that You know, my kids do understand certain things, but they're still kids and they're going to do whatever they see fit at the moment. And so I, I would not want to put— like I said before, not want to put them in any kind of situation that would— they would risk anybody's, you know, being injured or anything like that. And so, like, you do want your personal protection dog to be social to a point. And especially with your family.

But, you know, how do you educate your family members? How have you approached that with your, your children, teaching them how to interact with her? Because obviously we don't want the dog to bite, but a lot of that also comes from the people interacting with the dog, understanding what to and what not to do.

Well, you know, one thing that I think we've talked about it on other podcasts, like, I don't want my kids to get in her face. I feed her separately from the other dogs and the kids, but you know, when they're around, she's cool with them like petting her and things like that, but she also honestly, she could care less.

Yeah.

You know, they're around, they're there, awesome. They come over to her, she's cool, but she's not gonna like go out of her way to go hang out with them or, you know, be friendly with them. I just kind of, kind of taught my kids with any dog, not just my personal protection dog, but with any dog, just kind of some proper etiquette, things like that. They're too young to understand like any of the training side of things. Like my dog, or the kids do to like make her sit and lay down and stuff like that, but, um, they don't, they don't necessarily understand understand like all the training aspects of things, and neither does my wife either. So, and, and kind of like he was saying, I wouldn't want to put all that— like, I understand how to handle the situation, but that doesn't necessarily mean that she has to or needs to. Um, and quite frankly, she wouldn't want to listen to me anyway.

So what about you, Simon?

I don't— I mean, it's pretty simple. I told my wife the dogs 'cause I can't be home all the time. So there are situations where I do need her assistance, which she does awesome with. But, you know, it's just a matter of, hey, open up the door, open up their kennel door. They're gonna go up 'cause it's just all routine for them to open up the kennel door, you let 'em outside. They do their business, and then when they're ready, just open up the back door and they go back in their kennel. So they're on a routine. My wife just kind of handles them routine-wise, uh, doesn't really do any training with them. She just doesn't have the time, and you know, that's not what her profession is. So I try and respect those boundaries, but we just have a We're able to maintain a routine with the dogs, so that's good. They understand the routine, so we kind of just kind of Barney style it just to avoid— we've kind of structured things in a way to avoid and mitigate risks.

And I feel like that's a really big part of owning these types of dogs though, is taking that responsibility for taking those steps to prevent anything from happening. So to To start wrapping things up, what's a piece of advice that you would give to someone that is looking at bringing a working dog into a home setting?

You know, my biggest thing is, is they are a working dog, or they're an animal that we can't necessarily communicate with, with words like we talk to each other. And so you don't always know what they're thinking, and you don't always, don't always know what's going through their mind. And so just kind of You know, one thing that we kind of tell our students is you definitely don't want to leave your dog alone with your family, things like that. And so just kind of taking those things into consideration that they're not necessarily— they're not a pet, you know, they're a working dog. And so they have a job, and that's not something that you— I've said it multiple times now, it's just not something that you necessarily want to risk.

Yeah.

What about you, Simon?

I mean, I would analyze first if having a working dog is feasible for you before you make that commitment, because once you get that dog, I mean, you're responsible for that dog for the next 10 to 12— I haven't met a Belgian Malinois that's 18 years old strokes. You, you never know how long that dog is going to live, but you're going to be responsible for that dog. And if you plan on utilizing that dog for work, you know, you want to be able to upkeep that. If that's what you make your money from and how you feed your family, you want to be sure that you're able to upkeep that. And the dog getting injured or hurting others is it's just going to take money out of your pocket. Um, for anyone who's handling a dog for the first time or getting their first dog, if you come through our course, you know, just follow the guidance that we give you. It's there for a reason, and it's only there to help prepare you, ensure that you're successful. Obviously, as you gain further experience in this industry, you'll find the ways that suit you, but I would just follow the guidance that's given to you, whether it's through us or another reputable company.

Yep. Well, thanks so much for joining us on today's source episode. We will have our short set posted on Tuesday. If you want to connect with us, all of our information is always in the description box below, and we will see y'all next week.