Trainer School Debrief with Szymon and Brandon - SOURCE

Hey guys, welcome to the Source Podcast. So happy to have you guys join us. Uh, my name is Simon. I'm the head trainer here at CCU. So while AJ is out, I'll be taking over hosting some shows. And, you know, AJ likes to teach people or tell people, um, you know, he hopes that you learn one thing. Well, I'm going to take it a step above because I'm an overachiever, and I hope that through this podcast you learn many, many great things here on The Source Podcast. So without further ado, I got a very special guest that we have brought on today. He's someone that's going to be joining our team. So I'm going to give this gentleman the floor for a few minutes, maybe an hour, however long he decides to talk. But he'll go ahead and introduce himself.

Hey, good afternoon. I am Brandon, as he said, and going to be joining the team. What was supposed to be Monday is now Saturday. as part of CCU.

That's awesome. That's awesome. Um, if you don't mind, how about you tell us a little bit about your background? What's your previous experience?

I graduated high school in 2013, pretty much joined the Army right after that. And, um, was in the Army for 6 years, uh, a couple deployments. And when I decided that it was time to get out, I really kind of got into the, uh, trade world and, uh, decided that I wanted to be in an office, which was definitely not the case. So I went and I sat in an office for like 2 years and, uh, I absolutely hated it. And so at that point I was like, I need to do something else. And I started looking at different schools and you guys came up and I was like, you know what? I think. Training dogs and working with veterans and law enforcement is really something that's right up my alley. And so that's really what guided me in this direction. Okay.

What'd you do in the Army, man?

Well, I was in the infantry, uh, 11 Bravo in the— like I said, in the Army. Uh, my first deployment I was a machine gunner. Uh, transitioned into a radio guy for a little while. And then I was a squad leader for the majority— the remainder of my time. Words are hard.

Okay. All right, so that—

I'm—

so what I'm kind of gathering from all this in the background, you kind of saw that office environment as a good, uh, change to living out in the field and sleeping in dirt. Yeah, it's something a little less taxing on your body.

And that's really what I thought, actually. And at the time, I was like, huge into the powerlifting world, and I thought, okay, if I'm sitting at a desk, all I'll do is be able to eat and get really big and really strong, and I'll work a 9 to 5 and I'll go to the gym and I'll be able to spend time with my family. And then that 9 to 5 turned into like an 8 to 12 at midnight, and I was answering my phone all the time, and it was actually more taxing on my body than working, like being in the infantry where I thought that, you know, that was the most taxing thing that I could do. Uh, so, so when I got into the office, I was just, I was, I was miserable. My ADHD doesn't allow me to sit behind a desk and type on a computer all day. Um, so it, it just kind of, it actually really, really wore on me for the year and a half that I was there.

Gotcha. So you saw the, an appeal to actually go back into the field. Field. Yeah, outside for once and hang out in the sun, right?

Well, I think, as you kind of have probably seen, I really enjoy just running through the woods randomly and, and doing all kinds of, uh—

it's not just random.

Well, there's a, there's a purpose behind it, but in my head, it's just, it's enjoyable. And, and being outside and, uh, and kind of being a grunt again, really, if you, if you wanted to look at it like that, is is really up my alley. And like I had mentioned before, like the ADHD is just like, I'm all over the place and it's just not sitting behind a computer.

Yeah, no, I completely understand that. Now I want to compare what we do to what grunts do because as you can see, everyone that works in this community for the most part, especially the staff here, very high IQ individuals. So I want to— Really related to grunt stuff.

Well, I think you can— I think you can still have a high IQ and be a grunt. I mean, it's just because you're a grunt, it doesn't mean you're on the low end of the IQ spectrum.

Yeah, I mean, we might be talking semantics, but I think that's easy to say because you weren't a grunt. Yeah, I guess so. I mean, my recruiter told me not to be a grunt. Mine tried to. But no, I mean, that's, that's, uh, that's cool. And I mean, I kind of came through the same background as well.

Yeah.

Well, not with the infantry, but I came through, you know, working a job, working in construction and being like, man, this sucks. Like this isn't fun.

And I was in construction and, you know, I was in an office, but I was in the construction field and those guys are, I mean, they don't quit and we had, you know, customers all across the country. And in California, as you know, they're, they're so far behind us in time where it's 8 o'clock over here, they're still working and they don't care. They're, they're picking up the phone to call you. And, and a lot of that, um, kind of took away from family time, which is, is very valuable to me.

Yeah. I mean, you know, I think one of the beauties of— and I think you sense it since you've been working here with us, at least through the transport Working with these dogs feels fulfilling. Yeah.

Oh, it's, it's incredibly fulfilling. And, and, uh, even, even throughout the trainer course when, when I see something and it's like, yo, that is really cool. And, and it, and it's like, it does, it, it provides a purpose essentially.

Well, I mean, because you brought that up, that's a good segue to my next question. I was going to ask you about Through your training, what was the most surprising but also most valuable thing you learned?

Um, you know, as far as surprising goes, we'll start— we'll break it down into two parts. As far as surprising goes, like, you don't realize, I think, outside of this world how intelligent these animals are. And so when you start working, uh, with pets, even, even if you've got pet dogs. You're like, oh, it's, it's a pet. It's, it does what it does. And, and a lot of, uh, a lot of, you know, even somebody, uh, with, or with somebody with no experience, they're gonna, they're just gonna look at a dog and they're gonna think that, you know, they're kind of dumb. I mean, it's just, it is what it is. I have a French Bulldog at home, and, and I'm sure if I tried to get him to do some of this stuff, he'd be like, no. And so, um, to see, to see how fast these dogs pick things up and, and actually how intelligent— back to IQ— how intelligent they are. Um, I, I—

it—

that was truly like the really surprising thing to me that kind of clicked, is like, wow, these dogs are actually far more intelligent than we let them be. And, and as pets, we kind of like hold that back. And even when people get some of these pets that are, that are working dogs, they, they see that and they're like, these pets are, or these dogs are super intelligent and now we have a purpose for them. And it's like really cool to see how fast they pick up on the purpose.

Yeah.

I'm going to kind of go outside of the hands-on experience and, and kind of think big picture with, with value is, and take, you know, a, a police working dog, for instance, to me, that's realistically what I, I have kind of really started to enjoy in this. Um, and so, you know, what, what a police dog is able to do on the street, essentially, you know, we've talked countless times about how, you know, drug busts and apprehending suspects and just different things like that. I think to me that is the end product to me is the most valuable. Um, and I know that there's a million steps to get to that end product, and it takes a lot of time. And so, so just kind of looking at that end product and being like, wow, that is actually valuable, not just to us here or, or, you know, pet owners, but like actually keeping people safe. And like, that aspect of it is probably the most valuable to me.

That's something that when people come into this course and, you know, when they actually get their hands on a working dog, it's kind of a— it's almost like an adrenaline rush.

Oh, for sure. Yeah, yeah.

It's like you have a rabid animal and you don't—

and, and looking like just from the outside in, if, if somebody was just out here watching, it looks like complete chaos, like you said, like a rabid dog. But, but, um, to, to really get Wow, ADHD, freaking way off topic again. Um, to just kind of see the processes and, and how everything goes through and, and flowing these dogs is, is, it's, it's much more than a pet. Like, these dogs actually have, can have a purpose, and it's, it's very intriguing.

Yeah, yeah. And you know, that's something that I actually had a student one time that came in here for a handler course and we had just gotten, uh, green dogs from overseas. And, um, when we put our green dogs through, you know, we put them on dope, their odor, and then it's like, hey, you're going into class finally on one drug. And they kind of finish out that process throughout it. Uh, I had the student break the dog and this dog was just all over the place, super high drive, just want to pull them everywhere. And, you know, it's like almost as if the student doubted that we could get this dog ready for the street in 6 weeks. And I just sit him down and be like, hey man, we've been doing this for a while. Like, trust me, these dogs learn really, really fast. We do this all the time. Just stick with the process, listen to us. Follow our instruction. We're not going to let you go way far out and astray. Um, but you'll see, like, we'll turn all that chaos and we'll structure it, and it's going to happen real quick. And these dogs learn real fast and they don't forget.

No, and, and that's fair. And, um, I think, you know, it's I can believe, and, and at the beginning of this, I 100% can see where somebody would look at this and be like, there's no way this dog is going to be ready in 6 weeks. But like you said, you know, if you just kind of stick to the process and, and trust the trainers and, and, and learn along the way, because it is fast-paced, especially when you get here for a, you know, a green handler or student, uh, trainer student. It's, it's fast-paced. And to see, you know, just how fast dogs pick it up. You know, that is, it's actually really cool to see how fast dogs can pick it up in that 6 weeks. And they're, you know, we're working one right now and how fast he's picking up dope is like, wow, holy crap.

Yeah, absolutely. Um, so you've been through this course for about 8 weeks.

You're on graduation tomorrow.

Graduation tomorrow. That's right. So thinking back on your course, can you, uh, tell me what you think was probably one of the most challenging aspects these past 8 weeks?

For me, as, as somebody who's probably seen it, sitting in a classroom, which we talked about, my ADHD just goes all over the place, sitting in a classroom, uh, and, and test taking for me is, is the most challenging part. Um, I, I've never been a good test taker ever in my entire life. And so I really have to pay attention and I really have to study and I bring snacks and things like that and all the coffee in the world. You're gonna drink a lot of coffee as a trainer and One Nation, One Nation Coffee. And, and, and, uh, so, so really kind of picking up The bookwork side of that and, and what it really, what you really need to learn was really the most challenging thing for me. And then applying that, what I learned to a test when you don't have that book in front of you anymore, and now you're just kind of going off of what you've hopefully remembered.

Yeah. I mean, we, uh, we differ from. Than I think a lot of schools, and I mean a lot of schools that I've been through in the military. Because a lot of the times, or even when I was in college, a lot of the times you get multiple choice and yeah, and we don't, we don't do that here and we do it for a specific reason. And a lot of students do find that very challenging, but like I always tell them, you know, we haven't touched structured that way. Way, because we really want to see what you know. Read the question. We want to see your attention to detail because you may not realize it, but kind of in the background, what we're working on is your attention to detail because that's a vital aspect of being a trainer. And we're trying to develop that in, you know, those secondary tasks, right? Like test taking. Obviously you're not out there. getting hands-on experience with that secondary task of test taking. And in the meantime, they're kind of, during your, your study habits, we're having you hone in and focus on that. So, um, you're not the only one. Absolutely.

Oh, I believe that.

Yeah.

I mean, and, and, and being quite frank, like those tests are hard. I mean, I'm the last one to finish every test and yeah, you sure are. And that's fine. You know, it. I'll, I'll be the last one if that's what it takes. And, and, uh, so I, I don't have a problem with that, but that is, it is a challenge for me and it's something that I'm gonna continue to build on and, and hopefully in the future I'm able to start teaching those classes and then kind of learning it from a flip side. Cause all that's doing is reinforcing those things into me as I'm teaching them.

Yeah.

Um, so yeah, definitely, you know, sitting down and taking that test is, it's nerve-wracking. Like I told you after, after my final, my stomach was almost in knots. Like I was, I was miserable during that.

Definitely. Well, aside from the classroom and test taking, what do you think you struggled with the most as far as out in the field, um, with those dogs?

Oh, uh, I— that's easily— it's, it's timing. And, and I know that, like, I know that still to this day that my timing has to get better. You know, whether it's rewarding or corrections or anything like that, it just has to be— it's got to be very on point. And because dogs' attention spans are like ours, and they don't care, you know, if you're not correcting them— well, you know, obviously— but if you're not correcting them in the right amount of time, they're already off. They're off course, they're off track, they're off you know, whatever that objective is. And so timing has definitely been the hardest thing for me out in the field when it comes to, to picking up things. And, and realistically, I think it's, you know, a good example that I can give is, is during just basic obedience work and, and getting that timing down has been challenging.

Yeah. Yeah. And, um, you know, that's something that I can just I've been in your same shoes. Of course. I've gone through this course.

Yeah.

I kind of, you're kind of taking the same pathway that I've taken from going through this course and working here at Custom K9 as a trainer. And, you know, I can say that, you know, I didn't have the best timing either. And I mean, sometimes like, you know, it's funny because you guys look at me like you'd be like, this guy's not working. I take the dog and then it's working. Yeah, it's fixed.

What the heck?

I mean, it's, it's not a magic touch. It's just I've been doing, I've been practicing. I've gotten all that practice because I, it didn't used to look like that.

That's something that will slowly start to— I'll be better at my timing, and, and I understand that, and it's just something that I'm gonna have to continue to work on. Um, But I'm not afraid to go to work.

Yeah. Well, you know, through, you know, practice, obviously, you know, this is something I've been doing for a while and doing it every day and I'm always getting an opportunity to practice. And when you figure that timing out and you have that really good muscle memory, um, because all timing is, is you communicating with the dog.

Right.

Right. And, you know, you don't want to blur those lines with the dog. Dog. So you want to be very precise about what you want them to do, say, whether it's rewarding or, like you said, corrections. I'm communicating with that dog, and if my message is just a little too late or too early, it can screw up what that dog is, or what we're trying to communicate.

Yeah, you're blurring the lines and how that message is getting received.

So, and that's something that, you know, I was harped on, uh, I, my trainers really pushed, uh, me to understand. And that's something that I try to pass on as well to trainer students and handler students because that's one of those aspects that when you get that timing down and you really understand it, it's really gonna, everything else kind of just falls place. So, um, but yeah, you know, I definitely, I feel where you came through. Yeah, I can feel, uh, I can feel that.

I understand that it's a lot of just repetition.

So we talked about your struggles, right? Um, some of the challenging aspects. Where do you think that you had the most success?

I know this is going to be another answer to another question. Uh, I think I've really picked up on bite work. Um, well, first of all, that was the— that was the first time I've fallen all course. I'm just gonna throw that out there. And he took my legs out from underneath me.

Um, I mean, the thing is that— I don't know, you mentioned your ADHD, and, you know, I remember right before that I said you're gonna need to present the left leg.

It was 100% my fault.

Yeah, and then you went ahead and told me that I didn't say that, and then you were corrected by my apprentice Kiwi. Shout out Kiwi.

I didn't say that you didn't say that, I just said that I didn't hear that. Yeah, but that's because I was, you know, ADHD.

Yeah, attention to details also for an aspect.

Good call, good call.

Yeah, I mean, I would agree you've been pretty successful, but still need that attention to detail at the end of the day. And there's a— I mean, bite work is one of those things that I personally took a liking to, especially being in the decoy suit. Um, I never thought— I mean, I'm kind of just a rodeo clown.

Yeah, and I'm always the first one to volunteer, which I think might have become a problem at some point when other people were catching bites and you were like, no, you cannot? And because I just— it excites me, it's fun. It's— yeah, you're literally playing tug of war with a dog, but you're in this big suit and it's like kind of bulletproof almost.

Yeah. And I mean, you know, the bite work's sexy. Everyone wants to do that work. I think bite work really draws people in. We can— we're keeping sexy in there, right? Okay, I'm gonna keep dropping. So, uh, but you know, everyone sees the bite work, they want a bite dog, but when it comes to getting in the suit, you see a lot of people that tend to shy away, or when there's a particular dog that's about to be brought out or that's in rotation, and then, you know, when that dog's coming up in the room, they're out of the suit.

They're quick and fast and out of the hurry.

Suit and you don't got any volunteers, but, um, that's, you know, especially your first time getting bit by a dog, you know, it's unsure. You, you get, you never realize. I mean, you watch the videos, but you don't realize like just how intense it is. Like that adrenaline and you got, you're, you're essentially getting mauled. Granted you have a protective suit on, you can feel those bites. You feel that pressure.

Oh yeah, you know, and I, I think after day 1 or 2 or whatever it was of biting, there was everybody's, you know, the back of everybody's arms is bruised. You can definitely still feel the bites, and it's not like it's non-existent. Um, but at the end of the day, I think that it's, to me, it's, it's one of the most enjoyable things that I've, I've had the most best experience with. And I think that, um, it's something that I've been pretty competent with, uh, since we, since we started.

Yeah, um, I would agree to that to a certain extent. Absolutely.

Minus the leg thing today, I think I've been all right.

But yeah, and you know, that first day of bite work, it's kind of funny, like people have these big bruises on their arms and they're super concerned.

Some people bruise a little more than others.

Yeah, definitely. Um, you can eat more red me, get some iron in there. Yeah, that's usually my suggestion. But what, uh, you know, people panic, uh, when that happens, and, you know, it can look pretty gruesome. And I think I told your class this, but, you know, I, I try to tell this to every class because I know it's always on somebody's mind, like, is this normal for my arm to look like this? Right. Um, and when it comes to the of decoying or just decoying in general, uh, your body, when you're first exposed to bites like that, your body's just not used to that kind of trauma in that area. Yeah.

So it's new.

Yeah. It's, it's a new experience and you're just getting bruised up and it looks nasty, but I assure people, you know, you keep doing it, you keep pushing through it. You know, it's something that your body, you're essentially just hardening your body. Just good old-fashioned body hardening.

I think there's also like a mental aspect to it too, you know, in— Sure, it's not the most comfortable thing in the world. You're in that big suit, especially if it's hot out.

It's—

you're going to be sweating. Like I came back today drenched in sweat after working one of the dogs.

And so actually those hot summer days.

Yeah. That's lovely with our humidity.

And then you got to get a suit from someone that just, uh, finished doing fight work, and they're quite a sweaty person.

So yeah, and, and I'm, I'm, I'm one of those sweaty people, so I, I know when people get that suit on after—

I get the— a lot of people don't know this, but I'm actually the stinkiest trainer here at CCU.

So it's because you don't take showers.

Yeah, I do, just not often.

You go down and take them in the river.

Yeah, I'm Pigpen from the crime episode, so everyone knows.

But I think there's a mental aspect to it too, in, in the sense of like, there is so much going on around you in that bite suit. You know, you're getting instruction from, from a trainer, you're getting— you've got a handler that's giving dogs instruction, you've got praise going to the dog, you've got to react. you know, to the dog when it re-bites, or, or, uh, you know, and, and so picking up on all of that stuff becomes— it's a lot, you know, to process all within that short little window of it happening. It's not like, you know, there's not a whole lot of time from the time that dog is released to the time that you're catching it. There's not a lot of time to process. These dogs are fast, and as much as we like to joke about running away from the dogs like it's not gonna happen, like especially when you've got legs that are 3 times the size of your normal legs and they're rubbing together as you're trying to run away, looking like you're waddling away realistically. And so there's, there's a lot of mental aspects to it too, uh, in the sense of, you know, there's a lot to process and, and there's people in the background watching. And in my head I'm like, all right, I haven't fallen up to this point, I don't want to fall now. And so there's that kind of stuff to it too. You kind of get your own head too and psyching yourself out. And kind of goes back to what you're saying about people like being hesitant to get in the suit. It's like you're probably realistically psyching yourself out because at the end of the day it's not that bad. And, and I enjoy it.

Yeah. And I mean, it's a fun aspect. I think another aspect that, you know, a lot of people don't realize is when you're decoying and you're doing long sets and you're working a dog like that physical aspect as far as your conditioning. Like, you got to be— I mean, to be able to have a career in doing fight work, like, you got to be an athlete, which obviously I am. Um, but not everyone is fortunate to have my genetics.

Um, I understand— to my understanding, you're the athlete here on the campus, and I am actually excited to be able to take that from you because I'm definitely far more athletic than you are.

Okay, well, we'll see about that. So, uh, nice company basketball game. I'll go— I know me and AJ are still on the team, so he's been back.

Me and Hunter?

Yeah, actually, I've kind of— me and Hunter, we've made amends, so he's my BFF. You can't jump teams. He's my work BFF.

AJ, you heard that? He jumped teams. I got you though, you could be my My one.

I got a special bond with Hunter now, so we'll leave that out of it. But you got all this stuff going on, you're trying to get the feedback from the dog, and on top of that, you're tired, right? And what I really try to push through to people is like, I know you're tired, but the dog don't care. This is for the dog.

The dog doesn't care that you're tired. And that's something I've heard you say.

Yeah, the dog doesn't care that you're tired. You need to get this set in. You need to do it right. Push through.

Yeah, for sure.

A lot of it is just mental. Like when you start thinking, I'm tired, I'm tired. But I tell people all the time, I'm like, I know you're tired, but what you're doing with this dog could potentially save someone's life. For sure. And I think that gives people a little bit more perspective. Perspective, and they kind of push those, um, those thoughts and feelings per se of, you know, just being gassed out and worn out and all that pain. And, you know, they really push through, and that's, that's awesome to see. And yeah, I mean, decoying is just fun, man.

I enjoy it. It's definitely something I, I tried to talk you into letting me take over in the near— in the future, and you were like, absolutely not.

I mean, not after how you did today. Um, I wasn't really impressed, but I'm hopeful to get that video later. So moving on to the next point, um, I always told you guys about those light bulb moments, right?

Yeah.

And I shared with you guys some of those light bulb moments that I experienced while I was through the trainer course. And you know, when you have those light bulb moments and you're just like, like, well, this is what the trainer was talking about. Everything just comes together and it works on the dog. Tell me about any light bulb moments that you experienced.

Um, well, one of the first ones that I remember was the, the— you might have to edit this out— opposition reflex and the way that you kind of described that and how it worked. And, and I think that was kind of a light bulb moment, like Oh, I'm pulling on this dog and he's just pulling away from me. Like, what?

Well, why?

And so I think that, uh, you know, that was one of the first, probably the one that kind of sticks out the most, was the light bulb moment. Like, you know, we talked about pets a little bit, and, you know, walking your dog down the road and he's pulling off one way and you're just pulling on him, he's like, it doesn't do anything. Yeah. And, and so he— I think that that is like the biggest light bulb moment I've had, is like, I can't just pull on this dog to get him to do what I want. There actually has to be timing. Also has to be like an actual— there's a process behind it that it's, it's not just yanking on the dog however you think is going to work because he's just, he's a lot of times he's stronger than a lot of these handlers and so he's just going to pull them wherever he wants.

Yeah, and it's funny to see too. I mean, that's usually first people's first instinct is, hey, this dog's getting away from me, let me just suck them back in, right? They don't even realize that they're doing the opposite of that. They're making the problem worse.

Yeah, absolutely.

And I mean, think about how often people, especially if they got a dog that's reactive— let's just talk about the trip, you know, people walking their dogs out in public, and their dog sees another dog, and then all of a sudden, you know, people tighten up on that leash and they start putting pressure, and they tend to just make those reactivity problems worse.

Right.

But, you know, to their credit, like, they don't know any better.

And as anybody just coming off the street, I didn't know any better either. And the way that you kind of described that to us, and you're like, oh, that, that makes sense, because every time you pull on a dog, it just wants to pull the opposite direction. And yeah, and so that was definitely, that was a good, a good teaching lesson from you. And then, you know, a good, uh, light bulb moment, if you will, for me.

Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, opposition reflex too, we can— having that understanding, we could also use it to our advantage as well. Like, think about when we're teaching the read bite, right? Using that opposition reflex. Yeah, you know that dogs has that reflex where they're going to want to drive forward, so we just use it to teach them how to do something, right? Working them or teaching them how to sniff while we're handling and driving the deep corners by utilizing that and having that knowledge of just the anatomy of the dog. So yeah, absolutely. So I already know what you're going to talk about, but because the voice of reason here, Maya, she's watching and she's making sure that I'm asking you all these questions. She's holding a gun up to my head. But what area of working dog training— don't interrupt— what area of working dog training is the most exciting to you?

Do I actually need to think about this one, or can I go ahead and answer?

Go ahead.

The most exciting to me is, is bite work. And, and I'm—

oh wow, really? That's crazy, man.

It's almost like you know I was gonna say that. Um, it has been the most fun for me. Um, we talked about conditioning. I don't think that my conditioning is much of an issue. Uh, so I, I just really enjoy it. I like— it's the sexy part of, of canines, if you will. And so, so catching bites, man, I, I've really kind of taken a liking to that.

It's sexy. It's very sexy.

It's actually the sexiest part of this stream.

It certainly is. Keep the sexy, Jen. So, okay, that's the most exciting to you. Which do you think is the least sexiest?

Do you think you know what I'm going to say here?

No, actually I don't.

When it comes to physically working with dogs?

Yeah.

Well, okay, we can go two different directions here. Um, cleaning kennels and dealing with dog poop is probably one of my least favorite things.

Um, wow, really?

No, uh, actually, you know, when it comes to actually training, uh, and I know that this may be an unpopular opinion, but to me the least sexiest is obedience. And at least for me, um, it just it's like repetition and repetition and repetition. So I just kind of get bored with it, and I'm like, all right, well, they're just gonna walk around in circles and walk up and down the road, and we're gonna walk past these dogs, and it just kind of becomes like redundant, essentially. And so I just kind of get— that's just kind of my least favorite part. I know that it's important, and I understand the importance of it, and I think that it can be sexy, um, but really, when you're just kind of building off of just, you know, basic obedience. It's, it's kind of something that I've kind of like struggled to keep my brain with.

Yeah, I mean, you know, I appreciate your honesty, um, but, you know, as far as it not being the most sexiest, you gotta understand too, it's really the foundation of everything that we're doing. And, you know, What's crazy and what I found, you know, kind of mind-blowing is I've ran into handlers that had been trained in other schools and, you know, I asked them about their obedience or, you know, they come and train with us and they break out for a session and I tell 'em to do some obedience and they're like, I've never done obedience, I've never done. And it's, it's insane, but there's places like that, you know. And to think that you have a police dog yet you don't have that control, you know, who's to say that that dog will come back to you if he gets loose? I mean, that's just a huge liability. And I'm just thinking about everything that we do, um, that foundation is built in the obedience. If you can't get your dog to listen to you walk next to you, what makes you think he's going to come back from a bite, you know, or work around the decoy and want to follow you around when there's a decoy around? But having that control is a vital aspect, and not only from a liability standpoint, but overall for the benefit of the dog and the handler.

So, and I think, and to kind of, to build on that, is, is it's really cool to see when a handler does have good obedience on his dog and he's on a bite and he's 100 yards away and calls that dog off and the dog is like, oh, okay, I'm done, and goes back to his handler. So I do understand it, and I do understand how important it is, don't get me wrong, but it was what I thought was, you know. And so I, I really think it is cool when those dogs do listen really well. I was working with one today, and, and that's the example I just used is, is he was on a bite and he gave the, the out command and, and, you know, the, the here command, and that dog was, okay, I'm done, and ran right back to the handler. And so, you know, saying, going on what you were saying, is, is that's really important, especially for that handler specifically, because he, he is a, uh, in law enforcement. And so it is really cool when somebody does have good obedience on their dog.

Yeah, absolutely. And can, you know, can I give you some, uh, sexy advice from a high IQ individual?

Let's hear it.

Um, this is just something, and I, I'm, I'm kind of, kind of delving into some of my experience, but, um, just sharing with you, um, what was one of the least sexiest aspects for me was tracking. I hated tracking.

Really?

Yeah. I did this course. In the summer, I'd like maybe the spring, early summer. And I'll tell you something, um, if I was tracking like this, it wouldn't be too bad. But in the summer, we get those giro spiders. You know what I'm talking about? Oh yeah, big green heron spiders.

And they make webs as big as they possibly can.

Yeah, so think about doing puppy tracks out there in the woods.

And you got to pick a new track every time, so it's not like the person before before you knock down all the gyro spiders before you walk through it. So you're just stuck knocking them down as you run through.

So I was like, man, this sucks. That's fair, you know. Um, but you know, even though it was one of those aspects that, you know, I didn't enjoy the most, I didn't want it to be an aspect that was gonna, you know, hinder my performance, right?

Hey guys, Voice of Reason here. Due to some technical difficulties, we did lose audio for the rest of this week's podcast episode. However, if you have any questions or you just want a little bit more information about any of our trainer or handler courses, you can always head over to our website, which is always linked below in the show notes, as well as all of our contact information if you'd rather get in contact with someone to figure out which course may be the best option for you. If you were just tuning in to hang out with us and listen, thanks so much for hanging out. We appreciate it. Don't forget, Tuesdays our short sets are going up, Fridays we'll have our long format. Both are always posted at noon, so we'll see you guys next week.