DELMARVA WORKING DOG GROUP
"Practical to Tactical"
In the Mid-Atlantic area and mainly on the Delmarva Peninsula, where can you go and train your working dog in the areas of canine personal protection, or in the many areas found in the sports of Schutzhund or French Ring, or do livestock herding and do it all at the same place? Well, in Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia...the choices are few. The DELMARVA WORKING DOG GROUP is here to help! We are a group of working dog enthusiasts who have come from all parts of Delmarva. Besides having group members from Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, we have another thing in common...our love of working dogs. Our main training goal is to promote the best from ourselves and our K-9 partners. We feel that it is possible to do this through our positive, friendly, and ever learning training sessions. Inspiration comes from leadership and leadership comes from experience.
The Training Instructors
The group was founded by two determined working dog enthusiasts, Andy Larrimore a former Military Working Dog Handler and current Police K-9 Handler and Howard Gaines III a former Schutzhund-DVG Trial Helper and Quailfied Training Director. Together, they bring to the training sessions a wealth of K-9 knowledge and experiences for the first time handler and young working dog teams. Both instructors, through their private dog training backgrounds, have combined experiences in: working dog training and handling, training in basic and advanced K-9 obedience, retriever training, stockdog herding, K-9 problem-solving, and improving handler skills. Instruction is always done in a fun and positive manner. We understand the problems and emotions which are faced by the new working dog handler. Many folks have never owned a high drive working dog. They do not understand how to train them or how to correct them, and many lack the skills needed to work them through the defense, prey, and fight drives. It's like giving a high performance sports car to a sixteen year old kid and expecting perfect driving!
Our Training Style
Our Sunday training sessions are designed to educate, train, and inform the members about canine behaviors, drives, motivational training techniques, and the "what if" scenarios. We train for practical to tactical applications using mock scenarios and real life conditions. The DELMARVA WORKING DOG GROUP focuses on these training areas: tracking, obedience, object guarding, herding, many of the elements found in the sports of Schutzhund & French Ring, canine personal protection, and tactical style police training. This is not all that we do, it is only a small list of our training areas. We do not pattern train or train soley for dog sports; and our reason is simple. Life is not a game. When the "bad guys" approach you and want your money, car, or life this is the "real deal." Do you want a sport dog wagging its tail and looking to play with a bite sleeve? Would you be happy if your personal protection dog walked off with the intruder? If your elderly parent or young child got lost and you could find them with the help of a trained tracking dog...now that's cool stuff!
Our Dogs
The majority of our dogs are from the working lines of KNPV, IPO, Schutzhund, or from police working lines. These are "real dogs" and not show lines animals that need to be bottle fed training. Most of our dogs are "spirited" and yet handler friendly. They have the solid temperament and balanced drives needed to cope with our style of training scenarios. What breeds of dogs can be found here? We have many different breeds working from time to time, some of them are the Bouvier des Flandres, Rottweilers, Malinois, Boxers, German Shepherds, Pit Bull Terriers, Giant Schnauzers, Cane Corsos, and the list is growing. Each breed is suited to the owner and their need. You will find hard hitting females as well as males. Again, what you will not find are show lines dogs or AKC agility titled dogs doing herding or protection type training.
Training...Times and Assessments
Training is done on Sunday morning from 8:00 to noon. We train on a thirty-five acre farm which is northwest of Harrington, Delaware. Most of our protection work takes place in the safety of large fenced pastures. When we need to "branch out," we use the rest of the farm and other training sites. Interested? To become a member, we require that your canine partner pass a basic temperament test and be up to date on their shots. Unlike some dog training groups or organizations that charge BIG BUCKS, our test is FREE! We will tell you our findings and what we think your dog should be able to do. No, we're not looking into a "canine crystal ball" and predicting the future. This is a solid assessment tool. The test looks for basic drives and behaviors that all canines use to survive with and that help us determine if your dog has the foundation to do this style of training. In addition, those who wish to become group members must go through a six session probationary period and fill out our membership application. It isn't easy and neither is our training!
We can...
We can offer you the following K-9 services, some of which are FREE!
K-9 Training Equipment
K-9 Importing of Puppies and Adult Dogs
K-9 Problem-Solving
K-9 Assessments and Temperament Testing
Multi-Level K-9 Training Programs
Training for Practical to Tactical Applications
And other "special" training needs
For More Information
For more information about the DELMARVA WORKING DOG GROUP, please contact Mr. Andy Larrimore at Windywoods K9 in Trappe, Maryland at 1-410-829-0332 or by e-mail at wwk9@atlanticbb.net or Mr. Howard Gaines III at Gaines Farm and Kennels in Harrington, Delaware at 1-302-398-0185 or by e-mail at dehgaines@aol.com.
Notice! We don't and won't train for illegal purposes!
