# K-9 Body-Gaurd by: Mike Harlow



## greg wilson (Mar 17, 2009)

Have any of you guys read K-9 Body-Gaurd by:Mike Harlow? This was the book that got me interested in dog training. His techniques on OB, tracking, and bitework seem simple enough and have worked pretty well for me as a novice. I'd like to get some input on the book from some of the more advanced trainers here.
I'd also be interested in knowing if any of you guys have ever trained with Mike Harlow.:?:


----------



## Jenn Schoonbrood (Oct 31, 2008)

Oh man, this was totally my first book too! I mean, I've graduated beyond this as a trainer (the obedience is archaic at best) and I find it funny now that his recommended breeds are AB's and APBT's - two breeds it's nearly impossible to find half decent working stock in. Since the book was published, sports (such as PSA) have brought realism onto the trial field as well, and it's easier than ever to see good dogs work. But I will forever keep my copy for it's sentimental value. 

I'd be interested to know if anyone's ever trained with Mike Harlow too... In all my effort, I couldn't even verify that he exists.


----------



## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Jenn Ruzsa said:


> .... Mike Harlow ... In all my effort, I couldn't even verify that he exists.


This is the same guy.

http://www.harlowholsters.com/


----------



## Jenn Schoonbrood (Oct 31, 2008)

Ohhhhh yeah! I remember the book is filled cover-to-cover with pics of his collars. Those rattlesnake skin ones...


----------



## Mike Di Rago (Jan 9, 2009)

Wow, I can't wait for his new book ''Superdogs and how to train them''.
Do we need a cape?
Mike


----------



## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Mike Di Rago said:


> Wow, I can't wait for his new book ''Superdogs and how to train them''.
> Do we need a cape?
> Mike


You mean for the dog, right? Yes, you do.


----------



## Mike Di Rago (Jan 9, 2009)

Oh, yeah for the dog too!
Mike


----------



## mike suttle (Feb 19, 2008)

I scanned through his book a few years ago while using the bathroom at a friends house. My advice would be to save your money and dont waste it on that book. Find any decent working dog trainer and they can get you farther in 1 hour than that book will ever get you.


----------



## Andy Larrimore (Jan 8, 2008)

I read the book, own the book and wouldn't waste my time or money on it again. There are much better books out there worth investing your time and money on.


----------



## greg wilson (Mar 17, 2009)

ok... same general consensus. So, what do you guys recommend?


----------



## mike suttle (Feb 19, 2008)

The soft cover book by Helmet Raiser translated by Armin Winkler titled "Der Schutzhund" is a good book for the money (about $10 now I think)
Ivan has some good books that are worth reading.
The best way is to find a good trainer and work with them.


----------



## Jenn Schoonbrood (Oct 31, 2008)

I recommend getting out to seminars if you've got no one local that's good. What kind of stuff are you looking to accomplish? Obedience, I would tend to recommend clicker/shaping for teaching, then Ivan's Obedience Without Conflict DVD's for working in drive (the concepts go hand-in-hand).

For protection? You can't really do it out of a book.


----------



## Jeff Oehlsen (Apr 7, 2006)

A really good PP trainer I used to train with read Koehlers book on protection dogs and went out and trained a dog using the techniques he read in the book.

I remember the dog, it was a Dobermann named bruno. Very well trained dog, but then again, most of his dogs were well trained. I had a lot of respect for bruno, and worked him a lot.

I think that a lot of people out there just think differently than when I was a kid. If you wanted to do something, you went out and did it. We didn't have seminars and video, or internet and such.

A lot of people out there just train the way they are told, and have nowhere to turn if anything goes wrong, as they never understood what they were doing in the first place.


----------



## Mike Di Rago (Jan 9, 2009)

I agree, for basic understanding of drives etc Helmut Raiser's book is a must, and inexpensive at that. If you are looking at sport, I like Tom Rose and Gary Patterson's ''training the competitive working dog''.
But there is nothing like getting hands on with a trainer you trust
Mike


----------



## Jeff Oehlsen (Apr 7, 2006)

Then again, there are so few of us, some have to start somewhere. LOL


----------



## Jenn Schoonbrood (Oct 31, 2008)

I think it really depends too on how good a person is at interpreting stuff in books. We're all different types of learners. If what's true for academics carries over at all, the VAST majority of people couldn't train a goldfish to eat, using books alone. Books are fantastic for theory, but often fall short of being able to communicate the practice effectively.


----------



## Jeff Oehlsen (Apr 7, 2006)

Which shows you the weakness in reading comprehension. I think a lot of dog people suffer from this now a days. Too many questions, to much fear to just go out and do it, too much insecurity of what others might think.

I think that the sport is not as loved as the dog in a lot of cases.


----------



## Jenn Schoonbrood (Oct 31, 2008)

Jeff Oehlsen said:


> I think that the sport is not as loved as the dog in a lot of cases.


Sure. I'd agree 100% with you there. But as to whether that's acceptable or not, I guess that's a topic for another thread. I can see both sides of the coin even though I'm firmly on one side. LOL


----------



## Jeff Oehlsen (Apr 7, 2006)

It's OK, you are marrying the decoy, so I know who you are a bit better than you might think. LOL


----------



## Phil Dodson (Apr 4, 2006)

> I second Jeffs recommendation "koehler"!! Let the critics start yet again!!

> Phil


----------



## Jeff Oehlsen (Apr 7, 2006)

The man got an irish setter to act tough in front of a cougar. Who among you can throw stones now bitches ! ! ! ! !


----------



## greg wilson (Mar 17, 2009)

I appreciate all the advie. I think I'll try Koehler and Helmut Raiser. I have worked with a few trainers and picked up what I think is useful from each. From what I have seen, most of the trainers (not all) think they are the _be all end all_ of dog training and they love to blast all the other trainers in the area. 

For those of you that are wondering, I'm not in it for sport or atleast not to compete. I like the PP aspect. I also enjoy tracking because my dog seems to love it ( not the slow copetition type tracking I have seen, maybe Scenting?).

Thanks again to all.


----------



## ann schnerre (Aug 24, 2006)

greg, koehler's book of guard dog training (his first) is what got me in to the "mindset"---there's some really good stuff in it (i still have a throw-chain and so does david frost i think) and some outdated stuff, but the man makes sense. i wish i hadn't let someone "borrow" my copy....haven't seen it for 20 yrs.

the basis for his training (IMO) is teaching the dog that "for every action there is an equal reaction", among other things. a good book for reference, but things in dog training have changed a lot in 20 years....


----------



## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Jeff Oehlsen said:


> The man got an irish setter to act tough in front of a cougar. Who among you can throw stones now bitches ! ! ! ! !


I'm thinking Big Red was table trained but being a Setter he didn't realize he had a way out when not on the table. :-o :lol: :lol: :lol: 
Koehler also trained the Danes that fought the tiger in "Swiss Family Robinson."
I've still got the Koehler "guard dog" book. You still need an Agitator.


----------



## Phil Dodson (Apr 4, 2006)

> I got you all beat!! I have his guard dog training and tracking book both signed by him!!


----------



## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Cool!
I only have the guard dog book and the basic obedience. 
The do both have my signature in them so they don't get lost. :lol: ;-)


----------

