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The Koehler Method of Guard Dog Training; An Effective & Authoritative Guide for Selecting, Training & Maintaining Dogs in Home Protection, Plant Security, Police, & Military Work
Offers guidance in selecting and training dogs for personal protection, plant security, and police work
- GenresDogs
207 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1969
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 1, 2013
Koehler had experience training THOUSANDS of working dogs for the military and police departments across the country. This book was written specifically for hard dogs undergoing guard/protection dog training. This is a classic that is highly sought after in the used book market. It was not written for the typical dog owner who seeks to train a soft dog basic obedience. So, ignore reviewers who are taken aback by Koehler's harsher methods...Koehler is writing for people who will rely on working dogs to save their lives and protect property. He cares about his dogs...and that means having a highly trained dog that you can count on in dangerous circumstances.
Fifty years ago, Koehler was a trail blazer. When I first learned about dog training, Koehler was THE expert, and his methods worked FAST.... And, without relying on food rewards which you then need to transition away from with a working dog. Koehler masterfully uses classical conditioning -- reward and consequence. The dog causes the reward for correct choice and the consequence for the wrong choice. Or, with no reward, there is extinction of an undesired behavior. The key is to make sure the dog knows what to do. And, get the right dog. Koehler walks us through all this.
Again, a classic text. You cannot go wrong with Koehler. He had more experience than all these modern experts put together. But, importantly, this book is NOT for obedience training a typical home dog where softer methods would be far more appropriate. This is a book for protection and guard dog training only. If you are are only interested in obedience training, then only use the second half of this book or buy Koehler's Book on Obedience Training.
Fifty years ago, Koehler was a trail blazer. When I first learned about dog training, Koehler was THE expert, and his methods worked FAST.... And, without relying on food rewards which you then need to transition away from with a working dog. Koehler masterfully uses classical conditioning -- reward and consequence. The dog causes the reward for correct choice and the consequence for the wrong choice. Or, with no reward, there is extinction of an undesired behavior. The key is to make sure the dog knows what to do. And, get the right dog. Koehler walks us through all this.
Again, a classic text. You cannot go wrong with Koehler. He had more experience than all these modern experts put together. But, importantly, this book is NOT for obedience training a typical home dog where softer methods would be far more appropriate. This is a book for protection and guard dog training only. If you are are only interested in obedience training, then only use the second half of this book or buy Koehler's Book on Obedience Training.
October 21, 2009
It's hard to give this book a scale review as I have strong and mixed feelings, but I'll have to settle it with two stars. Please note that this pertains only to the first section of the book on guard dog training, not the section on obedience training, which I did not read.
5 stars: This book is an excellence text on the principles of learning, doing far more for teaching the best of behavioral psychology than Pavlov or Skinner ever did. Koehler does an excellent job drawing from his experience training 15,000+ dogs to give step-by-step instructions for the fundamentals of police dog, industrial plan watch dog, and military dog training. I don't have much experience with dogs, let alone guard dogs, so I would no feel confident trying to train a dog without an experienced professional. (Also, from reviews I've read of his other books it seems that at least the public is divided on whether Koehler is just effective or just cruel; I'd like to hear some professional opinions.) One of the more interesting points of the book is that no one teaches a dog to be a guard dog any more than one teaches a dog to hunt - the essence of the training is it bolster and shape a dog's natural instincts to better serve your particular needs. Along those same lines, many dogs a simply not cut out for the job, so much of the work goes into working on good candidates, not trying to "make" guard dogs out of unfit or unwilling animals.
1 star: Koehler often uses a patronizing, smug tone that is unfitting in a dog manual, or really any manual at all. It's one thing for a professional to criticize others' practices or beliefs, but I found his tone unprofessional, even condescending. In several cases he defends dogs who did not behave as expected (such as biting people), and rightly attributes it to the ineffective or misguided training of the handler. However, his condemnation of police captains and precincts that do not employ canine units would hardly win anyone over. More to the point, the dismissive and patronizing tone he uses when discussing minorities and the 1960's race riots convinced me he's probably a bigot, or at least a fool. He should leave the social commentary for another text, or better yet to keep it to himself.
5 stars: This book is an excellence text on the principles of learning, doing far more for teaching the best of behavioral psychology than Pavlov or Skinner ever did. Koehler does an excellent job drawing from his experience training 15,000+ dogs to give step-by-step instructions for the fundamentals of police dog, industrial plan watch dog, and military dog training. I don't have much experience with dogs, let alone guard dogs, so I would no feel confident trying to train a dog without an experienced professional. (Also, from reviews I've read of his other books it seems that at least the public is divided on whether Koehler is just effective or just cruel; I'd like to hear some professional opinions.) One of the more interesting points of the book is that no one teaches a dog to be a guard dog any more than one teaches a dog to hunt - the essence of the training is it bolster and shape a dog's natural instincts to better serve your particular needs. Along those same lines, many dogs a simply not cut out for the job, so much of the work goes into working on good candidates, not trying to "make" guard dogs out of unfit or unwilling animals.
1 star: Koehler often uses a patronizing, smug tone that is unfitting in a dog manual, or really any manual at all. It's one thing for a professional to criticize others' practices or beliefs, but I found his tone unprofessional, even condescending. In several cases he defends dogs who did not behave as expected (such as biting people), and rightly attributes it to the ineffective or misguided training of the handler. However, his condemnation of police captains and precincts that do not employ canine units would hardly win anyone over. More to the point, the dismissive and patronizing tone he uses when discussing minorities and the 1960's race riots convinced me he's probably a bigot, or at least a fool. He should leave the social commentary for another text, or better yet to keep it to himself.
August 27, 2020
"For a small amount, you can prevent a mistake common even among experienced kennel people, that of making it possible for the dog to run away from correction. By equipping your pup with a snug collar from which a piece of light line is dragging, you can speedily convince him that, if he tries to avoid correction by holing up under something, he'll be brought out rapidly and quite uncomfortably."
"From that time on, when he [young puppy] offends [by whining], rush back to the line-not the dog-and work your way to the collar; then give him a good shaking and sting his upper thighs a bit with a folded belt."
Really, this is the most unbelieveably abusive training manual I've ever read. Im not talking about "balanced" training (which this is not). Its not even punishment-based training, it's something else entirely- purely abusive and horrific. To anyone considering purchasing this book, I highly encourage you to do some research into the scientific methods of positive reinforcement and learning theory (classical and operant conditioning, quadrants, etc.) and how they are used to shape behaviors in virtually every avenue of dog/animal training (including protection training/IPO). The training in this book will create a fearful dog with an unreliable and, much worse, unpredictable bite. Proceed at your own risk, and only if you don't mind risking creating an emotionally damaged dog that will likely need to be put to sleep due to fear aggression issues. Or if you just enjoy things like terrorizing and beating puppies, and electrically shocking dogs by hot wiring pieces of meat.
"From that time on, when he [young puppy] offends [by whining], rush back to the line-not the dog-and work your way to the collar; then give him a good shaking and sting his upper thighs a bit with a folded belt."
Really, this is the most unbelieveably abusive training manual I've ever read. Im not talking about "balanced" training (which this is not). Its not even punishment-based training, it's something else entirely- purely abusive and horrific. To anyone considering purchasing this book, I highly encourage you to do some research into the scientific methods of positive reinforcement and learning theory (classical and operant conditioning, quadrants, etc.) and how they are used to shape behaviors in virtually every avenue of dog/animal training (including protection training/IPO). The training in this book will create a fearful dog with an unreliable and, much worse, unpredictable bite. Proceed at your own risk, and only if you don't mind risking creating an emotionally damaged dog that will likely need to be put to sleep due to fear aggression issues. Or if you just enjoy things like terrorizing and beating puppies, and electrically shocking dogs by hot wiring pieces of meat.
July 6, 2016
This book consists of two parts: part one deals with the selection and training of a guard dog breed, part two deals with the Koehler Method of Dog Training Novice Level. An excellent method to train any dog to off-leash reliability.
Want to Read
June 12, 2011Buy for Dads birthday
July 12, 2011
This book is intended for the dog person who wishes to train a dog for home protection themselves. It discusses selecting the appropriate dog and training techniques.
January 19, 2018
I can barely give it 3 stars. Good for history of dog training but so out dated.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews