K9 Personal Protection: A Manual for Training Reliable Protection Dogs

Create a safe, successful K9 training program that results in reliable protection dogs.

Learn how to:

• Select the optimal breeds, temperament and physical and mental characteristics for protection work.
• Master the obedience-training techniques that form the foundation of protection training.
• Use the methods of the Dutch Police Dog (KNPV) program, which produces some of the finest police and protection dogs in the world.

Dr. Resi Gerritsen and Ruud Haak, leading dog trainers from the Netherlands, share their proven, comprehensive program for training dogs for personal protection. Their cutting-edge techniques and work with the International Red Cross, the United Nations and the International Rescue Dog Organization (IRO) have placed them in worldwide demand.

In this fully revised and updated edition of K9 Personal Protection, Resi and Ruud start with the basics, including how to select the right dog for protection work, how to properly raise a protection dog from a puppy and how to correct a dog’s bad behavior. Next, they cover fundamental obedience training for protection dogs, such as training for heelwork, the recall, the send away and more. Finally, they present a complete program for training reliable protection dogs, from basic exercises and decoy techniques to the exercises of the KNPV program.

Dr. Resi Gerritsen, a psychologist and jurist, is an international judge for the International Rescue Dog Organisation (IRO) and the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI). Along with her late husband, Ruud Haak, and other colleagues in Austria, Resi developed a new method for training search-and-rescue dogs that revolutionized the field after producing stellar results in disaster zones around the world. She still trains her dogs for search and rescue, detection work, and Schutzhund.

Ruud Haak was the author of more than 30 dog books in Dutch, German, and English, and for over 40 years he was the editor-in-chief of the biggest Dutch dog magazine, Onze Hond (Our dog). Ruud travelled the world with his wife, Dr. Resi Gerritsen, teaching their unique methods to police departments, search-and-rescue organizations, and other dog trainers. He passed away in 2023.