Unveiling Process How CPI Protection Dogs Are Trained for Excellence

Come with us on a journey that starts in the European countryside and ends in your home, with a confident family companion resting calmly at your side. Each dog from Canine Protection International (CPI) undergoes a thorough process, from selecting the best breeding dogs to nurturing puppies and training them into Fully Trained Protection Dogs. This careful and dedicated approach ensures that when a CPI dog joins your family, it brings loyalty, confidence, companionship, and protection.

In previous articles, we’ve discussed why we don’t rely solely on an in-house breeding program. By searching from a larger pool of dogs across Europe, we can select the very best, rather than being limited to a small group we’ve bred ourselves. With costs rising to $150,000 for a protection dog bred and raised in-house, the price often reflects the expense of raising a puppy to adulthood rather than the dog’s quality.

Our trainers in Europe breed and select the best puppies to go into families where they will be raised. As they grow, they are trained daily to imprint both obedience and protection, making several trips a week to our trainers’ facility. Some puppies will be washed out of the program along the way and end up as good family pets, with only the best making it through. We are made aware of these dogs at 6-10 months and we start tracking their progress carefully.

When the best candidates are selected, they then move to our training center in Europe where they will spend another 6-12 months training in advanced obedience, advanced protection, and home life. This part of the process is all about power. The dogs will go through daily training to build drive and conditioning (while of course getting plenty of love and downtime with the kids). It is at this point that the dogs become available for sale, they must be at the point where we know who they are at their core. They must be powerful and explosive in protection, but also have a sweet side with children, and the ability to relax and blend into family life.

Once the dogs come to our brand-new training facility outside of Dallas Texas, they are happy, powerful, and ready to continue their journey in training. We first allow them time to settle in, taking them for walks, feeding them, and letting them get to know the trainers. We then start doing fast-paced conditioning training with them, with lots of rewards with food and toys. The training we do is extremely motivated and expressive. We want our dogs to think that every time they come out to train, it is the best day of their life. During the final stage of obedience, we wean the dogs off of the food and toys as rewards and switch to verbal praise and affection.

We continue to build power in protection while they are here, along with training them for functional protection that will work in everyday life and any scenario. Teaching the dogs to turn on anyone, anytime, anywhere with one command and all off leash. There is no need for special equipment, vests, harnesses, and other tools that may have the appearance of what a Protection Dog should be, but in reality, are not functional for everyday life. We put the dogs through rigorous training scenarios at the training center, at our home, and in public to prepare them for anything they may encounter while protecting their new family.

The final part of the process is integration into your home. Included with the purchase of an Elite Family & Estate Protection Dog by CPI is a 3-day in-home acclimation and handling instruction with one of our lead delivery trainers. We accompany you in public settings, handling the dog off-leash, assisting with car entry and exits, conducting protection exercises both at home and in public, and facilitating introductions to other pets and family members. Our comprehensive approach leaves no detail overlooked, and by the third day, you will feel fully confident in handling your new companion. Clients often find the process surprisingly straightforward due to our tailored training and dog selection process aligned with your lifestyle. Even after we depart, we remain just a phone call away for any further assistance. This commitment extends beyond a one-time purchase; it is a lifelong partnership with access to ongoing support and follow-up training as needed. Additionally, we frequently visit cities with multiple CPI clients, allowing us to efficiently check-in and support our extended CPI family.

Our training allows our dogs to be handled by their new owner without the owner having to carry around treats, a ball, or a leash. We turn our clients into the new handlers, not trainers. A relationship is based on trust, love, affection, and respect.

We look forward to working with you and your family.