Working and Show Titles

Our European and Latin American imports come from backgrounds where they were in training for Schutzhund, French Ring, Belgian Ring, KNPV, law enforcement, private security, and other such disciplines.  Other dogs we import from Europe and Latin America also have been shown in the conformation ring, this is where dogs are judged based on their looks and structure.  Some of the dogs we import have been titled in these various disciplines.  We normally import these dogs at ages of anywhere from 12 months to 3 years of age.  We do this so we can know the type of dog we are getting.  A lot of people wonder why we don’t start with puppies but the reality is that so few dogs work out for our standards.  Even dogs that have been bred, raised, and trained for protection work often don’t meet our standards.  As such, we tend to buy dogs that are a bit older and have proven their ability to be trained for work.

Dogs that have been titled in sport or in the conformation ring will often have higher prices.  Their prices for us to import them are higher because their owners have taken them to a recognized level within that sport and the dog has been proven in that discipline.  The dogs are not necessarily better than an untitled dog, they simply have owners who have been diligent in titling their dogs.

At Protege K9 we actively seek the best dogs we can find in character, training, sociability, power, potential, and capacity.  If those dogs happen to have already earned a title, so be it.  We recognize that such a dog will cost us more.  The net benefit to the new owner is negligible but is often nice for the owner to know that their dog has earned such a title.  Some of our clients insist on titles because it is a point of pride that their dog has been shown to be a standout in the competition ring.

Depending on the number of titles and the degree to which the individual dog has highlighted him or herself while earning those titles will determine if the dog will cost only hundreds more or thousands more.  At the end of the day, though, the main thing that is important to us is, can the dog do the job.  That means:

• Is the dog stable enough to be social yet protective when necessary?  Good with family and guests but have the ability to ‘turn it on’ when necessary?
• Does the dog have the necessary drives to be protection trained?
• Does the dog have the right personality for our clientele?

These questions and others form the foundation for what we look for in a dog and the titles are only the added cherry on top when they have been earned.