ORLANDO, Fla. — Highly trained dogs are in greater demand than ever before for home protection.
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However, it’s not as simple as bringing home a new family pet.
Thomas and Carolyn Breza own several homes and a business, and it was that business that made them look at another level of protection.
They got two highly trained dogs: a German shepherd named Rue, and a 3-year-old Belgian Malinois named Kayla.
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But don’t let the sweet names fool you. Michael Breza bought Rue after having trouble with vagrants in his Laderdale-by-theSea doctors office, and calls to police went nowhere, and it took care of the problem.
Fritz Shultz of K-9 Enforcement trains dogs for a living. This year, he has even more requests for the purchases and training than ever.
“A lot of calls we are getting are clients that are having a fear, watching the news every day seeing the child abduction, seeing the kidnapping, seeing the home invasions, the burglaries while they are at work,” Shultz said, adding that, statistically, criminals are scare of dogs.”
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Unlike a police canine, a protection dog is a family pet first and foremost, but one that is prepared to attack an assailant if necessary while guarding a home or when out in public with its owner.
Carolyn Breza said Kayla stopped a robbery in progress at a Walgreen’s.
“The assailant was beating a woman behind the counter,” she said. “I told Dr. Breza, bring Kayla in. Kayla knew exactly what to do. She sensed the danger, she stopped the robbery, and he asked the gentlemen to leave or Kayla was going to make him leave. And he left. The woman behind the counter still thanks me to this day for saving her life.”
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Protection dogs are taught obedience and some attack commands, and training is tailored to each family’s unique needs.
But owners must be picked carefully. In fact, the screening process eliminates a lot of clients, as does the cost.
Like with an animal, a protection dog is a commitment, and you have to keep up with the training.
Police officers said that a lot of people who do this don’t keep up the training, and the dogs can lose what they know.
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