Simon’s Dog Training Background
I have had a special connection with dogs ever since he was a young boy. My first experience with aggressive working dogs was when I served at the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) in the 1980s. I was stationed at a secret intelligence base. The base was protected by very aggressive guard dogs that were held between two fence lines surrounding the base. Each dog had a section to protect. This arrangement worked well to scare off unwanted Arab Bedouin (nomadic Arab tribes) that lived in the area. But all the other soldiers stationed at that base were afraid of the aggressive dogs, and no soldier was willing to do duty to take care of the dogs and patrol in their area. I had no problem — all these dogs quickly became my friends. Later in the service, I had an opportunity to observe the work of true IDF working dogs (today, IDF has one of the best k9 units called an Oketz).
Fast forward to 2005, and I finally convinced my family to get out first dog — working dog, of course. I did not know much about working dog pedigrees, and how to select the right dog, but we got very lucky with the Giant Schnauzer named Mansi.
When Mansi was 6 months old, I decided to join the local Schutzhund club run by a locally known Schutzhund trainer. When I brought Mansi to him for evaluation, this trainer’s approach frightened the young puppy, and then he declared that the dog was not fit for Schutzhund. I did not know anything about Schutzhund training, but I instinctively knew that this “trainer’s” approach was wrong. I decided that I must learn dog training and devote myself to learning. I found out about Michael Ellis and took all his on-line dog training courses. I also sought other Schutzhund trainers and always demanded to understand why they were taking certain techniques and not just repeating what they instructed to do — to this day, I always explain to my clients the logic behind my recommendations.
I mostly trained Mansi myself, and by three years old, Mansi had earned several Schutzhund titles.
Mansi even won some Schutzhund best in trial awards for obedience and tracking.
I learned from this experience that training must be adopted to every dog individually — there is no standard approach that works exactly the same for every dog (like the known Schutzhund trainer that I met in 2005 believed). Mansi was a great dog, but even he had some challenges in some areas, and working with him on these challenges, made me learn dog training even better.
In 2023 I had an opportunity to start a business that uses working dogs to do real-life work — K9 Tech Security. I started to apply what I learned from training dogs for high performance in sports to training for real-life work — protection, tracking and scent work. I started to work with amazing dogs, but also dogs that were so talented that like some people, had some emotional and psychological challenges associated with their talent. I realized that to be a great dog trainer, I must learn dog behavior and psychology. I read every dog and animal behavior book I found and tried every promising method in my work. I also connected with some of the best-known police and military dog trainers.
Since then I worked with many challenging dogs — both pet dogs and working dogs — and I had a lot of success. I work with every dog, but especially with aggressive dogs and dogs with other challenging behaviors.
To learn more about Simon Raban’s background, please refer to the About section.
My Approach to Dog Training
I do not believe in following the latest popular trends of dog training. Some trainers present themselves as “only positive” trainers, others as “balanced”, and others state that they specialize in “reactivity”, etc. Unfortunately, many dog trainers are experts on what is popular on social media and do not take the time to learn high level dog training techniques and learn about dog behavior. On the other hand, many academic dog behaviorists with Phd degrees do not understand dog training — they have never trained working dogs (the most challenging dog training area).
I don’t believe there is one training philosophy that works for every dog. Effective training requires understanding the individual dog, its behavior, its environment, and what motivates it.”
My approach is based on the following principles:
- The training and behavior modification approaches must be custom-tailored to every dog. I will take the time to observe every dog.
- I select from a large tool-box of training techniques including reward-based techniques, adverse punishment based techniques, techniques based on classical conditioning and Operant Conditioning, as well as a variety of modern behavior modification such as dopamine techniques.
- I focus on helping clients to establish an effective communications language with their dogs.
- I train the dog and teaching the owners how to handle their dog. I take a lot of time teaching the dog owners.
- Dog behavior is also based on the quality of their lifestyle — I also focus on proper play, exercise, nutrition, and healthy lifestyle for dogs.
Controlled Socialization Training
Socializing puppies and young dogs is very important for their proper development. Many people, however, think that socializing is putting their dogs into dog play groups (like those at the daycare places). If dogs like to play with other dogs, then sure — put them in groups and let them play — but not all dogs like nor need to play with other dogs, but they need to be socialized. Socialization does not mean that every dog needs to play with other dogs. To me, socialization means teaching a dog how to behave appropriately around people, dogs, and different environments. I call my method — controlled socializing training.
My method of controlled socializing, I train dogs in the behavior rules. It starts with the owners building the proper engagement with their dogs first — for your dog to behave correctly with strangers and other dogs, it must have proper respect and connection with its owner first. After building this engagement, I introduce the dogs to other dogs and other people in a controlled way. Dogs learn to co-exist with others, while learning the rules of behavior.
Teaching Dogs and Dog Owners To Play
Many of my customers kept telling me that they would have liked playing with their dog, but their dog does not know how to play. For example, their dog grabs the ball and runs away with it, and they cannot get it back. Their dog does not know how to jump high. Their dog is not interested in balls, but would only chase sticks. Or their dog does not seem to be interested in anything, but will possess its toy and would not let go.
It turns out that we need to train our dogs how to play before we can enjoy to play with our dogs. The dogs need to learn the play rules — such as how to drop a ball, how to come back with a ball, how to catch a Frisbee, how to jump over a hurdle, how to search for food, etc. I can teach your dog how to play, so you can enjoy more active and rewarding time together—and help your dog become healthier and happier.
I also organized this play club for this purpose.
