History of Traditional Dog Training Please re-visit this page often. We are constantly updating it as we learn more=) Last updated: December 06, 2007 Prelude This page is designed to show people the origins and true development of not only service & working dog training but also obedience training of dogs. This page will show people how and where dog obedience training was first created. Lastly it will show you how the methods were passed on from one trainer to the next. And in turn how these techniques ended up being perpetuated and discovered around the world.
Lechernich, Germany The history of traditional service dog training starts with the World's very first Military War Dog training School opened in Lechernich, Germany just outside Berlin in 1884. The very first war dog training manual is published by the Prussian Army for the Jaeger Rifle Battalions in 1885. The methods that were born here proved so sound that they became the standard for the rest of the world to follow for nearly the next century. German War-Dog methods later became perfected by Nazi SS K-9 Units and Commanders of World War II.
Max Von Stephanitz Max Von Stephanitz was born in . he attended a veterinary college in Berlin. And attained the rank of Captain in the military. On April 22, 1899 the German SV Club is created for the German Shepherd's Dog created by Max Von Stephanitz. Grandmaster Stephanitz became the first President of the club. This man is partly responsible for the development of German Police Dog Training (Schutzhund) as well. In 1921 Max Von Stephanitz publishes his famous book, "The German Shepherd's Dog In Word and Picture" in the German language. Many people believe subsequent English versions such as the 8th revised version of this book have been changed by the powers that be who sought to control, influence and manipulate. Max Von Stephanitz is pushed out of power by members of the German National Socialist Party in 1935 who also happen to be in the SV. April 22 1936 Max Von Stephanitz passes away on the anniversary of the SV Club creation.
Colonel Konrad Most Colonel Most is one of the worlds most experienced and distinguished authorities on all types of dog training and a pioneer in the study of dog psychology . He started training Service Dogs in 1906 while serving as Police Commissioner at the Royal Prussian Police Headquarters, Saarbrucken. For the next eight years he gave instruction to the constabulary on the training and management of police dogs for all purposes by methods evolved by himself. In 1912 he was appointed Principal of the newly formed State Breeding and Training Establishment for police dogs at Berlin and carried out much original research in training dogs for service personnel and for the tracking of criminals. At the outbreak of war in 1914, Konrad Most was attached to the Staff of Field Marshal Von Hindenburg, Commander-in-Chief of the East, to organize and direct the use of Army dogs on the Eastern Front and the following year was put in charge of the organization of all canine services on both the Eastern and Western Fronts. In recognition of his war service he was, in 1919, awarded a testimonial by the Prussian War Ministry inscribed: "To Capt. Most, creator of the Canine Service in the World War of 1914-18." From 1919 to 1937 he was head of the Canine Research Department of the Army High Command and during that period also acted as adviser to the Government of Finland on the organization of the Finnish Canine Services. He played a leading part in the formation of the Canine Research Society and of the German Society for Animal Psychology, both founded in 1931 and in 1938 was elected Honorary Life Member of both bodies in recognition of his work on their behalf. From 1944 to 1947 Colonel Most was head of the Experimental Department at the Tutorial and Experimental Institute for Armed Forces' Dogs and Technical Principal of the North German Dog Farm, a center for the training of working dogs, their handlers, and the trainers fo dogs for the blind. Since 1951 he has been closely associated with the courses held in the Rhine Palatinate for the instruction of sportsmen in the training and management of hunting and tracking dogs for the purpose of improving their performances in the field. In 1954 Colonel Most was Awarded an Honorary Doctorate of the Justus-Liebig Technical College, Giessen, Hesse, near Frankfurt-am-Main. His manual "Training Dogs", first written in 1910, is the recognized standard work on the subject throughout Europe and is now in its twelfth German edition. It was translated to English in 1955 the same year as his death.
Lt. Colonel Edwin Hautenville Richardson Edwin. H. Richardson becomes the man who goes on to create Britain's War Dog School and Military Working Dog programs. This man had attended the German War Dog school in Lechernich. His book titled "My Forty Years With Dogs," was published shortly after The Great War ends in 1918. And it was EH Richardson's books, that were used as training manuals by the United States' Quartermaster Corps, in 1942 when this country started its first official K-9 Army. In fact many head dog trainer's from Britain were retained by the Americans to help them set up their WWII dog programs. Those British trainers in my opinion did a lot to bring traditional service dog training methods to America. That is how good the Brit's were at the service dog game. And in my opinion the reason they were that good can be traced back to E.H. Richardson's work in Britain with war dogs.
Col. Lee Duncan & Rin Tin Tin September 15, 1918 U.S. Army Col. Lee Duncan discovers Rin Tin Tin as a new born puppy during world war one in a bombed out German war dog kennel in France. Col. Duncan would later get the opportunity to learn the secrets of German War Dog Training directly from a captured German Kennel Master that was being retained in a POW camp. Mr. Duncan would later go on to become the Head trainer at Camp Hahn for WWII and infusing German war dog methods into the American military working dog program. He wrote a book titled "The Rin Tin Tin Book of Dog Care" in 1958. There was also a LP record made called "CHH-24 - Hear How to Train Your Dog - Lee Duncan [1961]" by Carlton Records. In September 1960 Col. Lee Duncan died at the age of 67 from heart attack.
Carl Spitz and Hollywood Carl Spitz, a German immigrant and student of Col. Konrad Most, opens the Hollywood Dog Training School in California in 1927. His former kennel is still there and still does business under new ownership. Famous for being the trainer of the film star dog named Toto in the Wizard of Oz and Buck, the St. Bernard who starred with Clark Gable in Call of the Wild. And Spitz was the trainer of a Rottweiler named 'Rolf' that was sometimes used as a security dog to patrol the Playboy mansion. Carl Spitz would later go on to become one of the men responsible for setting up America's WWII War-Dog Program. He was also involved in classified elite K-9 units such as the K-9 Commando program. Not much is known about what active duty these dogs saw, but it is known dogs in this unit were in fact literally trained to kill. His immigration to southern California is in large part the reason that southern California would go on to become a hotbed of dog training activity in America. This area produced several other noted famous dog trainers. Such as Bill Koehler who even dedicated his book on tracking dogs to Carl Spitz. And the area also contained the largest number of registered obedience club members in all of America. One wonders if America's War Dog program would have ever truly succeeded if not for this man.
Captain Will Judy
Obedience Trials Helen Whitehouse Walker devised the first obedience "test" in Mt. Kisco, New York in 1933 to show the intelligence of her poodles. Eight dogs competed in America’s first obedience trial. 1934: North Westchester Kennel Club and Somerset Hills Kennel Club held obedience tests at their conformation shows. 1936: the American Kennel Club had developed and was using the “Regulations and Standards for Obedience Test Trials” at licensed obedience events.
Hans Tossutti In 1942 Hans Tossutti has his book titled "Companion Dog Training" published. He is a practical trainer of dogs for sport and for war service; whose work has included Red Cross carriers (messages and ammunition), police service, motion picture and stage performers and leaders of the blind. He was met with conspicuous success in training dogs in all of these capacities, and he had taught uncounted hundreds of others to train dogs as well. Hans Tossutti received his own education in Europe. One of the organizers of the blind-leading school in Potsdam, Germany, and police-service dog-guide and instructor in Berlin, he made his ring debut under the highest world authority, the late Captain von Stephanitz. Upon arriving in this country he became the first organizer of dog training in classes, when he established the New England Training School for Dogs in Boston in 1928. This club still exists and is one of the oldest in America. Here he subsequently held the record for having trained under his direction what is believed to be the largest number of dogs on this side. His American record shows more than 3,000 dogs schooled in his classes, and more than 200 personally trained, while many of his pupils are now accredited American Kennel Club judges. Mr. Tossutti's system of training is by no means one-sided, that is, it is not adaptable merely to a limited number of breeds. Though some breeds he considered more fitted for training temperamentally than others, every breed of dog has been trained by him at onetime or another. Most famous of all was probably his own Shepherd, Bodo von der Mueritz, known the country over from 1925 to 1932 in motion picture work. In 1940, by virtue of his experience, the author was appointed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as instructor for the Department of Education, Division of University Extension courses. Several clubs have adopted his training system with the greatest success, while his exhibition at Eastern Dog Club shows have been copied throughout the country. His original system which he brought from abroad, he adjusted skillfully to American conditions and to this fact must be attributed some measure of his success.
Josef Weber Josef Weber came to the US from Germany, where he was an instructor in the Berlin Police Force. In addition to teaching military and police dogs, Weber had developed procedures for teaching guide dogs for people who were blind. Weber became an American Kennel Club judge and is credited as having a critical role in developing the formal obedience tests used in this country. Upon arriving in America he established a training school in Philadelphia. In 1939 Josef Weber publishes his book titled, "The Dog In Training". The kennel in which he trained at still exists and does business under new ownership.
Weatherwaxx Family Lassie and Old Yeller are perhaps the two most famous dogs trained by this family of dog trainers. Lassie became one of the all time most famous dogs in history. And for good reason. This dogs exploits were impressive and deserved the fame he received. What is most impressive about the Weatherwaxx Family was exactly that, they were a family of dog trainers.
Arlene Erlanger Mrs. Erlanger wrote the first American war dog manual which was titled TM-10-396. This manual was the basis for many of the war dog training camps in America. Which is befitting since this is the woman who organized the 'Dogs for Defense' program during WWII. This woman was helped greatly by Henry Stoeker her kennel manager. This man was a second generation military/police dog trainer. He immigrated to America from Germany in the 1920's, bringing with him real German training secrets. I have no doubt this man played a central role in the entire creation of the WWII War Dog program in America and that we should thank him for bringing the methods to North America.
Helen Whitehouse-walker
Blanche Saunders A woman by the name of Blanche Saunders toured America in 1937 giving obedience demonstrations. This woman was a student of Josef Weber. Blanche Saunders is credited with the creation of AKC style obedience competition with Mr. Weber. In 1954 Saunders published her book, The Complete Book of Dog Obedience. This was the first book written specifically for obedience instructors and in it, Saunders outlined the format for procedures that would be adopted in dog training classes across the country. Known as 'The First lady of Obedience', she personally trained over 12,000 pupils in here lifetime. This woman did a tremendous amount for the sport of obedience trials. Most of the rules she created for trials still exist and stand to this very day.
Winifred Strickland Winifred Gibson Strickland, a student of Blanche Saunders began competing in obedience in the early 1940's. Winifred retires from competition in 1955. an AKC obedience judge, was one of the earliest “super trainers.” She earned 160 obedience titles, 40 perfect scores, 30 utility titles, three obedience trial championships, five national obedience championships, five tracking titles, plus hundreds of high awards. In her book book Expert Obedience Training for Dogs in 1965, Strickland outlined a sequenced curriculum for novice through utility training. She said that her method would produced dogs that were eager to work.
William Koehler William R. (Bill) Koehler, born 1914, died November, 1993. William Koehler began his dog training career in the U.S. Military during the World War II era. He served as a dog trainer at the Pomona ordnance base in California. His civilian training kennel stills exists in Ontario California which is very close to Pomona. He was later transferred to the War Dog Reception and Training Center in San Carlos where he became a principal trainer and did training of a specialized nature. This training site was near the San Francisco bay area and was home to so many Military dogs and trainers it became known as "Dog Town". This is the place One of his later books titled "The Koehler Method of Guard Dog Training" would appear specifically oriented towards the working dog enthusiast. And in this book you can see the heavy influence his military past had in his training methods. This book was voted 'Best Dog Book of the Year" by the Dog Writers Association of America. "The Koehler Method of Dog training" was his first book written in 1963. He also wrote "The Koehler Method of Open Obedience" and "The Koehler Method of Utility Dog training". These books were written with the average civilian student in mind and were geared towards the AKC obedience standards of Novice, Open and Utility levels. These books went on to become some of the highest selling dog books of all time. Speaking of competition obedience, after WWII ended, this man was the training director of Orange Empire Dog Club. This club is said to have been the largest open membership dog club in the world. He trained dogs in this manner for 16 years between 1946 and 1963 before writing his first book. He also spent twenty (20) years as the Chief dog trainer for the Walt Disney Company. Training such dogs as the dog 'Bullet' which starred in Roy Rodgers, the Great Danes which starred in 'The Swiss Family Robinson', an Irish setter in 'Big Red', 'Asta' in 'The Thin Man', and a very large cast of dogs in 'It's a Dogs Life. Not to mention dogs that starred in, The Shaggy Dog, Savage Sam, The Ugly Dachshund, The Incredible Journey, Toby Tyler, Boomerang. He was also involved with exotic animals in the movies. And more can be learned by reading his book titled, "The Wonderful World of Disney Animals". He was a court certified expert witness on the subject of dogs in the states of Hawaii, California and Wisconsin. He was commended by the Canadian Police Canine Association and veterinarians. This man trained dogs for at least 50 years of his life in total. And he also passed his trade onto his son Dick Koehler who went on to become a life long dog trainer as well.
Post Golden Era In the years following the Vietnam War Military Based Dog Training gradually becomes re-placed with new age training theories. At Hell On Paws we strive to preserve the same traditional service dog training methods that were used in the Great War, World War II, and the Vietnam War.
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