Tarheel canine is a no nonsence facility geared to the training of
K-9’s and personnel that are currently LEO (Federal, State and Local),
Military, Private Security and businesses that are using, acquiring, or
developing K-9 units. They are a very diverse company. Tarheel imports their
dogs and trains them to the specifics of the clients needs, including
civilians. Tarheel also has various training programs for individuals
seeking to work in the dog industry.
After spending some time at Tarheel I came to many conclusions. Some
of those conclusions are that most people (including some so called dog
trainers) do not really understand what dogs are about (especially working
dogs). People have an unreasonable expectation of what a dog should be, how
it should behave, how it should be trained and what it takes to get a dog to
a certain level while maintaining the dog at that level. All the while not
ruining or harming the dog. Learning from Jerry and his team was an eye
opening experience. Following Jerry’s teaching and training methodology
taught me a whole new respect for what dogs and real trainers are about.
Jerry and his team are extremely knowledgeable and all follow and
instruct the same principles in the same order and there is no discrepencies
in how it should be done. If you ask a question, you will get the same
answer from all the instructors regarding the dogs and training concepts.
Jerry and his team have a unique ability to convey their instructions,
training methods and problem solving solutions 100 different ways to a 100
different people so each person fully understands the same things. They
teach you to understand the psychology of a canine as well as reading each
dog individually and applying the same methodology of instruction tailored
to each dogs needs.
On top of all this, Jerry is a very smart businessman and
understands what it takes to not only survive in this very specific
industry, but to thrive as well. Jerry is one of the very few that does not
keep his training methods a secret so others can’t go out there and use his
methods and compete against him. He is very willing to share his knowledge
(after all, it is about the dogs). He has no fear of that, he does what he
does and does it very well. Jerry still competes and proves time and time
again that he can do what he says and says what he does.
If you truly want to learn about dogs, start a K-9 unit, certify a
handler and his K-9 partner, re-certify a K-9 team, continue your education
in all aspects of working with dogs including basic obedience and especially
learn how to become a great decoy (this is much more crucial than you could
imagine). Then Jerry and his team at Tarheel Canine is where you want to
start and always continue your training.
Craig Lamanna
American K-9 Systems
Handler/Decoy