When I first decided I wanted to pursue dog training as a career path, I didn't realize how much I had yet to learn.  I am very grateful to a special trainer who took me under her wing and helped change my life.   -  Dan Rossignol, Canine Consultant

In 1973 I was 21 years old and my career path was with the McDonald’s Corporation.  I had been promoted to restaurant manager at a brand new location in Caribou, Maine and  was very flattered when Ray Croc, the founder of McDonald’s, called to wish me luck with the opening of the new restaurant.  He reminded me I was his youngest manager in the United States and said he was going to watch me closely, which he did!  During my second year in Caribou, Ray sent a telegram of congratulations to me and my team that informed us that we had achieved status among the top ten McDonald’s stores nationally for sales increases.  It was an experience that proved to me that persistence can make just about anything possible.

Loring Air Force Base was nearby, and many of the personnel stationed there took additional part time jobs to add some cash to their modest military incomes.  I had six or seven of them working for me, and one of these fine men was a K-9 trainer for the base.  The K-9 trainer and I became friends, and it wasn’t long before he taught me how to train my German shepherd well enough to track, retrieve and even perform some guard work.  My dog also learned all the basics, like recall, heeling, and jumping through open windows. I had the time of my life training him, and the techniques came naturally for me. Although I didn’t know it then, this was just a taste of my future life’s work.

I continued to train many dogs over the years, and in 1988, when my wife and I were residing in Western Massachusetts, I reached a point in my career where I had time to explore and expand on my favorite passion - dog training.  While reading the local weekend newspapers, I found a help wanted advertisement in search of a dog handler. Voila!  It was meant for me and meant to be.   I scheduled an interview with Judith M. Sherman, owner of Einsamstadt Kennels.  She greeted me while having a cup of coffee and smoking one of those small cigars, and her first question to me was “What do you want?”  I responded, “I’m here to apply for the job of Canine Handler,” and as I began to relay my prior experience, she abruptly handed me a leash and said, “Grab that Rottweiler over there.”

It was my first experience dealing with this breed, but I had done my research about Rottweilers, and knew that this dog would not be as easy as handling a German shepherd. With that in mind, and with my adrenaline pumping, I demonstrated all my techniques, from the basic commands to making a scent trail for tracking. My entire performance lasted about 20 minutes, and as she puffed on another cigar, Judy asked coolly if that was it.  When I replied yes, she said, “Grab that sleeve over there.”  I knew it was a bite sleeve and figured she just wanted to send me out in the field to show her if I could still move around.  After all, I was 38 years old.    I was in very good physical condition and proceeded to do some jumping and running in circles so she could see that my athletic abilities did not reflect my age. I was so sure she would be impressed, but she just said, “Stop dancing.”  That’s when I heard a trap door shut. Suddenly racing toward me at about 25 miles per hour was a 125 pound Rottweiler Judy called Lugar.  I yelled out that I couldn’t outrun him, and Judy said, “Just make sure to have him bite the arm with the sleeve on it.”  Then the dog jumped from about 7 feet away, and at about 30 mph, Lugar hit my left arm which slammed into my ribs.  I had fought many years in full contact Karate, and I was sure that my ribs had caved in from the impact.

Beneath the padding of the sleeve, I could feel Lugar’s bite, which I knew created over 1200 lbs. of pressure per square inch. Lugar pulled me here, there and everywhere for about three minutes, and I told Judy that I was getting tired. She said, “Just let go of the sleeve.”   All I could think was that his bite would go right through my bare arm, but I was exhausted, so I decided to trust her.  Lugar removed the sleeve from my arm and ran back to Judy to deliver it.  I was both relieved and dismayed at the same time.  It felt like I had just gone parachuting without the chute. By the time I walked back from the field to confront Judy, she said “I’m going to try you out.  You will not get paid since you’ll be here to learn, and you have a lot of learning to do.”  I spent the next four years learning and training with Judy and her significant other, Gary Ranney. We trained several dogs for the Sarasota, Florida Sheriff’s Department, the New Jersey State Police, and the California Highway Patrol.

Soon my training expanded to full “Schutzhund Training”, which is treated as a dog sport throughout the world.  Only the most tenacious dogs were then trained for more advanced police dog work. Judy had a policy of “arms only” and all the dogs were trained to bite either arm with a hidden sleeve.  As trainers, we left it up to each department to continue the bite work on other parts of the body.  Every agency is different depending upon what kind of “bad guys” they try to apprehend.   Most of the dogs Judy trained had that extra edge needed for personal protection or police work.     Judy had four years of training under a German Master Trainer who could hardly speak English. She had been in the dog profession for 25 years, and she had earned her degree in Animal Sciences. She titled several Champion Rottweilers throughout the United States and she was accredited several times in Anna Katherine Nicholas’s “Professional Book of Rottweilers”.  My four years of study with Judy gave me the ability to read each dog’s movement and understand each dog’s eye contact, and I soon learned to tell from their behavior what I was getting into with each specific dog. The anticipation of knowing how a dog would test me, gave me the edge I needed to prevent myself from being bitten, and the ability to anticipate dog fights before they occurred.

In 1992 Judy announced that she was tired.  She had dedicated her career to improving on the Rottweiler Breed in the United States, and she felt she had completed her mission.   She advised me the kennel was closing, commented on how hard I had worked, and said she expressed her pride in my tenacity and my contributions to her kennel.  Judy then presented me with a special gift - Einsamstadt Heinz Von Ross, my favorite working dog in her kennel.  This dog became the foundation for my own kennel I called Ausdauer Kennels (Ausdauer is the German word for “persistence”).   I continued in Judy’s footsteps as I ran my own Rottweiler Kennel for the next eight years. I had no trouble selling my pups because my dogs were never involved in any unfortunate biting incidents.  I never had one returned for behavior problems.  In later years, I found myself competing with “backyard breeders” that paid absolutely no attention to temperaments, hip dysplasia or confirmation.      Male “Rotties” from Germany and Budapest have a weight of approximately 105 -115 pounds, which makes them more agile than the typical 140 pound American Rottweiler.  In my opinion, the temperament of European Rottweilers is more tenacious, yet more stable than the Rottweilers from America.  Hips on my pups were always guaranteed because both parents would be rated by a board of Orthopedic Veterinarians who judged them as dysplastic, fair, good or excellent. The excellent status is very rarely rendered, and I was fortunate to have one dog rated excellent and another rated good, which qualified my pups to sell between $800 and $3,000 depending on pet or show quality.  I always took measures to ensure that my clients would get what they were paying for.  “Backyard breeders” did nothing to ensure good hips, temperament or confirmation which allowed them to sell “Rotties” for $300-$400 dollars.  You know the saying; “If you can’t do it right, you don’t do it at all.”  I always replace my Rottweilers with European bloodlines who have passed the highest standards.

I might venture into a Kennel again someday, but for now my mission is to help train people and their working breeds, i.e. Pit Bulls, Dobermans, Shepherds, Mastiffs and Rottweilers. Although I train all breeds, I enjoy the challenges provided by the so called “tough dogs”.  Like an epidemic, municipalities are banning many breeds from their towns and cities as too many inexperienced people take ownership of these tough working dogs. Many owners are not willing to take the time to read and learn about these breeds before purchasing or adopting them.  The demands for training these dogs are difficult for the first time dog owner, and many times the dog ends up dominating the owner.  More often than not, these owners will live in fear rather than seek professional help to solve canine behavioral problems.  Dogs can not and should not be held accountable for any lack of training, discipline or responsibility taken by their owners. Many times the decision to train a dog is made after legal proceedings have been initiated because a person has been bitten or jumped on while trying to avoid a dog bite.   My mission is simple; I want to help as many owners as possible so we all can continue to legally walk our Rottweilers in our hometowns.  Thanks to the persistence of one very special trainer (Judy) who trained this trainer, I have the opportunity to accomplish my mission.