BUTUAN CITY (MindaNews/13 August) — A Thailand-based IPO dog sport program trainer conducted a specialized sport training program at the La Vesa Kennels in Barangay Ampayon on August 9 and 10, focusing on developing and evaluating potential capability in obedience and protection for working dogs.
The IPO which stands for Internationale Prüfungs-Ordnung in German means International auditing rules or International Exam Rules for dog protection sports. IPO is a derived word from Schutzhund, which originated in Germany in the 1800’s, referring to German police dog or K9 units.
Originally a native of Cebu, Richard Bermejo, now a full time dog trainer at the Siam Crown Kennel in Bangkok, Thailand was invited during the two day activity to share his knowledge on the working dog sports.
“I started back in August 2007 in Thailand and even with my knowledge and background I would still consider myself a student since I would still love to learn more on dog training. The things that I’ve shared to the participants would be useful in creating better bond better dog owners and their pets,” said Bermejo.
Bermejo, a certified IPO and Royal Dutch Police Dog Trainer or Koninklijke Nederlandse Politiehond Vereniging (KNPV) shared during the first day the obedience training then tackled on the second day protection and tracking.
Titus Vesagas of La Vesa Kennels. Lead organizer, pointed out the difference of the activity from all the other dog events.
“We bring this kind of activity here in Butuan to open up to dog owners that there is more to just dog shows. We have other activities that would enrich our dog’s traits and potentials. The IPO sog sport program has been around for a while but this would be the first time it is brought here in Butuan,” said Vesagas.
Vesagas who is also a dog breeder, said the program would be a good tool to assess the dogs and maintain breed standards.
“Here we set the bar. This training program is not for all dogs. Working dogs are of any breed, even mixes, but the most common breeds are German Shepherds, Belgian Malinois, Boxers, Rottweiler’s, Dobermans, Cane Corso, Giant Schnauzers, Bouvier des Flandres, Dutch Shepherd Dogs, Beaucerons, American Bulldogs, Black Russian Terriers, Airedale Terriers, Australian Cattle Dogs,” he said.
Vesagas then showcased his Belgian Malinois or Belgian Shepherd Dog’s, bred primarily as a working dog for personal protection, detection, police work, search and rescue, and sport work.
During the protection training Bermejo showed the participants the importance of starting the training of dogs as early as even four months old. He then acted as Decoy and taught dog owners how to train the dog to attack and render a bite on the arms as well as on how to calm down their dogs after the bite.
Police and defense forces around the world use the training to beef up security and defensive capabilities for their K9 units.
According to a news website the Huffington Post on May 5, 2011, the United States Navy SEALs even used a Belgian Malinois named Cairo in Operation Neptune Spear, in which Osama bin Laden was killed. (Erwin Mascarinas/MindaNews)