From Puppy to Patrol Dog with Mike Nesbeth

In this episode Jeff Meyer welcomes Mike Nesbeth to preview his keynote at the upcoming Colorado K9 Conference. He discusses his long-time passion project breeding and raising Malinois (one to two litters a year), the advantages of raising dogs locally (complete life-history, tailored police-dog preparation), and why North American production differs from large European kennels. Key training philosophies covered: prioritize horsepower before brakes, avoid making puppies "sticky" to handlers, and build innate curiosity and hunt value early. Mike outlines progressive training stages and ages: early loose food-luring and weight gain, marker/clicker work and shaping targeted behaviors around 8–12 weeks, building duration for hunting and tracking through many reps, and introducing leash/e‑collar pressure later (commonly around one year) applied to pre-shaped, away-from-handler behaviors. He explains why detection and patrol skill development overlap (hide-and-seek and building-search games early) and stresses that detection success often hinges on commitment and hunt duration rather than just early obedience.     To contact Jeff Meyer email him at: [email protected] To see more about Jeff and the classes that are offered go to: www.Policek9Training.net     Thanks to this shows sponsors:     AceK9.com ______________________________________________________________________________ KATS K9 Record Keeping  www.katsplatinum.com ______________________________________________________________________________           Online Class Click Here      k-9services.com _____________________________________________________________________________   Ray Allen K9      https://www.rayallen.com/  ____________________________________________________________________________ The Next Level K9    https://www.thenextlevelk9.com/      _____________________________________________________________________________ For information about the Colorado K9 Conference https://coloradok9conference.com/