Working Mastiff Bandog trainer
Umvikeli = Protector
Mnandi with a massive Douglas Fir on our walk today at Clear Lake in the Willamette National Forest. The snow capped mountains were stunning on a cloudless day, the air was clean and refreshing, and the water was breathtakingly crystal clear.
Little man Speirs is growing up and starting to act like a big boy out in the Hell’s Canyon Wilderness. It was an honor to be an instructor with my mentor, Jensen, at the Advanced Wilderness Tracking seminar.
Mnandi’s pups are growing up. And bunch of lookers they are!!!
8 months postpartum. Umvikeli’s Mnandi of Houfek Mastiffs is one fit dog. 26in tall at the withers, 100lbs, and a 23in neck
He might be a purposely bred working dog, but he is also a Dogo/Corso and I love their sweet off switch side.
My first made for me Seynaeve suit. Thank you .us for bringing vision to life!!! I can’t wait to break it in.
Sometimes you just have to get creative to keep things interesting
This little man is just barely shorter than his mom. Almost 8 months old, he is going to be tall. Mnandi is 26in and Fergus, his father, is 27in.
Found some tires and the obstacle course is starting to look good.
It’s match your dog at work day.
Huffman K9 Obedience Intermediate Wilderness Tracking 2024
🔥 Hot off the Sewing Machine tonight 🔥
Get ready to stand out with the latest color creations: Curagon with Royal Purple and Stainless with Neon Orange, both featuring the lightweight Cobra Buckle. A featherweight design that packs a punch with an impressive 800lb rating, ensuring durability without sacrificing strength.
For everyone waiting, Prong Collars have arrived and are ready to be made into Premium Cobra Prongs with your choice of webbing color. Currently available:
Heavy-duty D-ring Cobra or lightweight Cobra in normal stainless 3.2mm.
Limited stock of only 2 Curagon 3.2mm for those seeking top-tier quality. These can be made in either the HD Cobra or Lightweight Cobra.
Specifically crafted for smaller pups, the HS 2.25 in black stainless prong in only the lightweight Cobra.
Webbing color options: Black, OD Green, Coyote Brown, Coyote Tan, Red, Royal Blue, Royal Green, Royal Purple, Neon Green, Neon Orange, Neon Pink, Hi Vis Yellow.
My lil’ man Speirs looking not so little anymore.
One of the best ways to have fun with your dog. Detection Dog Trials is inclusive of all breeds and odors. Very excited to have become a Judge to help bring this to the PNW and locally to Central Oregon.
Mister Smarty Pants Speirs figured out that he can alert on both sides of the wall. I took one of the walls off his detection box (it’s a big “U”) to give him greater freedom of movement and the ability for more distractions. As expected he has sniffed around outside of the box, but he has surprised me with his ability to focus. This little 6 month old pup is rocking it and I am so excited for what his future holds.
Everyone kept asking for purple. Well here it is exciting to sew it up and test it out. First impressions are that it feels good in the hand and it’s a beautiful purple.
Daphne and her first dog neutrality table. She did wonderful even though her table mate decided to put his back end on top of her. She couldn’t have cared less.
Daphne looking good in her new matching HiVis Yellow harness, my 4ft leash, and the soon to be available light weight Cobra HS Prong Collar. The light weight Cobra Prong uses the FM Cobra buckle to be as small and light as possible while still retaining Cobra Buckle functionality and reliability. The FM Cobra buckle boasts an impressive 800lb working capacity for how small it is.
Detection Night at was a blast. So many firsts in this photo. 1st alert on a revolving type pew, 1st alert on any pew, 1st alert on a drawer, 1st alert where he can’t hold his nose directly on source, and 1st alert with another dog in the room (he is a little guardy of his hides). After this find he went on to find another pew with a slide and plastic frame. Both had no ammo with them and he has only been imprinted on various live and fired rounds and magazines. Anyways I am proud of my boy.
When you teach your dog to use their nose and they use it unexpectedly… this little chucklehead was on his way out the door for a potty break, he throws a big head turn, detection like change of behavior, and jumps onto the back of the couch where he finds I had left a tug from earlier in the day….🤦♂️smart boy using his nose, and he was so happy he found it.
Now offering my signature 4ft leash, now available in vibrant colors!
Perfect for everyday use, this leash is versatile and durable, crafted from two layers of climb-rated 4000lb tubular webbing and solid brass hardware. For off leash work/training it can be worn crossbody with the brass ring and boltsnap or around the waist using the black sizing loops for convenience and ease of use. Keeping our leash on your body ensures you have it when you need it. The brass ring also transforms the leash into an impromptu slip lead for those unforeseen leash emergencies.
DM if you want Umvikeli K9’s premium 4ft leash today. I also have tracking lines to match.
Congratulations!!!!
Mnandi’s pups are 21 weeks old. A lot of people ask me if she likes her pups. Not a day goes by where she doesn’t ask me why they’re still here. Left—>Right Speirs, Mazikeen, Daphne.
Looking forward to this
This little man is getting his big boy teeth!!!
Update to the puppy detection box. I reduced the hole size and increased the amount of holes. We’ll see how Speirs responds tonight for dinner.
Essentials of the craft
Redmond, OR
97756
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🔫 Box Feeding💥 Speirs, at 8 months old, has mastered 0.22 powder actuated loads in box feeding today. Subjectively, the Tapcon power 4s seem much louder than 22lr. To master box feeding, the dog must choose to ignore distractions and keep his head in the box throughout the feeding. This little man never ceases to amaze me and continually reminds me that the effort is worthwhile. With all the work invested in him over the last 6 months, the results are beginning to manifest themselves. 📦 Box Feeding - making weak dogs strong and strong dogs unbreakable 🦾 #huffmank9obedience #umvikelik9 #boxfeeding #workingdog #detectiondog #workingpuppy
Apparently it was a day for helicopters. But if we wanted to know where Speirs’ stability comes from, here is his mother off lead healing as a helicopter takes off. She didn’t really like all the wind but holds her position. #workingdog #stabledog
Just look at the power of early sound desensitization from Puppy Culture and Early Neurological Stimulation in action! Today, Speirs had his first encounter with a helicopter landing just 30 yards away. Not a single flinch, just calm curiosity. Proud moment as he even listened his “off” command flawlessly. 🚁#earlyneurologicalstimulation #sounddesensitization #workingpuppy #stressmangement
Pushing boundaries with box feeding! 📦💪 Layering stressors to build Speirs’ motivation and resilience. Today, in a he presence of his father, another intact male, he chose to ignore a milk jug filled with nuts and bolts to hold his sit alert for his odor source. The noise, the contact—it’s all part of the journey. No harm done, just growth. Building an unbreakable dog for personal protection is the goal. Box feeding: making weak dogs strong and strong dogs unbreakable. #dogtraining #resiliencebuilding #boxfeeding #canecorso #dogoargentino #puppytraining #workforyourgoals #unbreakable #unbreakabledog #strongdog #mentalstrength #choosetoignore #detectionpuppy #detectiondaily
Making weak dogs strong and Strong dogs unbreakable. Box feeding for odor with Speirs tonight. This little man has been rapidly handling the stress induced by the box in stride, very happy with him. #huffmank9obedience #umvikelik9 #workingmastiffs #workingdog #boxfeeding
So I start off with a couple short videos on how I set things up for my boy Speirs and then we get into working the detection box. Tonight he definitely did some things differently and I missed marking an alert. I started putting more odors out so that when I notice that he is going off memory, I then pull the odor and make him hunt a new source. You’ll see in the beginning he starts looking for a new source before I pull the odor and I didn’t trust him that he alerted on the right spot so I went to verify… then he pulled himself off. Totally my fault. He went on to find a different source and by the end of the video he did alert on the one I missed. Of which I realized the one I missed marking is the one he struggles with the most. I don’t know why but fired .22lr brass is the one he takes the longest to find and longest to commit to. Anyway I am really happy with his enthusiasm and how the little sniffer is just constantly going. #detectionk9 #workingmastiff #workingpuppy #workyourdog #workingdogo #workingcorso
Exciting news today! Speirs has achieved a sit alert for odor detection through free shaping. Before this I only taught him to sit through luring and he has no verbal command for a sit at this time. Yesterday he demonstrated multiple sits in his box, prompting my decision to make the switch and hold him to this new behavior. A gentle physical cue was used in the beginning of this session to remind him of yesterday’s lesson. About halfway through, you can see him test this new lesson and then he independently chose the sit alert. #detectiondogtraining #workingpuppy #workingdog #freeshaping #freeshapetraining #sitalert #canecorso #dogoargentino #mixedmastiff #bandog #puppy
“The Mnandi Stripe” Detection night fun @huffman_k9_obedience target feeding Speirs in the ball pit for his detection odor.
Sharing Speirs’ recent progress! We are still grinding away. He is working his new side of the detection box that only has 5 little holes drilled straight through the lid and wood, trying to minimize the visual as much as possible. He found this one really fast. Tonight’s highlight: I caught his sit alert on video! I have been free shaping the sit alert through jackpotting him. Outside of detection I have not taught him how to do any OB behavior without luring. So I effectively he doesn’t have a sit command yet, which makes the sit alert a little challenging. We have a nice lock up alert for a 5 month old puppy who has been imprinted on live brass, fired brass, live shotgun shells, fired shotgun shells, and a loaded magazine. #detectiondog #huffmank9obedience #umvikelik9 #workingpuppy #targetfeeding #dogoaregentino #canecorso #workingdog #firearmsdetectionk9
This little man never ceases to amaze me. He was dealing with some novel residual odor from his sister which is why he was interested and kept going back to that one hole and it’s on the wall he is used to working. But his odor recognition when he hits his COB is spot on. I realize all his odors are in the same class but it’s worth noting this was his second time working on a fired shotgun shell. #detection #strongpuppy #smartpuppy #workingpuppy
Consistency in the grind, cheers to a new year of opportunities and hard work! 💪 18 weeks old today and Speirs is imprinted on live brass, spent brass, & live shotgun shells. He is hunting odor like a champ. Tomorrow I make his box harder by reducing the visual, stay tuned for the update. #newyearsamegrind #buildstrongdogs #detection #detectiondogtraining #dogoargentino #canecorso #detectionpuppy
“🔥🔫 Tonight’s training with Speirs brought a new scent to the range – the unmistakable aroma of fresh-fired brass. Watching him distinguish live from old shells, and even shotgun shells, was intriguing. It’s all about those reps! Bonus: My wife’s friend dropped by to witness the little man in action. 🎯 #detectiondogs #puppytraining #huffmank9obedience #umvikelik9 #firearmdetectiondog #trainyourdog #targetfeeding
Impressive work on Speirs’ training today! Patience is everything in free shaping a behavior. One could have cut my anticipation with a knife just waiting for him to figure it out. My thumb had pressure on the clicker just waiting to accurately mark the desired behavior. This was his first day without the big target visual on the ground. Jensen helped me design this free shape detection box for puppies. Decreasing the visual and forcing the reliance on smell is what drove this design. I know to go slow with puppies, there is no rush. I made the decision to switch it up once I was for sure he was using his nose and was imprinted on the odor. The magic happened 5min 7sec when he caught odor and had a change in behavior. Then he found it and locked up. After that it was just reps. This boy continues to amaze me. I am so blessed to have chosen to keep him.
Today the Mnandi’s litter of puppies are 16 weeks old, and I’d like to share an update. Speirs weighs 29.2lb and is excelling in his target feeding for odor, a practice we initiated two weeks ago. During today’s session, we employed three targets, two of which were blank and one containing odor. I consistently moved them to ensure Speirs continues to hunt the correct target without simply relying on memory. Reflecting on the videos, I can clearly see the impact of missing a marker – accuracy is crucial when marking and rewarding your dog. #detectiondog #canecorso #dogoargentino #workingpuppy #puppytraining #targetfeeding #noseworkpuppy #detectiontraining #umvikelik9 #huffmank9obedience
The fuzz is after me…lol. Nope just Speirs being cute in his night time lights. Gotta keep track of a near black dog on 5 acres in the dark.
Target feeding your puppy for odor on a consistent daily schedule with consistent and growing expectations doesn’t have to be an all-day affair. In this video Speirs consumed his entire meal in just 5 minutes and 14 seconds. Focus on a specific goal, our goal this week was crossing the hold barrier during odor training. Embrace a variable schedule both in how much he gets paid to reinforce the behavior, and for how long he has to hold on source. The goal for today was a 5 count in my head, but that doesn’t mean I don’t pay for a 1, 2, 3, or 4 count at random times. I build him up to 5 and then take him back down and all around. Remember, shorter and focused sessions, even as brief as five minutes, can be more impactful in teaching your puppy than a longer, single 15 minute session.
Training a detection puppy comes with a unique set of challenges that demand patience, consistency, and a deep understanding of canine behavior. The process involves imprinting the puppy to the target odor, honing its natural hunt drive, and building a strong handler-canine bond. Challenges may arise in maintaining puppy focus, especially in distracting environments, and ensuring the puppy differentiates target odor amidst other stimuli, hence the 4ft x 4ft box. Positive reinforcement, coupled with repetition, is key to reinforcing desired behaviors. The handler plays a pivotal role in the accurate timing and consistent marking of the desired trained final response (TFR). Here we see Mazikeen at the beginning stages of her lock up TFR, and the uncanny resemblance to her mother serves as a reminder of the role genetics play in breeding working dogs. #detection #detectiondog #puppybuilding #targetfeeding #humanremainsdetectiondog #umvikelik9 #huffmank9obedience #geneticsmatters
11 days ago I plucked this puppy from his litter and named him Speirs. For the next 6 months or so I will keep him separate from all my other dogs. This time is so special to condition him that I am the most important thing. I want him to be a multi purpose working dog. Other dogs cannot matter, other people cannot matter, I want him completely neutral with his focus on his task. We took a property line walk this morning to let out his zoomies, but look that recall being conditioned at such a young age. #puppy #puppyrecall #dogtraining #puppytraining #mastiff #dogoargentino #canecorso
Getting Mnandi out of mom mode and back into working mode. Tonight she worked for her dinner looking for her Precision-Exp TADD with live Bed Bug odor. She was allowed to freely search as she saw fit and I was trying to stay out of it as much as possible. #detectiondog #offbreed #canecorso #workingcanecorso #workingbandog #workingmom #charonk9solutions #huffmank9obedience #umvikelik9
The pups are 6 weeks old now. Still have some available. The build structure in the whole litter is really nice. ENS was done, Sound desensitization was done, and they are being pushed to overcome age appropriate obstacles. Every day they are out exploring the Central Oregon high desert. #puppyculture #mastiffpuppy #canecorso #dogoargentino #workingdogpotential #workingdog #puppy #puppiesofinstagram #umvikelik9 #stormdogos #houfekmastiffs #huffmank9obedience #charonk9solutions #chais
