About Us

Our story

How we got here

Marilé studied psychology and wanted to work in pet-assisted therapy. To do that, she first had to learn to train her own dog, and along the way she saw protection dogs at work and fell in love with them.

We were also falconers, and with falconry came the bird dogs, mostly Pointers, which taught us how challenging (and rewarding) training can be. From there we became pet dog trainers: classes, house visits and behaviour problems. We’ve made our share of mistakes along the way, and they taught us just as much about how not to train a dog.

In the end, protection dogs won our hearts. Through them we’ve met amazing people, made lifelong friends and seen some unbelievable transformations.

Our record

Proven in protection sport

• We got PSA (Protection Sports Association) off the ground in South Africa, and have stood on the podium many times since
• 2019, PSA Nationals in the USA: Marilé’s Malinois Czar placed 2nd in PSA2 and was named Dog of the Tournament
• Charles’s Dutch Shepherd Alpha earned his PSA3, the first PSA3 title outside the USA and Canada, and only the 30th dog in the sport’s history
• Charles is Assistant Director for our international PSA region, and Marilé is an international PSA judge
• We’re also involved in training and deploying dogs and handlers for real-life work

Our approach

What we believe

A protection dog should be a companion first: calm in the house, confident outside, and ready to protect when it matters.

We don’t train dogs to be aggressive; we teach them to fight, the way a boxer learns to defend himself. A dog that enjoys its work and trusts its people is safer and more reliable than one that is pushed into it.

Protection training is an art and a science. Our dogs learn step by step with a trained helper: where and when to bite, how to let go, and how to stay confident under pressure. We train in scenarios as close to real life as possible, so the skills hold up outside the training field.

Small on purpose

Why we stay small

We’re not a large kennel. Our dogs live with us, as part of our family and our pack, until they go home to yours. That only works with a few dogs at a time, and it means we’ll always tell you honestly if a protection dog isn’t the right choice for you right now.

• Only a few dogs a year, each one chosen for a specific family
• Carefully selected from reputable breeders or bred in our own programme
• Raised in our home and socialised with people, children and other dogs
• Hips and elbows X-rayed on every dog
• Time spent teaching you at handover, and ongoing support