Trident K9 Warriors: My Tale from the Training Ground to the Battlefield with Elite Navy SEAL Canines Paperback – Illustrated, January 14, 2014

Very Nice Quality, pristine condition. Arrived quickly, looks practically brand new.. Looking forward to reading this.

It is amazing to me the depth of writing from our modern warriors, and Mike Ritland shows an open soul as he distinctly describes his personal love of dogs and the molding of them as partners for our warriors.The prologue give you chills as to the depth of our relationship with Man's Best Friend in conflict and set's us up for quite a ride as the introduction sets the stage with a prime example of an elite team in the darkness of night, festooned with the best gear in history, totally trusting the senses of Ruco as danger sets in - and Ruco piles into mortal danger completely for his humans...with seeming little regard for his onwn safety.How do such beasts come to be with our elite wariors? The author goes into great depth as he describes training techniques and regimens of positive reinforcement to build upon the long bred spirit of the amazing dogs he choses to train for the most dangerous of all missions. We see the journey of coordinated play with spirited pups through gradual increase of play and reward - all geared towards trust between canine and handler to sacrifice for each other.I truly enjoyed the depth of description on training from explosives detection to bite work in the suits up through the physical training and toll the chosen life takes on these elite animals.All through the book we see examples of the canines with their handlers in conflict with emphasis on how effective they truly are. The histories intersperse with stories from Mr. Ritland as he speaks with loving undertones of the dogs he trains, and those that are just his companions now. All through we see how much they mean to him - and we the reader are rewarded with a great story....Cairo, Castor, Sampson and many more great dogs come to us.Get this work - it is a must for any history buff of modern warfare - with a true link to ancient times.

Since the renowned Seal Team Six raid to take out Bin Laden, more than ten years after the most devastating terrorist attacks on American soil, the clandestine world of the elite Navy Seals has captured the world’s attention like never before. Yet, few know of a select and very unique group of warriors who accompany Seal teams on covert missions: Seal K-9 teams. Former Seal instructor and K-9 handler Mike Ritland reveals what it takes to train and go downrange with some of the world’s most battle-hardened and versatile Military Working Dogs. Co-authored by Gary Brozek, “Trident K-9 Warriors” sheds light on the reclusive world of Seal Team dog handlers and the highly classified missions that they embark on to ensure freedom and prosperity from the evolving scourge of terrorism. With their sights set on the most cunning and ruthless enemies, K-9 operatives will jump, dive and fast-rope into the most dangerous places known to man. Deployed to detect hidden weapons caches, booby traps, and to apprehend insurgents, these K-9 warriors ensure an extra margin of safety to their brother’s-in-arms which guarantees success on the battlefield.Mike Ritland does an outstanding job of conveying the rigors of Seal dog training and selection as well as incorporating some historic facts about military working dogs and how they evolved into the elite spec-ops warriors of today. Unlike most of the media hype surrounding special operations, Mike manages to tell a compelling story without divulging sensitive operational secrets that could jeopardize Seals and their K-9 teams out in the field.

As a dog lover with 25+ years of training dog obedience to youth and adults, I found this book to be amazing in the skill levels they teach. While we work to make a dog a valued family member within their homes and communities, I was fascinated to read how these dogs become a partner and team member of a truly high level group of soldiers. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in dog training. Most people think that dog training should be a piece of cake, go to class and the dog will quickly learn. They don't realize that it's actually a huge mindset conversion for the handler on the amount of time you have to commit to become a successful team. Our motto is "4 Paws, 2 Feet, 1 Team". But it goes beyond that expanding out to other members of the household just like the military handlers acclimate the dogs with the members of their teams.

I'll try to keep this short and simple. I've read a bunch of the other seal books and find them to be great reads. I'm also an avid dog lover that has served on the board of directors at a canine rescue that specialized in many of the powerful breeds that Mike discusses in the book. I applaud his attention to detail and positive teaching methods. This book provides a great beginning insight into what someone might expect if they are interested in pursuing this field as a career. The author does tend to go off on random tangents, which can either be a source of entertainment or headache. All in all, it is a great book. I just wish that he could have provided further details and insights into the combat sorties andy accomplishments of the dogs and trainers. However, I understand the security concerns of providing mission strategy and tactics in public forums with the war efforts still underway. I wish the author the best in his noble efforts and the roles that he serves in defending our nations freedom.

The book arrived quickly and in the shape as expected!

I had heard that both US and British Special Ops forces utilised dogs in Afghanistan and Iraq, and that they were worth their weight in gold, but never fully realised just how much of a contribution these dogs make.The dogs, mainly belgian malinois have to be trained to do everything a SEAL can do, so they are gradually innoculated to travelling in helicopters, fast roping attached to their handler by a special harness, and swimming far out in the sea, out of sight of land.The bulk of the book is dedicated to this training, and it's fascinating. The type of operant conditioning used is always positive,[in contrast to the harsh regime that human SEAL candidates undergo]. giving a reward for a task well done, rather than punishing failure.Just one of the many stories recounted in the book shows the deep bond forged between dog and handler. On operations a MWD and handler were both injured in an explosive ambush. The handler was down, unconscious, the dog, with severe injuries to lungs and paws crawled over to him, and lay over him, protecting the handler from further injury. Happily, both survived, and recovered to resume active service.I can't recommend this book too highly, it really opens a window into a facet of how our "best friends" are helping us in the war on terror.

Great book, have read some of Mike's other works and big fan of the podcast

Thank you for the book, had waited a while to get it so was really looking forward to reading it, and it was worth the wait really enjoyed it and loved reading about our K9 Heros, and now it has lead me to a few other books so am looking forward to lots of reading.

Alook into Dogs trained to detect and track. Ive been around dogs all my life and work dogs and i found this book informative and a great read. Thoroughly loved it and if you love dogs youll find a book that shows the bond and trust between Dogs and their handlers and the soldiers that trust so much in these dogs. Excellent book.

Fantastic book both as a training and in site manual to just a good read about operations in the middle east and the heroic work being done by dog and man would recommend has even helped me with my dog.