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Navy Seal Dogs: My Tale of Training Canines for Combat
The Navy SEAL teams' elite K9 warriors do it all-from detecting explosives to eliminating the bad guys. These powerful dogs are also some of the smartest and most highly skilled working animals on the planet. Mike Ritland's job is to train them. This is the tale of how Ritland discovered his passion and grew up to train these elite dogs. After becoming a SEAL, he was on combat deployment in Iraq when he saw a military working dog in action, and he instantly knew he'd found his true calling. Ritland eventually started his own company to train and supply working and protection dogs for the U.S. government, the Department of Defense, and other clients. He also started the Warrior Dog Foundation to help retired Special Operations dogs live long and happy lives after their service.
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First published October 29, 2013
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February 9, 2017
Ritland tells of his early life and interest in canines. He joined the NAVY at age 17 and eventually became a SEAL and then a dog handler, then MWD (Military Working Dog) trainer. I like that Ritland warns that the breeds of dogs, he trains in the Navy SEALs are not a breed for the average city bound civilian.
Ritland goes into depth about how dogs are chosen; the temperament needed for the Special Operation Forces dogs. He discusses the enormous amount of training that goes into each dog and handler team. Except when deployed into a war zone, the book takes place at his dog training facility in San Diego, California.
This book is not for everyone as it goes into great detail about the training and the importance of the K-9 teams in combat rather than an entertaining story. I understand there is a children’s version of the book.
The book is well written, the author does a good job telling about his time training and handling MWDs. Some of the stories are sad, but some have humor, but all reveal the bond between the dog and the handler. Ritland is now retired from the Navy and has his own MWD training facility. He is also working with the Warrior Dog Foundation. The Foundation’s goal is to make certain that retired MWDs are able to live out the remainder of their lives in a positive environment. If you are interested in canines and the military, this book should interest you.
I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. It is a little over 6 hours long. Michael Kramer does a great job narrating the book. Kramer is an actor and an award-winning audiobook narrator.
Ritland goes into depth about how dogs are chosen; the temperament needed for the Special Operation Forces dogs. He discusses the enormous amount of training that goes into each dog and handler team. Except when deployed into a war zone, the book takes place at his dog training facility in San Diego, California.
This book is not for everyone as it goes into great detail about the training and the importance of the K-9 teams in combat rather than an entertaining story. I understand there is a children’s version of the book.
The book is well written, the author does a good job telling about his time training and handling MWDs. Some of the stories are sad, but some have humor, but all reveal the bond between the dog and the handler. Ritland is now retired from the Navy and has his own MWD training facility. He is also working with the Warrior Dog Foundation. The Foundation’s goal is to make certain that retired MWDs are able to live out the remainder of their lives in a positive environment. If you are interested in canines and the military, this book should interest you.
I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. It is a little over 6 hours long. Michael Kramer does a great job narrating the book. Kramer is an actor and an award-winning audiobook narrator.
May 25, 2015
Navy SEAL Dogs for me was one of those hidden gems of a book. I freely admit I picked this one up based on the cover alone. I'm a huge dog lover and I have a great fondness for rescue dogs, especially MWD, or military working dogs. When I was in the Navy myself, I can vividly recall some of these truly majestic animals on patrol, or guarding the gates at the Naval bases I was stationed at.
The author takes you from his time as a scrawny kid, or in his words "a late bloomer" who loved dogs, to joining the Navy at 17 and eventually becoming a SEAL and handler, to his now passion of training these dogs who protect the ones who protect us. He describes in great detail how the dogs are chosen, the temperament needed for SOF (special operations forces) dogs, and the incredible amount of training that goes into each dog and handler team. By the time these teams are deployed, they truly are a unit and it is breathtaking to read about some of the missions and adventures these teams experience in the hot zones around the world.
I admit it, I bawled in a few places. How can you not, reading about the dedication and perseverance of these beautiful creatures? One story that really got to me tells about an MWD named Carlos. Carlos and his handler were the victims of an undetected IED, which injured both of them greatly. Despite Carlos having collapsed lungs and breaking both of his back legs and hips, he still managed to crawl to his "Dad", and protect him until his fellow team members could get to them. Even then, they had to calm Carlos down before they could get them both to safety. All Carlos knew was that his buddy was hurt and he was going to make sure that nobody else did any harm to him.
Ready for those tissues now?
The author takes you from his time as a scrawny kid, or in his words "a late bloomer" who loved dogs, to joining the Navy at 17 and eventually becoming a SEAL and handler, to his now passion of training these dogs who protect the ones who protect us. He describes in great detail how the dogs are chosen, the temperament needed for SOF (special operations forces) dogs, and the incredible amount of training that goes into each dog and handler team. By the time these teams are deployed, they truly are a unit and it is breathtaking to read about some of the missions and adventures these teams experience in the hot zones around the world.
I admit it, I bawled in a few places. How can you not, reading about the dedication and perseverance of these beautiful creatures? One story that really got to me tells about an MWD named Carlos. Carlos and his handler were the victims of an undetected IED, which injured both of them greatly. Despite Carlos having collapsed lungs and breaking both of his back legs and hips, he still managed to crawl to his "Dad", and protect him until his fellow team members could get to them. Even then, they had to calm Carlos down before they could get them both to safety. All Carlos knew was that his buddy was hurt and he was going to make sure that nobody else did any harm to him.
Ready for those tissues now?
January 2, 2018
This book was what i expected it to be. It had a great story about the seals, and Mikes experience in Afghanistan. If you love dogs or the military you will want to read this book. Mike goes into big details about his time training seal members, seal dogs, and fighting with the seal teams. There is lots if information about the training required for seals and the things you will do in it. He also talks about his drive for joining the military. In all i would rate this book 9/10.
March 5, 2022
I accidentally started to read this book when I was substitute teaching in a colleague's room and found it on a shelf there. Loving dogs and all animals as I do, and knowing nothing about this particular subject, I figured I'd give it a shot.
It is an interesting --if not always compelling--overview of the training and use of dogs to work with the military. The author clearly loves his topic and the dogs he has worked with.
I enjoyed most the sections where stories are told about individual dogs and their handlers doing actual military work--tales of dogs discovering explosives, finding and sometimes taking down hidden enemies, etc.
The book concludes with a brief overview of the use of dogs in military operations throughout history, which was interesting, but, because it is only a few pages long, left me wanting to know more. A couple paragraphs were dedicated to Rin Tin Tin, a dog I had heard of, though I thought he was just a fictional movie star canine. Cool to learn he actually served heroically in WWII and later starred in over two dozen films.
It is an interesting --if not always compelling--overview of the training and use of dogs to work with the military. The author clearly loves his topic and the dogs he has worked with.
I enjoyed most the sections where stories are told about individual dogs and their handlers doing actual military work--tales of dogs discovering explosives, finding and sometimes taking down hidden enemies, etc.
The book concludes with a brief overview of the use of dogs in military operations throughout history, which was interesting, but, because it is only a few pages long, left me wanting to know more. A couple paragraphs were dedicated to Rin Tin Tin, a dog I had heard of, though I thought he was just a fictional movie star canine. Cool to learn he actually served heroically in WWII and later starred in over two dozen films.
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October 29, 2014Hunter Conetta
English B
10/26/14 Outside Reading Review
1.Navy SEAL Dogs, Mike Ritland
2.Main characters, Mike Ritland, Brett and his dog chopper, Wayne and his dog Luke, Lloyd and his dog Cairo, Aaron and his dog Castor and Dave and his dog Samson
3.The book Navy SEAL Dogs starts with a prologue about a mission in Northern Afghanistan in an area that is heavily populated with Taliban insurgents. A Navy SEAL team was to take out or in other words kill a high ranked terrorist who creates bombs and other weapons. The SEAL team to trek 30KM to the target. The team was equipped with an attack dog named Chopper and his handler is named Brett. The Team was dropped in the dead of night, as soon as they hit the ground the dogs was vigilantly searching and smelling for any threats. About fifteen minutes down their hike, Chopper was acting strange his tail was moving in an awkward way so the team knew something was wrong. When Chopper made a low whimpering sound that signaled that they were not alone, the enemy was near. Brett took Chopper off the lease and said “ Reviver” which means search. Chopper bolted in to the darkness. Then they heard dog snarls and human screaming. He had disarmed and captured several Taliban insurgents. In the embankment were the insurgents were hiding they found several automatic weapons and hundreds of bullets. The Next Section is about how the author got involved with the military and its K-9s. When the author, Mike Ritland, was a child he had a black lab named Bud and it was his best friend ever. Mike’s dad trained Bud for hunting purposes but he also was a well-trained house pet. Mike grandfathers on both sides of his family fought in the US Army. So mike enlisted himself in to the navy and later on he joined the Seals. He was fighting in Iraq alongside the US marines in the war against Sadam Hussein. In Tikrit the marines had introduced bomb-sniffing dogs to make the advance through the bomb-ridden streets and homes easier. When him and a marine unit came upon a small hut in Tikrit the marines had black lab that detected several grenade traps in the hut. The next Section is about how he trains the dogs to sniff out bombs and detect enemies. He starts when they are just puppies. He likes to get them comfortable other humans so there is a lot of playing and cuddling with the Belgian Malines puppies. When the dogs are about older he starts to put the puppies in open spaces and hides treats for them to find on their own. Then he introduces them to explosive odors. He gets them use to the smell and associates it with treats. The when the dogs know to look for the explosive odor he teaches them to signal it by either having the dog sit or wag his tail. The next stage is attack. The handler is given a key word that tells the dog to find and assault the enemy by tracking its foreign odor. The last section is about the Navy Seal’s many adventures with their dogs. From Iraq to Afghanistan.
4. I thought this was an interesting book about the US military and its top-notch dogs. I personally love dogs and I really like reading about the Navy SEALs. This is not the best SEAL book I have ever read but it was a very good one. I liked it because I never knew how the dogs were trained and how long it takes. I am also intrigued about the dedication and level of skill the SEALS have.
English B
10/26/14 Outside Reading Review
1.Navy SEAL Dogs, Mike Ritland
2.Main characters, Mike Ritland, Brett and his dog chopper, Wayne and his dog Luke, Lloyd and his dog Cairo, Aaron and his dog Castor and Dave and his dog Samson
3.The book Navy SEAL Dogs starts with a prologue about a mission in Northern Afghanistan in an area that is heavily populated with Taliban insurgents. A Navy SEAL team was to take out or in other words kill a high ranked terrorist who creates bombs and other weapons. The SEAL team to trek 30KM to the target. The team was equipped with an attack dog named Chopper and his handler is named Brett. The Team was dropped in the dead of night, as soon as they hit the ground the dogs was vigilantly searching and smelling for any threats. About fifteen minutes down their hike, Chopper was acting strange his tail was moving in an awkward way so the team knew something was wrong. When Chopper made a low whimpering sound that signaled that they were not alone, the enemy was near. Brett took Chopper off the lease and said “ Reviver” which means search. Chopper bolted in to the darkness. Then they heard dog snarls and human screaming. He had disarmed and captured several Taliban insurgents. In the embankment were the insurgents were hiding they found several automatic weapons and hundreds of bullets. The Next Section is about how the author got involved with the military and its K-9s. When the author, Mike Ritland, was a child he had a black lab named Bud and it was his best friend ever. Mike’s dad trained Bud for hunting purposes but he also was a well-trained house pet. Mike grandfathers on both sides of his family fought in the US Army. So mike enlisted himself in to the navy and later on he joined the Seals. He was fighting in Iraq alongside the US marines in the war against Sadam Hussein. In Tikrit the marines had introduced bomb-sniffing dogs to make the advance through the bomb-ridden streets and homes easier. When him and a marine unit came upon a small hut in Tikrit the marines had black lab that detected several grenade traps in the hut. The next Section is about how he trains the dogs to sniff out bombs and detect enemies. He starts when they are just puppies. He likes to get them comfortable other humans so there is a lot of playing and cuddling with the Belgian Malines puppies. When the dogs are about older he starts to put the puppies in open spaces and hides treats for them to find on their own. Then he introduces them to explosive odors. He gets them use to the smell and associates it with treats. The when the dogs know to look for the explosive odor he teaches them to signal it by either having the dog sit or wag his tail. The next stage is attack. The handler is given a key word that tells the dog to find and assault the enemy by tracking its foreign odor. The last section is about the Navy Seal’s many adventures with their dogs. From Iraq to Afghanistan.
4. I thought this was an interesting book about the US military and its top-notch dogs. I personally love dogs and I really like reading about the Navy SEALs. This is not the best SEAL book I have ever read but it was a very good one. I liked it because I never knew how the dogs were trained and how long it takes. I am also intrigued about the dedication and level of skill the SEALS have.
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October 24, 2018good
June 27, 2025
A very insightful account of "man's best friend" used in combat and how they are trained to use their skills to the fullest. There were also multiple situations described where SOF (Special Operations Force) dogs were successful in either preventing unnecessary loss of lives or detecting IEDs beforehand.
The audiobook is narrated by Michael Kramer, which was the main reason I picked it up. And he never disappoints.
Though it gets repetitive after the halfway mark, it is still fascinating to read, especially if you're a dog person.
The audiobook is narrated by Michael Kramer, which was the main reason I picked it up. And he never disappoints.
Though it gets repetitive after the halfway mark, it is still fascinating to read, especially if you're a dog person.
January 8, 2018
The book Navy SEAL Dogs is a must read for anyone into dogs or the military. Navy SEAL Dogs shows what training dogs go through to become part of special forces teams. The author tells us that he starts training the dogs at the young age of 3 days old. Since the author was once a Navy SEAL and worked with dogs during his time as a Navy SEAL, he is able to give insight on what life is like for Navy SEALs and their dogs. I highly recommend this book.
June 4, 2018
Navy Seal Dogs by Mike Ritland was a very interesting book. It was very cool to see how the navy seal dogs are trained and also reading stories about how their training saved lives. The importance of these dogs was shown throughout the book, but the importance of the handlers and the trainers was also shown. The bond between the handler and the dog was also cool to see with the stories of the dogs and trainers working together with complete trust that the other was there and doing their best job all the time.
April 12, 2017
If you really like dogs and military books then this is the book for you! You must like both types though.
November 22, 2017
I got this book at the Scholastic Book Fair because this year's batch of students are much more interested in dog books than I expected. Last year's kids were into war. Who knows what next year's kids will like but I'm hoping they'll like this one.
I'm always left yearning to learn more about the dogs. They're fantastic dogs with war stories of their own. They're heroes but their stories aren't told often enough.
I look forward to talking up the book to my students. I hope they appreciate the dogs' stories as much as I do.
I'm always left yearning to learn more about the dogs. They're fantastic dogs with war stories of their own. They're heroes but their stories aren't told often enough.
I look forward to talking up the book to my students. I hope they appreciate the dogs' stories as much as I do.
March 21, 2017
In the book Navy SEAL Dogs by Mike Ritland tells us a story about the bonds and relationships soldiers have with their bogs. Throughout the chapters Mike explains how to train, care for, and take care of the dogs so they can be ready for anything that they might encounter. He takes us through an adventure using real life scenarios that the dogs might have to face in the field. One of the main characters names is Brett, his dog's name is Chopper. Brett has a lot of pride in his dog, he makes sure he is the best of the best making sure he is healthy 24/7 so he is ready for anything that might be thrown his way. I would recommend this book to any dog lovers or anyone who loves to read about modern war.
October 23, 2017
Do you like dogs? Like the military? Like military dogs? The book Navy Seal Dogs by Mike Ritland has everything you need. It fits into the genre of military, there is action, an autobiography about Mike’s experience with working with military dogs. The book takes place in many places all around the world, showing all of the elements soldiers and military work dogs go through. These Military Working Dogs (MWD) are mainly the breed of a Belgian Malinois, these dogs are perfect for the job. I was very interested in this book because it was over two topics I enjoy very much.
The main character of this book is a soldier named Mike. He started out as a normal navy soldier, then after seeing what these MWD can do, he decided to transfer over to the field of training MWD. He has been doing this for many years. Normally he would start training these dogs when they are pups. When it comes to the military they need the best dogs, they have to be humanly aggressive, they need to follow every command, they need to be able to trace any scent, from a lost soldier, an enemy, bombs, and even drugs, and they need to have a very powerful bite. Mike spends his days training MWD to be the best they can be. Mike puts these dogs in a lot of training, none where the dog gets hurt. Mike trains multiple dogs and he trains MWD in a certain way. He treats them when do what they are told to do and when they follow directions. He starts training MWD as young as he is able to, he likes to activate their different abilities young, like their sensing skills, hearing, etc. starting these young gives MWD an advantage in the long run. MWD retire just like soldiers, after retirement you can adopt one of these MWD.
I give this book five out of five stars. The author wrote this book with a lot of detail, there is no way you can get confused. He does use some military terms which may be confusing to some people, but he explains all of the acronyms in the back of the book. He goes into great detail when it comes to his training tactics. I didn’t get lost in this book. I enjoyed this book very much. It has everything that I am interested in, dogs and the military. This is one of my newest favorite fun read books. This book is a great book overall. I suggest this book for anyone who is interested with military and dog books, some younger kids may have troubles reading this book.
The main character of this book is a soldier named Mike. He started out as a normal navy soldier, then after seeing what these MWD can do, he decided to transfer over to the field of training MWD. He has been doing this for many years. Normally he would start training these dogs when they are pups. When it comes to the military they need the best dogs, they have to be humanly aggressive, they need to follow every command, they need to be able to trace any scent, from a lost soldier, an enemy, bombs, and even drugs, and they need to have a very powerful bite. Mike spends his days training MWD to be the best they can be. Mike puts these dogs in a lot of training, none where the dog gets hurt. Mike trains multiple dogs and he trains MWD in a certain way. He treats them when do what they are told to do and when they follow directions. He starts training MWD as young as he is able to, he likes to activate their different abilities young, like their sensing skills, hearing, etc. starting these young gives MWD an advantage in the long run. MWD retire just like soldiers, after retirement you can adopt one of these MWD.
I give this book five out of five stars. The author wrote this book with a lot of detail, there is no way you can get confused. He does use some military terms which may be confusing to some people, but he explains all of the acronyms in the back of the book. He goes into great detail when it comes to his training tactics. I didn’t get lost in this book. I enjoyed this book very much. It has everything that I am interested in, dogs and the military. This is one of my newest favorite fun read books. This book is a great book overall. I suggest this book for anyone who is interested with military and dog books, some younger kids may have troubles reading this book.
September 21, 2017
I really liked this book. It starts with the author grows up with his family and friends having dogs. He loves them and really wants one. He eventually gets his first dog named Bud in 6th grade. He develops a strong bond with him and an even greater love for dogs.This dog proves his how loyal dogs can really be. He grows skinny and not in great shape. Then he has a run in with some bullies so he started working out really intensely and got super muscular. Then he decided to join the military. During physical training he found the exercises very easy compared to the work out routine he made for himself.
September 20, 2017
I give this book 3 stars because there wasn't as much action as I was hoping. Guess I can't judge a book by its cover.
Navy SEAL dogs is a book about a former SEAL and SEAL dog trainer Mike Ritland. Mike grew up as your average American kid. When he was in school he got bullied which led him to join the Navy SEALs. Out in the heat of battle Mike has seen these dogs do the impossible, from sniffing out IED's to taking down wanted men. After seeing these acts Mike turns to training the dogs knowing what role they play and the importance they have. If you are someone who likes to see how dogs are trained and the role they play in the war this is the book for you.
Navy SEAL dogs is a book about a former SEAL and SEAL dog trainer Mike Ritland. Mike grew up as your average American kid. When he was in school he got bullied which led him to join the Navy SEALs. Out in the heat of battle Mike has seen these dogs do the impossible, from sniffing out IED's to taking down wanted men. After seeing these acts Mike turns to training the dogs knowing what role they play and the importance they have. If you are someone who likes to see how dogs are trained and the role they play in the war this is the book for you.
February 24, 2017
Thank you, Mike for your important work—your passion is moving. This is a mix of the nuts and bolts of training dogs for combat, stories of the dogs and trainers in action, with Mike's story, as to how he came to this work. With a bit more editing the total book would have been smoothed out a bit, blending all entities, but not sure that is all that necessary. it was an enlightening read. Being a dog lover I enjoyed hearing the details of how the dogs are trained. Mike shared in a way that unveiled the innate heart that the dogs bring to this kind of intense work. Being an admirer of how our men, women and canines work together in the field, I enjoyed the mix this book offered. My hats off for sharing the details of this important work!
March 4, 2017
I really enjoyed this book. I am now going to train my Shitzu and my Scotch Collie all the techniques I have mastered.
I hope the Sequel is cats.
I hope the Sequel is cats.
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September 13, 2014The summary of the novel is basically "Navy SEAL Dogs-My tale of training canines for combat" takes you step by step of how MWD (Military Working Dog) handlers do to create a military dog. The author, Mike Ritland, is taking you through the training process. He tells you about the connection you have to have with these dogs, detection training, apprehension work, and most important of all bite work. The setting of the book takes place in San Diego, California, where their training facility is located. The requirements of becoming a MWD is that all dogs have to have rigorous training in order to become one. Results of this training is a MWD that has learned the skills and a great K-9 warrior. My opinion on "Navy SEAL Dogs: My Tale of Training Canines for Combat" is it is a great book. If you want further information on military dogs, then read this book because it goes into the exact training that these dog go through. Such as in the chapter Detection Work: Passing the Sniff Test, it tells you the estimate of how many scent receptors there are in a dog's nose. If you want to learn how they get the bond between the dog and the handler, you should read the chapter Bonds at Both Ends of the Leash and it will tell you the personal life of the handler and the K-9 warrior he is looking after. I would recommend this book for any one who loves dogs. It shows the pride and respect these dogs give off to their handlers.
May 21, 2014
I chose this book for two main reasons which are it was a new book and it was in the Scholastic so i decided to get it from my school library.The main plot of this book is that a Marine name Mike Ritland trains K-9 to be part of the Navy Seal Team.The dogs are intelligent and can do anything from detecting bombs to eliminating the bad guys which they are constantly brought to missions.My favorite quote from this book is when Mike says "The dog lay in the shade of a palm tree,his head up and his eyes at attention.He was scanning the desert scrubland,vigilant,the muscles beneath the heavy fur..."This is my favorite quote because it shoes good imagery like the setting also it was on the first page of the novel which makes it significant.I like the authors writing style because it is a true story and the point of view is in first person which makes it even more interesting to read.I would recommend to this book to teens who like Navy,action,and true story categories of books.
March 7, 2020
This is a very interesting book about Military Work Dogs (MWDs) and the Navy SEALs who work with them. Mike Ritland, a former Navy SEAL, writes about the experiences he went through and other SEALs went through while training and working with MWDs.
Right away, it is clear that Ritland loves dogs and respect their abilities. He mostly wrtes about Belgian Malinois, the preferred MWDs that SEALs and other American Special Forces work with. German Shepherds are also brought up from time to time, but the Belgian Malinois are the stars of the book. Ritland emphasizes again and again how impressed he is with the dogs' speed, strength, and intelligence. He doesn't use these dogs as tools or as equipment - he talks about these dogs as if they are an extension of the SEALs.
Ritland also provides little mini biographies/stories of other SEALs and their dogs in Part 3 of the book. He emphasizes how important it is for the handlers to bond with, train with, and maintain a solid, trusting relationship with their dogs. This book is mostly success story after success story, but it is a good way to show people how necessary these MWDs are to the men they work with - these MWDs demonstrate their ability to detect weapons, people, and have saved the lives of their handlers and other SEALs multiple times over.
Over and over again, Ritland emphasizes how important it is to train dogs using positive and negative reinforcement and not strict punishment and abuse. This I totally agree with. Ritland provides several excellent examples of positive reinforcement and having to repeat tasks over and over again to get the dog fully trained. One good example is: "if I want to get a dog to go into his crate, I place a crate in the middle of a clear room with no other distractions. If a dog takes a step toward that crate, I click" - the click in this narrative is a sound that indicates a positive thing. So if the dog does what Ritland wants the dog to do, Ritland will click and give the dog a treat - "If he takes another step, I repeat the process, and we keep going that way. When we get to more complicated tasks I used the same process. With the create, after we repeat that often enough, the dog will go in the room, see the crate, dash into it, lie down, and wait for his treat/reward. This is a win-win. The dog gets a treat and I get the desired outcome."
Mike Ritland is a very gifted writer. He clearly loves his subject matter and poured a lot of time and effort into this book. He knows how to interject humor into the book and keep the reader both entertained and informed. He has a few books out already but if he kept writing on this subject or on his time in the SEALs, I would definitely pick them up and read them.
I knocked off a star because he glosses over the people and politics of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran. He basically sums up these countries as third world, without getting into why these countries are they way they are. Incidentally, I feel like the term "third world country" is synonymous with poor, "backwards" countries. The terms originated from the Cold War, when countries who were not aligned with either NATO or the Eastern Block were deemed "third world."
If any people were mentioned in the book who came from the Middle East, it was mostly about terrorists/insurgents/"bad guys" with the occasional reference to the civilians. I get that the main focus of the book was about the MWDs and the work SEALs do - tracking down terrorists - but it felt like a deliberate gloss over.
There was also this little weird section about this trust exercise with a MWD, in Chapter 13 with a SEAL named Dave and his dog Samson. Dave had introduced Samson to the platoon and decided to have every man handle Samson, but it had to be done in a very specific way. From the book: "He would bend down and pick up Samson, careful to wrap him up tightly in his arms, securing all four of the dog's legs. Only then would he hand the dog to the next person in line. He reminded them that it was important that he take Samson back before the next soldier took his turn. That would be his way of communicating to Samson that this was all okay." One guy, described as "overeager" did the trust exercise completely wrong - this guy "bent down and out his face right next to Samson. Then he tried to hug the dog to his chest in order to lift him up."
Samson very quickly let this guy know that he did NOT want this happen to him by growling at him and then ignoring the guy until one day, when he decided to piss on the guy's rucksack. Ritland says that "Dave isn't a malicious guy, but [Dave] had to laugh at his buddy Samson's way of getting his revenge."
That struck me as overly mean. Like, a dog is going to do what a dog feels like doing BUT. The SEAL who picked up Samson wrong was not trying to be malicious, he just made a stupid mistake. And from the narrative, this guy was kind of annoying because he would pepper Dave with questions about MWDs and was a professed dog lover. Earlier in this narrative, Ritland claimed Dave "didn't want to be rude" and yet he laughs over a guy's piss-soaked rucksack and clearly got fed up with this nameless dude's questions. Did you offer to help clean up the rucksack, Dave? Did you just leave the rucksack as is until the guy found it like that, Dave? And while this was going on, why didn't Dave intervene and tell Samson to stop? He just let Samson piss on this guy's stuff and then walked away.
That section is just one small part of the book, but it stuck out because it was so odd and just mean-spirited.
Right away, it is clear that Ritland loves dogs and respect their abilities. He mostly wrtes about Belgian Malinois, the preferred MWDs that SEALs and other American Special Forces work with. German Shepherds are also brought up from time to time, but the Belgian Malinois are the stars of the book. Ritland emphasizes again and again how impressed he is with the dogs' speed, strength, and intelligence. He doesn't use these dogs as tools or as equipment - he talks about these dogs as if they are an extension of the SEALs.
Ritland also provides little mini biographies/stories of other SEALs and their dogs in Part 3 of the book. He emphasizes how important it is for the handlers to bond with, train with, and maintain a solid, trusting relationship with their dogs. This book is mostly success story after success story, but it is a good way to show people how necessary these MWDs are to the men they work with - these MWDs demonstrate their ability to detect weapons, people, and have saved the lives of their handlers and other SEALs multiple times over.
Over and over again, Ritland emphasizes how important it is to train dogs using positive and negative reinforcement and not strict punishment and abuse. This I totally agree with. Ritland provides several excellent examples of positive reinforcement and having to repeat tasks over and over again to get the dog fully trained. One good example is: "if I want to get a dog to go into his crate, I place a crate in the middle of a clear room with no other distractions. If a dog takes a step toward that crate, I click" - the click in this narrative is a sound that indicates a positive thing. So if the dog does what Ritland wants the dog to do, Ritland will click and give the dog a treat - "If he takes another step, I repeat the process, and we keep going that way. When we get to more complicated tasks I used the same process. With the create, after we repeat that often enough, the dog will go in the room, see the crate, dash into it, lie down, and wait for his treat/reward. This is a win-win. The dog gets a treat and I get the desired outcome."
Mike Ritland is a very gifted writer. He clearly loves his subject matter and poured a lot of time and effort into this book. He knows how to interject humor into the book and keep the reader both entertained and informed. He has a few books out already but if he kept writing on this subject or on his time in the SEALs, I would definitely pick them up and read them.
I knocked off a star because he glosses over the people and politics of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran. He basically sums up these countries as third world, without getting into why these countries are they way they are. Incidentally, I feel like the term "third world country" is synonymous with poor, "backwards" countries. The terms originated from the Cold War, when countries who were not aligned with either NATO or the Eastern Block were deemed "third world."
If any people were mentioned in the book who came from the Middle East, it was mostly about terrorists/insurgents/"bad guys" with the occasional reference to the civilians. I get that the main focus of the book was about the MWDs and the work SEALs do - tracking down terrorists - but it felt like a deliberate gloss over.
There was also this little weird section about this trust exercise with a MWD, in Chapter 13 with a SEAL named Dave and his dog Samson. Dave had introduced Samson to the platoon and decided to have every man handle Samson, but it had to be done in a very specific way. From the book: "He would bend down and pick up Samson, careful to wrap him up tightly in his arms, securing all four of the dog's legs. Only then would he hand the dog to the next person in line. He reminded them that it was important that he take Samson back before the next soldier took his turn. That would be his way of communicating to Samson that this was all okay." One guy, described as "overeager" did the trust exercise completely wrong - this guy "bent down and out his face right next to Samson. Then he tried to hug the dog to his chest in order to lift him up."
Samson very quickly let this guy know that he did NOT want this happen to him by growling at him and then ignoring the guy until one day, when he decided to piss on the guy's rucksack. Ritland says that "Dave isn't a malicious guy, but [Dave] had to laugh at his buddy Samson's way of getting his revenge."
That struck me as overly mean. Like, a dog is going to do what a dog feels like doing BUT. The SEAL who picked up Samson wrong was not trying to be malicious, he just made a stupid mistake. And from the narrative, this guy was kind of annoying because he would pepper Dave with questions about MWDs and was a professed dog lover. Earlier in this narrative, Ritland claimed Dave "didn't want to be rude" and yet he laughs over a guy's piss-soaked rucksack and clearly got fed up with this nameless dude's questions. Did you offer to help clean up the rucksack, Dave? Did you just leave the rucksack as is until the guy found it like that, Dave? And while this was going on, why didn't Dave intervene and tell Samson to stop? He just let Samson piss on this guy's stuff and then walked away.
That section is just one small part of the book, but it stuck out because it was so odd and just mean-spirited.
February 16, 2016
I thought that this was a very educational and factual book, but it wasn't very entertaining in my opinion. The author (former Navy SEAL) did a very good job explaining the rigorous training that the dogs go through, but because of the lack of story line I wouldn't recommend it for anyone looking for a good story or awesome characters. However, anyone looking for information or knowledge about the training process of Navy SEAL dogs should definately read this book. It has loads of information that you would love.
July 16, 2018
Fascinating read. I enjoyed the stories about the dogs' personalities and heroism as well as the way these dogs are chosen and trained. The history of dogs in war at the end was also really interesting. It helps that I love dogs!
January 30, 2015
I think other people should read this book because it is a really good book and it teaches you a lot about how they teach dogs to be in the Navy.
November 11, 2017
Really fun book to read. This book talks about the science and technique behind choosing and training dogs for military use, specifically for the Navy SEALs. The author is a former Navy SEAL, SEAL instructor, dog handler, and currently trains dogs for use on current SEAL teams. It was interesting to note that most of the dogs that they acquire come from Europe, where these dogs have been bred for many years for this specific task. They are starting to be bred locally within the U.S., but it will take some years before the lines are well developed and proved to produce quality animals. Some of the qualities they are looking for in these dogs is high energy (imagine a dog that is constantly running, moving, going), high intelligence, high prey drive (chasing down and object or a person), and high bite drive. Yes, they want the dogs to enjoy biting... especially biting people :-) They have to carefully train and nurture these traits, as any they can be smothered or broken if the training is done improperly, which may render the dog less that effective at its job. The tasks these dogs perform are many, however several of the most important are detection of explosives or weapons, detecting human scent, tracking or detaining potential enemy combatants, and as an early warning system to whatever team they are deployed with. Intermixed with the more scientific and training portions of the book, the author adds stories of these dogs and their handlers in theater, what they accomplished, how they changed the outcome of some situation whether it was saving lives of the SEAL team members or saving the lives of the native population where the team was serving. The time ultimately arrives when they no longer meet the strict criteria necessary to be deployed. Some dogs are fortunate to be “adopted” by one of their former handlers. This is the ideal situation, as the handler truly knows the dog, and the dogs are most at home with someone who knows and understands them. There are some, however, that either due to their aggressive nature, or the inability of a former handler to house them, are in limbo. The military does have a policy where the dogs are taken care of, and they remain with the last unit that they served with. Most of the time and attention, however, goes to the dogs that are deployable. As such the retired dogs don’t get the attention, exercise, or care that they are used to or really need. The Author does take in some of these retired dogs and cares for them. He also set up a foundation to care for them, and tries to place as many as possible with former handlers. The last part of the book gives a very brief history of dogs used in wartime.
March 20, 2018
This was one of my favorite books, in the book NAVY Seal Dogs by Mike Ritland. Mike describes every detail of training that a canine goes through to perform out on the battlefield. From a puppy, the interaction that will be key on the field is already in play. In the first section of the book, Mike talks about the missions in Afghanistan and the main characters of the set, Brett, and his dog Chopper. The team was assigned to a place densely populated with Taliban soldiers and IED's all over, also known as traps or bombs. As the team finally set into place, Chopper went to search for anything he could get his nose on. 15 minutes in Chopper hit a scent. Chopper whimpered signaling that they weren't alone. Brett released Chopper to go after the smell and seconds later there were tons of screaming. At the end of this section, Chopper found several Taliban soldiers known as insurgents and found multiple weapons along with hundreds of ammo rounds. The next article talks about the author himself, Mike. When Mike was a kid, he was often picked on, and dogs were indeed his best friends. He recalls the story of one of his first dogs, a black Lab named Bud. Mike's father trained Bud to help out when he was hunting and became an essential tool for his father when they would kill and be a well-trained house pet. Mike enlisted in the Navy after graduating high school. He, later on, joined the Seals and deployed on a nice amount of missions. One of the best tasks was in Tikrit. He fought alongside with the Marine Core in the war against Saddam Hussein. In Tikrit, the Marines introduced bomb-sniffing canines. This was a crucial part of accomplishing this mission, with the dogs being around, it made getting through town a lot easier. For example, a black lab was with Mike and his team, and they went to search a house. As they got near the house, the dog sniffed out several bomb traps and rounds of ammo to go with it. The last section talks about the training the canines go through. As puppies they are around lots of people, this is to get them comfortable around humans so, when they are older, in the field they won't act up around the seals. As they get older, Mike introduces them to open spaces and treats. As they sniff out the gifts on their own, they start working on scents with their noses. Then he presents explosive odors out in open spaces. When they hit the smell of the explosives and finds it, Mike rewards them with treats. This creates a habit for the dog. When it finds the explosive odor or whatever the handler is looking for, they are paid with gifts. I would recommend this book to anyone that is an animal lover or seeking to serve in the military.
April 12, 2018
I very much enjoyed reading the book Navy Seal Dogs by Mike Ritland for many reasons. In my opinion it was a great book because it showed how you can take whatever it is you love and make a living off of it and also showed family traditions, which I am all for both. This book by Mike showed how much he enjoyed working with K-9’s and having that connection and gratitude with them. He also explained how he continued the men's tradition in his family which is joining the military, loving your country, and be patriotic. If you’re an American loving patriotic, who’s proud of where he’s came from, I definitely recommend reading this book. Mike has those exact characteristics and you’ll experience the gratitude he has for his country. I probably wouldn’t recommend this book to people that aren’t huge fans of connections between humans and animals or believe that everyone should be %100 equal because Mike himself explains his experience of having to work your butt off for whatever it is. Mike was a smaller guy growing up and was picked on a lot, but through hard work and dedication, I’d have to say that most people would second guess themselves picking on him now. Going back to what I said earlier about his love for the USA, throughout the book I was invoke many times by his level of indebtedness for our country. It seemed that in every chapter there was a giant American flag attached to an eagle soaring through the clouds above Chopper and himself. Mike does a great job recognizing his country and explaining the concept of hard work and communication with K-9’s. One thing I wish Mike would expand on in this text is his relationship with his family while in the military and after when he opens up his own K-9 academy. He does a great job explaining the similar interest and values his father and grandfather had before joining but not after. Overall, I’d give this book a high rating and I would even read it again down the road.
January 14, 2021
I read this book as I was looking through any books that were stored on our old bookshelf. I was intrigued by the title as I was well aware that the U.S. military used MWDs or Military Working Dogs. I thought it would be interesting to take a look inside the life of SEALs and their MWDs, as it is not common knowledge for many people to learn about the SEAL dogs along with the SEALs themselves. It beat my expectations as I was expecting a brief explanation of the training that SEAl dogs go through. However, I was given much more than that, I was given stories of deeds that Seal dogs have done and the heroics that the Seal dogs and their handlers have performed in the heat and danger of battle. I was also informed of even more of the rigors that aspiring SEALs go through to get their trident. I do have some connections as I have thought it would be cool to join the military and serve my country. An important theme I picked up in this story is at the beginning of the book where Mike Ritland described how he was always smaller than everyone else yet he never gave up ad achieved his dreams. So I think an important lesson to pull from this text is to never give up. I think anyone old enough to be able to handle details of combat and appreciate the sacrifices that not only the SEALs make but also the dogs make. The right age to read this would be seventh grade and up.
September 18, 2017
The book is called Navy Seal dogs by Mike Ritland. The book is about a couple of navy seal dog that were trained and deployed. It mostly talks about training the dog like it said that you want to train the dog on a defensive side and offense side and if you focas on one side the dog will lose its energy and not lead to full expectations. When there pups you really want to expose them to loud sounds so they get used to it in the field. A funny event that happend was a dog called Barco and his handler where going on hike in the night. Barco's handler throw a ball and barco went after it but the leash was tied to the handler so he fell down the hill and got a couple of scrapes and scares, barco was fine.
My opinion of the book was that it good because there dogs but also i want to be a Navy Seal and it taught me more about them. It teaches you about how to train a dog and what to do and what not to do. It does have the right amount of pages and it was informative about what Seals do for us and dogs too. It was nice to have multiple story's of Navy Seal dogs so you know more about it.
I recommend this book to middle schoolers and people that want to be in the military like me. If you want to learn more about our American military dogs I defiantly recommend this book.
My opinion of the book was that it good because there dogs but also i want to be a Navy Seal and it taught me more about them. It teaches you about how to train a dog and what to do and what not to do. It does have the right amount of pages and it was informative about what Seals do for us and dogs too. It was nice to have multiple story's of Navy Seal dogs so you know more about it.
I recommend this book to middle schoolers and people that want to be in the military like me. If you want to learn more about our American military dogs I defiantly recommend this book.
October 21, 2017
This book is called Navy Seal Dogs by Michael Ritland. This book is about combat dogs and how to train them. This book was written by a former navy SEAL so it should come to no surprise that this book is full of useful information on how to train a dog. There are credentials so it is even more believable.
This is a nonfiction book. This book also shares many experiences the author and other dog handlers had in the military. One of the many dogs Michael has trained is named chopper, and the author describes with great detail the experiences they had together. The whole book is about how to train a dog and some mission the dogs went on.
The books greatest strength is the description, the details are so vivid and you can tell the author had that experience with that amount of detail, for example that mission with chopper you could just imagine the experience in your head and it would seem too real. This book seems to have no weaknesses to me. I like this book a lot mainly because it is hard to find a book with this much description.
I would recommend this book to anyone really especially future soldiers of the US and dog lovers. I believe they would like this book because it is all about dogs and it has personal stories in the military.
This is a nonfiction book. This book also shares many experiences the author and other dog handlers had in the military. One of the many dogs Michael has trained is named chopper, and the author describes with great detail the experiences they had together. The whole book is about how to train a dog and some mission the dogs went on.
The books greatest strength is the description, the details are so vivid and you can tell the author had that experience with that amount of detail, for example that mission with chopper you could just imagine the experience in your head and it would seem too real. This book seems to have no weaknesses to me. I like this book a lot mainly because it is hard to find a book with this much description.
I would recommend this book to anyone really especially future soldiers of the US and dog lovers. I believe they would like this book because it is all about dogs and it has personal stories in the military.
November 3, 2017
Interesting, Sometimes Touching Read
Published in 2013 by St. Martin's Press.
Mike Ritland served as a Navy SEAL, became a trainer of SEALs and eventually moved into training dogs that work with SEALs - the most elite of all service dogs.
While they look a lot like German Shepherds, Ritland points out that the SEALs usually use Dutch Shepherds or Belgian Malinois - breeds that are lighter, leaner and even more trainable. He describes how they sort out only the most focused dogs and then spend months training them to do things that most dogs would never do - like ride in helicopters, jump out of planes, fight people (but stop on command) and chase down a target through and over everything and be able to sniff out specific odors, like bomb-making materials.
Ritland's stories of training and combat are interesting and sometimes touching, especially the stories of the soldiers bonding with the dogs in their down time (the dogs are supposed to be segregated from the rest of the soldiers, but oftentimes they hang out with them and sleep in their cots - a little bit of normalcy in the middle of a war zone).
The book also includes a "Brief History of Canines in Combat" as an afterward.
I rate this book 4 stars out of 5.
Published in 2013 by St. Martin's Press.
Mike Ritland served as a Navy SEAL, became a trainer of SEALs and eventually moved into training dogs that work with SEALs - the most elite of all service dogs.
While they look a lot like German Shepherds, Ritland points out that the SEALs usually use Dutch Shepherds or Belgian Malinois - breeds that are lighter, leaner and even more trainable. He describes how they sort out only the most focused dogs and then spend months training them to do things that most dogs would never do - like ride in helicopters, jump out of planes, fight people (but stop on command) and chase down a target through and over everything and be able to sniff out specific odors, like bomb-making materials.
Ritland's stories of training and combat are interesting and sometimes touching, especially the stories of the soldiers bonding with the dogs in their down time (the dogs are supposed to be segregated from the rest of the soldiers, but oftentimes they hang out with them and sleep in their cots - a little bit of normalcy in the middle of a war zone).
The book also includes a "Brief History of Canines in Combat" as an afterward.
I rate this book 4 stars out of 5.
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