Chi's Testimonial For Von Forell Australia & Their K9 Dog Training Courses

May 20, 2010 - PRLog -- To Von Forell Kennels,

A couple of years ago, I purchased my current dog with the intention of training for personal protection. However, after disappointments and setbacks with training and health heartaches, I realised that the goals for my dog would never be achieved. I had already spent a great deal of time, effort and money but it was all worth it because I had learnt a very important lesson - genetics is just as critical as good training in the makeup of a good working dog. Hence, my search for a breeder began.

During my research, I found quite a large number of "working dog breeders", but one thing always struck me as being odd. A lot of breeders (and I use this term very loosely) claim to be breeding "working dogs" but there was no evidence to back that up. After contacting a couple of breeders I found out that some didn't really have a clue what they were doing. I consider myself a beginner when it comes to training/handling dogs but without sounding conceited, I honestly think I knew more about working dogs than some of these "breeders".

Although somewhat disappointed, I told myself not to settle for second best. Ideally, I wanted to find a breeder that was also a working dog trainer. To me, it just made sense that if you were a breeder that was also a good working dog trainer, your standards would be somewhat higher and you would be very critical and judgemental of the dogs you select to breed and what you actually produced. Maybe my criterion for a breeder was a bit high but after the disappointments with my current dog, I didn't want to cut any corners. Plus, why take the risk of purchasing an "average" working dog for the purposes of (personal protection and service work), and if you'll be spending countless hours and thousands of dollars with training.

Within minutes of searching for working German Shepherds in Australia, I constantly came across one name - "Von Forell". The deeper my research went, the more fascinated and intrigued I became with this "Von Forell Kennels".

Once I was convinced (well, as convinced as one can be without actually seeing and working the dogs) that the dogs from Von Forell was what I was after, I began my research on the man behind it all - Mr Kris Kotsopolous. The beauty of the internet is the availability of information one can readily access in the comfort of their own home. So along I went, using a pseudonym to browse through as many working dog discussion forums as possible. I can honestly say that I have probably read almost every single thread/post on the internet that relates to "Von Forell”.

My intentions for conducting this research was to just get a general vibe of what people from the working dog community thought of Kris as a breeder and the quality of his dogs. I was met with a wide range of comments, which some of them I must admit put me off at first but then I noticed a consistent pattern. Many of the negative comments about Von Forell or Kris usually began with "I heard from...", "A friend of mine said..", or my favourite, "A friend of a friend of mine said that..". In contrast, the positive comments usually began with "I own a Von Forell dog..." or "I know Kris personally and..." Off course, one has to keep in mind that the internet is a great medium and facilitator of Chinese whispers. Further, it is inevitable that someone doing research on Von Forell will come across Ed Frawley's accusations. I was particularly interested in understanding as much as I could about the situation and thought that doing so would give me a fairly rough indication of Kris' character. Needless to say, I was pretty impressed with his professionalism and the manner in which he responded to the accusations. I made up my mind then and there that I would get in contact with Kris myself and only judge him once I got to know him.

I eventually contacted Von Forell sometime last year in respects to potentially purchasing a German Shepherd puppy. Our conversations with were rather limited at first as I believe that one can only know a person so much through the internet. Nothing beats meeting someone face-to-face and spending time with them. With this in mind, a trip to visit Von Forell kennels was scheduled but I later found out that Von Forell K9 Education was conducting a 3-day workshop. I knew I just had to attend. In an age where information on protection training is readily available and abundant on the internet, it is rather hard for a beginner like myself to decipher what is what, especially with the amount of amateurs and beginners posting "protection training" videos on YouTube. So saying I was stoked when I heard Kris was personally running this workshop himself, is definitely an understatement.

After the first day was over, I knew I made the right decision to travel all the way from Sydney. I found Kris and his wife Tonia to be very genuine, hospitable and truly passionate about breeding and training working dogs. Kris truly exceeded all my expectations and was just one of those people that were easy to get along with. With the amount of knowledge he had and all his accomplishments, I was very surprised at how humble and down to earth he was. I believe that most people in his position usually have a bit of arrogance and lack of patience for beginners but not Kris. It was as if he remembered what it was like to be new to dog training and just eager to learn. I think I speak for everybody at the workshop when I say that he never once made any of us feel silly.

Kris is very knowledgeable in all areas of protection training and one has to take part in his workshops to really appreciate his teaching style. It's pretty hard to find a good dog trainer, but it's almost near impossible to find someone that can teach dog trainers. Kris can do both! and it is very evident that he loves what he does as this really comes out both in the classroom and field - he is within his comfort zone! The immense practical training that I was exposed to during those 3 days were unbelievable. It was great being able to learn some theory and then within 30 minutes or so, see for myself how it applies on the field. Also, what I found refreshing was that if there was something Kris didn't know, he would just say so as opposed to making excuses or quickly changing the subject as I have seen many "trainers" do. Further, if any of his training techniques were questioned, he would always provide a logical explanation based on facts and research. And he never got offended!

The facilities at Von Forell can be described in one word - OUTSTANDING! I highly doubt that there are any other dog breeding and training facilities that would be in the same league as Von Forell anywhere in Australia!

After seeing some of his dogs during the 3 day workshop, I was more than convinced to get a pup myself. Needless to say, I am now on the waiting list for Kris to select me a pup that will hopefully one day turn into that "perfect" dog.

It is a great honour to now know Von Forell on a personal level and I highly recommend them to anyone that is seeking high calibre working dogs and wishing to further their knowledge regarding all aspects of dog training. Believe me, you will not regret it.

Regards,

Chi

For you copy of this book please visit www.precisiontrackingdogs.com

Kris Kotsopoulos Von Forell Australia
Telephone from Australia 03 5786 5388
Fax from Australia 03 5786 5277
International Calls +61 3 5786 53 88
International Faxes +61 3 5786 52 77
Postal PO Box 419 Greensborough 3088 Melbourne Australia

Internet
www.vonforell.com Email: info@vonforell.com

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