Trident K9 Warriors

My Tale From the Training Ground to the Battlefield with Elite Navy SEAL Canines

By: Michael Ritland, Gary Brozek

Narrated by: Jeff Gurner

As a SEAL on combat deployment in Iraq, Mike Ritland saw a military working dog in action and instantly knew he found his true calling. While the SEAL teams had used dogs in the past, they never had dogs trained specifically by SEALs, for SEALs. To fill this void, Ritland started his own company after he retired, training and supplying dogs for the West Coast SEAL teams. He knew that less than 1% of all working dogs had what it takes to contribute to the success of our nation’s elite combat units.

He searched the globe for animals who fit this specific profile. These specialized canines had to pass rigorous selection tests before their serious training could begin. The results were a revelation: highly trained working dogs capable of handling both detection and apprehension work in the most extreme environments and the tensest of battlefield conditions. Though fiercely aggressive and athletic, these dogs develop a close bond with the handlers they work side by side with and the other team members. Truly integrating themselves into their units, these K9 warriors are much like their human counterparts - unwavering in their devotion to duty, strong enough and tough enough to take it to the enemy through pain, injury, or fear.

For the first time ever, listeners get an inside look at these elite K9 warriors - who they are, how they are trained, and the extreme missions they undertake saving countless lives asking for little in the way of reward. 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.

©2013 Michael Ritland and Gary Brozek (P)2013 Macmillan Audio

Having served with these magnificent animals

And being a long time dog lover, how can I not max out this book? They are simply the best. I would’ve preferred more of an anecdotal approach filled with various tales of derring-do, but I also understand that much of what they do is classified. Anyway great book and hats off to both the author and his comrades four-legged and otherwise.

Dogs are Amazing

I appreciate your insight into these incredible warriors. it is amazing what they will do to support their human pack. thanks for sharing their journey and stories.

Warrior Dog Whisperer

Great to listen to. Mr.Rittland tells how he transforms dogs wuth a personality nobody would ever understand into dog versions of the Navy Seals. Outstanding. Thanks you for your continued service to our country.

Good summary of K9 heroes through 2007

an excellent summary of the work of canine heroes in Afghanistan and Iraq. great read.

Silent Partners

If you could sum up Trident K9 Warriors in three words, what would they be?

Paws, Teeth, Duty

Any additional comments?

I am sure this is a book many will not purchase unless they have a passion for working dogs and what they can do for us as humans. The stories in this book however, demonstrate how little we rely on what I would call a low tech solution to the problems we are facing today in modern warfare. K9's have a sense, we as humans have only begun to scratch the surface of what these animals can do. They protect us and lead us to safer environments through a growing need find peace in a difficult and challenging set of problems. These animals and trainers/handlers demonstrate how useful of a tool these animals are to the soldiers they support. This book is a great account of this low tech solution has been overlooked by our leaders to solve problems. These animals, when used in combination with technologies will help our soldiers and police officers to serve and protect us more in the future. This book is a great account of how these animals are used in conflicts today around the world.

Great listen!

Was a great listen! Mike Ritland is awesome! Amazing how much dogs are leveraged in SOF but hearing about the training process wow, that takes a special kind of person SOF or not to want to work with those dogs.

loved the training detail and the explanations of the phycology of the dogs.

Great book. even as an experienced handler it thought me so many things. the author did a great job honoring both the dogs amd the solders they protected.

Brilliant book!

Absolutely the the best book ever written! These dogs deserve so much more especially when the service is done. They give so much, literally saving countless lives then treated like a piece of equipment and put on a shelf when thier time is up with no financial support from the government equivalent pension. If you love dogs it’ll be tear jerker! Thank god for people like Mike Ritland.

Best k9 book in a long time.

Love this book. Recommend for any military person, dog lover, or aspiring trainers. Great great great book.

A behind the scenes peek at SEAL team canines

Former Navy SEAL, SEAL canine handler, SEAL trainer & SEAL canine trainer Michael Ritland shares his methodology, insights and canine training experiences in an informative & detailed manner. His emphasis is from a SEAL “mission success” and a military dog training perspective. This book includes snippets of missions & training sessions presented in a straight forward & professional fashion. I found it a satisfying & enjoyable “read.” Ritland mentions a foundation created to assist these truly unique canine warriors find the right homes following their service career. Not all can be adopted by their handlers or even into other SEAL team homes - the warrior dog foundation.