I had been following Protection Dog Services in Frankfort, Kentucky since the pandemic. As someone who values both safety and responsibility, I recognize that there are times when a firearm simply is not an option. So I began exploring the idea of a trained family protection dog. When I spoke with owner David Harris about a dog I saw online, he was honest and thoughtful, even telling me that my first choice might not fit my needs. Instead, he recommended Pippa. There was no pressure, no hard sell, just a genuine desire to make the right match. Coming from a military background, I was used to working dogs, so I had concerns about having a protection-trained German Shepherd around my family and in public spaces. Those worries faded almost immediately. Within the first hour of training, I saw that Pippa was sweet, affectionate, and incredibly eager to work. Greg Handy spent two days training with us, teaching both me and my younger niece, how to handle Pippa. That gave me enormous confidence about having her around family and in my office. What stands out most is how much love, care and transparency the entire team brings to the process. They're not just providing a service, they're building long-term support and relationships. I am extremely grateful to David Harris, Jenny Harris, Greg Handy, and the whole team. They turned me into a true believer. Pippa is affectionate and loving, but I know if ever needed, she'll be there. I would absolutely do business with Protection Dog Services again and highly recommend them to anyone considering a trained family protection dog. read more

I never imagined I would be in a position where I'd even consider a protection dog. Unfortunately, after a traumatic experience at our home, my wife was permanently unsettled and ready to move. I knew I had to find a different solution--but navigating this world is overwhelming. Prices are astronomical, and there's no shortage of people online claiming to be "experts." I spent over a year researching. I flew all over the country visiting trainers and breeders of every scale and cost, trying to separate noise from substance. From my very first interaction with Protection Dog Sales, it was clear they were different. David, Paula, and the entire PDS team answered every question we had--especially the stupid ones--without ever making me feel rushed or pressured. There was never a hard sell, never a ticking clock. Just honest conversations and as much time as I needed to feel comfortable. Our goal was a family-friendly protection dog, as we have a 6-year-old and a 2-year-old. We loved shepherds and Malinois, but wanted a lower-shedding breed. PDS helped us land on a beautiful male Schnauzer, and he has been an absolutely incredible addition to our family. We flew across the country several times to visit PDS before purchasing, and each time the entire staff made themselves available. We met numerous dogs, asked endless questions, and were always encouraged to take our time. Once we made the decision, the delivery process was flawless. Daniel, the trainer, was exceptional--he spent several days with us ensuring a smooth transition and making sure our whole family was confident and comfortable. Even now, two years later, we remain deeply connectedn to the PDS team. They are incredibly responsive and always willing to help, which speaks volumes about how they stand behind their dogs and clients long after the sale. It's honestly hard to imagine our world without our dog. He is fiercely protective, perfectly controlled, and exceptionally well-mannered. That said--these are still dogs. Like children, their behavior reflects the time and energy you invest, don't expect a robot. PDS gives you the foundation, but ownership still requires commitment. If you are seriously considering a protection dog and want professionalism, transparency, patience, and long-term support, I cannot recommend Protection Dog Sales highly enough. read more

4 minutes ago NEW First off, The staff that I dealt with and the owner, David, were top-notch and great to work with. Responsive, helpful, A+! Things were going great I went down and picked up my dog. I'm in a wheelchair and they helped zero me in on the best dog for my situation and he has been great. Back to the story. After a few weeks of getting him home he kept pooping on the floor. He would go to the bathroom outside and come in and poop on the floor. He also was extremely aggressive towards any other animals outside. If the neighbors dog was out there he would bolt at it growling and attack mode. When he's inside my truck if he sees another animal he is pretty aggressive. My wife sent an email to relay this information and started conversing with the other owner Jenni who I had never met or heard of. To make it brief her initial response was just basically finger pointing that he poops on the floor because you're not doing your job with him. Not that we take him out for 15 minutes he comes in and then wants to poop on the floor. Or not even a question on what is going on when this happens. Same thing with the dog aggression. My wife was a little bothered by the email so I sent a smart ass email asking if she was a clairvoyant or how she obtained these skills of knowing what the problem is without even asking any questions. Her response was shocking to me. Basically threatening that you will never talk to me like this again and just being completely unprofessional. I will post a link for the email strings so everyone can read them and decide for themselves. I absolutely could not believe that after spending $75,000 on a dog that this is how we are treated. I basically just cut it off after that and just let them know that we're done. I'm not going to continue to do business with someone like that. I was going to be buying another dog right away obviously that's not happening now.. I do need to say that everyone else that I have dealt with their has been great. I've been in business for myself for the last 20 years and I've never seen anything like this from an owner of a company to a customer. Probably a good idea to get some anger management classes. I see by reading the yelp reviews this isn't just a me thing. It seems quite common from Jenni. read more

We have had a fantastic experience with Protection Dog Sales - Dale, our Airedale Terrier, is an amazing dog. Friendly, loving and protective as needed. A joy to have!! read more

I have had my dog Pixie for 5 years now and cannot imagine a better dog could exist! PDS has been there through it all, helping me learn how to be a better dog handler. I have enjoyed them so much that I have recommended them to family members who also bought dogs, they love them as much as I love Pixie. Soon I will be taking delivery of my second dog and I'm so excited. I spend a decade looking for a breeder/ trainer that could do what they do and I was disappointed time and time again until I found them! The CEO and his trainers are amazing to work this, they go out of their way and the training they instill in these dogs is truly amazing! If you want the ultimate mix of a loving, sweet, trustworthy dog that will also die for you, go no further! read more

A few years ago we stubbled upon PDS. We met the owner David and was unsure at first. Then, we saw the training process. They actually have their own bloodline. They breed, raise and train their own dogs. Their dogs are literally raised in homes with real families! The other companies were bringing dogs in from other countries but not this company. David suggests that customers watch his video library to see and not just believe. He wants folks to do their own research. He said that the lack of transparency from the other companies would lead back to him. He was right! If you are looking for transparency and to get all of your questions answered then you should start here first and avoid all the scam sites. read more

The reviews on the negative side are pretty powerful. Then you have a mouthy woman that wants to lash out reprimand and put 100% blame on a customer! Pounding a guilt trip onto a customer, whose child got bitten by one of your dogs ?!?! Seriously??? This reminds me of the breeder that I had to deal with who did not honor her contract and I had to put my dog down 10 months later because his joints were so separated due to poor breeding and she tried to blame everything on me. I just inquired about classes and boarding for protection, which I will not do at this point because your customer service (mouthy, unprofessional guard dog, ) is 100% stinking and reeks of blaming everybody right off the bat being rude, disrespectful, and showing her behind rather than professionalism! She sounds like a junkyard dog ! NO THANK YOU! This is supposed to be a family business blah blah blah?!?! You guys should act like it. The blame game does not go very far. You should be part of the solution not the problem. I will not bring my dog near this place. I inquired about protection training, to take my dog there. I am not having him function off of a shock collar and only 15 minutes a day out of a pin that's BS. My Doberman at 10 weeks is very well socialized he goes everywhere with me. He is easy to train and I don't want him to be traumatized or staying in a pin all flipping day long and wearing a dang shot collar get some real training for these dogs, including the ones you Say you train yourself for thousands and thousands of dollars to be so disappointed because all your bad reviews will accumulate and you will start losing customers like you just lost this one!!! it sounds like your secretary needs a shock collar and some training as well read more

As a former employee who worked at this kennel for years I highly recommend you take your business elsewhere. They majority of their dogs are in small concrete boxes all day, they only get let out for four 15 minutes intervals throughout the day into a small concrete run, and depending on the day they MIGHT get some playtime or a training session with a trainer. The training is mediocre for the price you pay unless you are okay with constant upkeep/training for your dog. You can get basic obedience for your dog anywhere and there are many dog clubs around the world that can help you with the "protection" aspect of training. I recommend you spend your money elsewhere. read more

DON' T DO IT. We bought one of their "highly" trained protection dogs,we paid a fortune. This dog is not trained. It was laying in the kitchen and attacked our 11 year old as she walked by. She didn't provoke the dog in any way. She has walked and played with the dog. He was here 5 months. We constantly had to correct him for moving and whining. He WHINES constantly. We ask for help, there solution was to say "electrocute" him more. After he attacked I spoke with Jenni. I was upset but I didn't cuss or yell I wanted a return.She was nasty ...accused me of being inappropriate, hung up on me and I had to call back and calm her down - so rude, not professional. My child's hand was torn up and she blamed the child. She said it was our fault, we had untrained it in 5 months, if it can be untrained in 5 months it is not well trained. The offered options - pay them more money to come (us pay all expenses - first class) to get the dog (no refund yet they will resale) or us pay more for their travel and boarding to come train our family. NOT ACCEPTABLE. I have to pay experts to evaluate the animal and lawyers to fix this. We have had other Germans from other trainers and never had this problem. Jenni said the dog was "edgy" and we were told that but we just couldn't handle it. We were not told "It may attack you or you or your child." I has lashed out unprovoked on 5 occasions and finally got our daughter. I wish we had never ever used this company and instead sought other training. NO picture posted due to law suit unsettled. Also Jenni ridiculed me that our daughter must not be too hurt we didn't go to the hospital. My husband is an orthopedic surgeon and I am a nurse anesthetist and forensic scientist with a masters of pharmacology. She was seen medically and received treatment. read more

DON' T DO IT. We bought one of their "highly" trained protection dogs,we paid a fortune. This dog is not trained. It was laying in the kitchen and attacked our 11 year old as she walked by. She didn't provoke the dog in any way. She has walked and played with the dog. He was here 5 months. We constantly had to correct him for moving and whining. He WHINES constantly. We ask for help, there solution was to say "electrocute" him more. After he attacked I spoke with Jenni. I was upset but I didn't cuss or yell I wanted a return.She was nasty ...accused me of being inappropriate, hung up on me and I had to call back and calm her down - so rude, not professional. My child's hand was torn up and she blamed the child. She said it was our fault, we had untrained it in 5 months, if it can be untrained in 5 months it is not well trained. The offered options - pay them more money to come (us pay all expenses - first class) to get the dog (no refund yet they will resale) or us pay more for their travel and boarding to come train our family. NOT ACCEPTABLE. I have to pay experts to evaluate the animal and lawyers to fix this. We have had other Germans from other trainers and never had this problem. Jenni said the dog was "edgy" and we were told that but we just couldn't handle it. We were not told "It may attack you or you or your child." I has lashed out unprovoked on 5 occasions and finally got our daughter. I wish we had never ever used this company and instead sought other training. NO picture posted due to law suit unsettled. Also Jenni ridiculed me that our daughter must not be too hurt we didn't go to the hospital. My husband is an orthopedic surgeon and I am a nurse anesthetist and forensic scientist with a masters of pharmacology. She was seen medically and received treatment. read more

I was a high profile athlete... always traveling. My wife researched and found Dave. We had two kids at the time and now three. My wife and I came down to his facility and met our dog Ella (Hypo Allergenic Giant Schnauzer) with Dave and his lovely wife Jenni. Besides putting on the bite suit, for the other dogs, it was a excellent but fun experience lol. Ella was put in a high activity zone for training (because of the twins) and also was training at his facility for 9 months. We got EXACTLY what we paid for. Ella might be the most loving but protective dog towards us and our now three children. It has now been 4-5 years and Ella is exactly what I needed, when I was away, and what my family needed when I was not around. Now that I am around for the last couple years, I can truly tell you it was worth every cent. Thank you Dave, Jenni, and all the staff at PDS. Johnny Boychuk 2011 Stanley Cup Champion read more

We have the most amazing protection companion anyone could ever ask for. 100% always off leash and we know she will not only protect us but die for us in the process. She has had to act in her protection capacity and was flawless in her protection and her return to a loving family member on command. There is no one in the world who can even compare their K9s to the ones you will find at PDS. Mr. Harris and his employees are unsurpassed. Thank you for the peace that passes understanding you provided us. God bless you and PDS. read more

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Firstly I never thought I would write a bad review on PDS as I thought both of them as friends.David is an incredible dog trainer and his dogs are safe and have a great temperament. I bought my dog 2 years ago and I was very impressed. I paid $35k plus travel and training. Overall about $42k.I noticed immediately that my dog was dependent on having a correction collar on him. Take it off and he was half the dog.I thought. That would go away but it did not. I worked with that and had an amazing time with him.We traveled everywhere. I started to notice a problem that he was to friendly with everyone and wanted to be petted. He would see someone and run up to them to get a fuss made of him. Collar on him I could stop him off no way.This got worse and worse.David tried to help. I bought my dog as a protection dog and always felt I could overlook this fault until a Police dog trainer asked to test him out as he said my dog was too soft. We staged a setup and he went to attack me.I gave my dog all the commands he did nothing but bark a bit. The trainer had no bite suit on. The trainer said he was only trained to attack people wearing a sleeve or full bite suit. I feel that is true but David said that he was proud of my dog not biting as I was not in fear. I am not so sure and no longer felt my dog was a protection dog rather just an expensive pet.I guess I will never know. Unless I am attacked. Below is part of an email exchange between myself and Jenni. Judge for yourself. Jenni, First of all, I have not ruined Echo he is just like he was when I bought him from you, great with an electric collar.It is when the collar is not on that I have my problems with him. Secondly, the PD has NEVER trained him. Lastly Chip tried him for one day and had trouble as he only works with German commands on all of his dogs. Yes there was 2 gaps in training when I was in Hospital with Cancer.I did not like the tone of your last email this about getting Echo in the best place.Yes $5k is an insult,I will ask around but I was hoping for $20k.Which is still a large loss to me.That is why I was thinking that you tune him up and sell him for $30 and keep $10k.Perry. Perry, Now I'm irritated. I flew with Echo as I do all of the dogs with NO electric collar. I had NO problem with him in a VERY public situation. It will take me minimum 1 month to get the dogs weight down enough that it is safe to work him. Another month to prepare him to be presented to clients. Money to come get him. At this point I am almost out of my big 10 grand payday that you suggest. I probably will not get 30k for a 4 year old dog who will be 5 by the time he is ready to sell. I will not waste my time going back through emails about you letting the police guy try to work the dog when he told you it was weak. Or when you sent the dog to whoever joe bob trainer who clearly did not help the situation. You have now not only done things we guided you not to, you have caused this dog to become obese. You have failed echo and now have a chance to make it right and you refuse because you are to busy talking about how great of a trainer you are. Yep, now I am pissed. I am pissed for Echo. You will let him go to the highest bidder (won't be 30k or even 20) rather than either letting me put the dog back together for you or letting me buy the dog at a fair price for his current condition. This is not on me Perry, it is on you. Do as you choose, I figured out that you do not like to keep dogs their whole life when I was at your house, I thought Echo May be different. It seems the dog's value drops to virtually nothing if you do decide to sell. I expected more support from them and was happy to work with them and get my dog a home that suits him best. Yes, I have trained many dogs for field trials but never a G.S. Echo is 7lbs overweight not obese. Yes, I have sold dogs/working dogs or given them away if they do not work out or fit in. We always have 5 dogs. I also have 8 boxes of ashes in my office.We have seen so many pass.I just do not feel right having to use a correction collar on him for the rest of his life. We will more than likely just keep him as a pet and take this as a lesson learned. read more

These people really know what they are doing, and I would recommend them without hesitation. I know that dog trainers do not agree on much of anything, and the only way that a person can judge their methods is by the results. We have been at PDS's training facility and these dogs really are as calm and obedient as they appear to be on the videos. This is the only company that has such extensive documentation of their work. It is a lot of money to acquire one of these elite animals, and it is a massive commitment, but thus far I think it is well worth it. read more

David Harris offered me a dog which broke it's leg "playing ball". The break was really bad requiring a plate and screws. He sent me XRays of the break before surgery and after. When I asked him her price he said the dog was $35,000.00. I guess he thought I am a real sucker. When I asked him to tell me, again, exactly how it broke it's leg playing ball he broke communication with me. read more

This is a family owned and ooperates company built from the ground up and it shows. They are warm and friendly, but also hard working and honest. They are committed to their bloodline and their dogs, they honestly do what they do because they enjoy it. They have excellent trainers and decoy, the owners is very hands on and knowledgeable.. he knows what you need if you just communicate with him. His system of raising and training is awesome, but it's not police work or military training.. it's personal protection just as advertised. His dogs are trained to react based off instinct and not setup. It's perfect for us. We couldn't be happier with our experience with PDS. My kids are comfortable and love the dog (s) and we are safer because of it. read more

Although I have not gotten a dog from Mr. Harris yet, From what I have seen in his videos to countless other reviews I do not think it's fair for one person to have a bad experience (That from what I read was exaggerated) to destroy the public look of the entire business. David Harris works hard on his dogs and they are the best in the biz. If you don't believe me google personal protection dogs and start looking at the sites and videos. They are not a fraction of what David has done and I just couldn't allow this one review to ruin the opportunity for so many people to see if a protection dog is right for them. read more

I purchased a dog from these guys a year ago for several thousand dollars. The dog was supposed to be fully trained but obviously only had some training and was not as good as advertised. Even with that, decided to try and purchase another dog from them just because I knew they were a real company. I sent them a message offering $9000 for a puppy with some training. They replied, "Including shipping?" as if it I was insulting them. Seriously after giving them thousands of dollars and offering them thousands more, they couldn't even reply back again. They completely ignored me and wouldn't respond. I would recommend going somewhere else. We went with another seller and saved $6000 and had great customer service. BEWARE if you want to be treated well. read more