Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/60293
ne Canines York Yankees pitcher C.C. Sabathia, and members of Abu Dhabi's royal family—it's just a small part of the business. "We work with professionals from all walks of life," he says. "With the obedi- ence business, statistically most ken- nels and training centers draw from an eight-mile radius. The fact [that] we draw people from across America and around the world is an indication we are doing something different." Oddly enough, Rhode Island-born Whittaker didn't have the most auspicious start to his career as a dog trainer. "I had a beagle that bit me as a kid," he says, laugh- ing at the painful but formative incident. "Prior to that, I was actually afraid of dogs." Undeterred, and with a newfound obses- sion for canines in his early teens, he start- ed doing kennel work at a local protection dog center. "They told me I was the worst kennel help they'd ever had and that I'd chosen the wrong profession," he recalls. "But by then I was committed to becom- ing a dog trainer and, despite my lack of natural talent, I learned every aspect of the craft. Maybe that initial discouragement contributed to my determination." His instincts proved right. By the age of 21, after dabbling in European dog sports, Whittaker had negotiated a contract with the former East German government to import protections dogs to the United States. Training became a natural exten- sion of the import business, and those early ties with Europe continue today as the cornerstone to Canine Protection International's success. Prices for a trained protection dog are determined by the level of training, the dog's natural ability, and other factors, such as show titles. "A third of our busi- ness is actually selling our European dogs back to Europeans after training," says Whittaker. Given the European heritage of the protection dogs and the company's global clients, CPI's dogs are trained in French, German, and Japanese, as well as English. "Typically, we have 35 dogs in the CPI program and another 15 for obedi- ence training," he adds, stressing that the 90 nshoremag.com May/June 2012 Dog Days An alert German Shepherd prepares to be put through its paces. two types and personalities of dogs train happily side-by-side. Whittaker says high- energy and motivated pets like labradors, retrievers, and setters are easier to train than others. "But most dogs are some- where in the middle," he says, "and we have to find ways to motivate them." Whittaker practices what he teaches. Married with two grown-up children and a six-year-old grandson, he owns a German Shepherd called Nikito (son of Nicco, a former family dog he sold to a client in Europe, but still looks after for six months each year when the client travels). "Nikito is only 16 weeks old, but through our puppy imprinting, [he] is already working off-leash," he says. Family also plays an important role in the business. Stepson Ian is a lead delivery trainer, and 21-year-old nephew John is a talented trainer, while Whittaker himself takes a hands-on role with every aspect from training to delivery. It's a far cry from his days as a 14-year-old kennel hand—and no one tells him he's in the wrong profes- sion any more. ● n