ServicEs

Why Dogs Work for Me
By Kevin Brathwaite

When I was a new candidate for the Detroit SWAT team, I found myself at a crossroads. Should I try to blend in and follow the norm—or lean into what came naturally to me?

During the early stages, one of the founding members of the unit, a man who had known me from my time with the K9 Unit—and whose personal dog I had trained—offered me a piece of advice. He said I might run into problems because of my ego.

I didn’t take offense. In fact, I believe he was trying to help me. It was a quiet warning: stay humble, stay open, and keep learning.

The irony is—I love learning. I hold humility and teachability in the highest regard. I’ve been a teacher, a coach, and a relentless student of everything I’ve ever pursued. From helping high-level athletes outperform expectations to training dogs with laser-focused precision, my approach has always been the same:

If I want something, I study it. I dissect it. I become it.
I search for what works. I identify the tools I already have. I adopt the best practices from those who excel. I absorb every detail I can find—from books, videos, mentors, and experience. I become obsessed with mastering it.

It’s not about discipline in the traditional sense. It’s about DRIVE.

The same kind of drive I looked for in the dogs I trained during my time in the Detroit Police K9 Unit. I needed partners who wanted the “thing”—the objective—more than comfort, more than distraction, more than approval. Dogs who would pursue it relentlessly, without needing to be pushed or prodded. Dogs who lived for the pursuit the way I lived for the process.

When I look back now, it’s clear why dogs work for me.