Hello, I’m Felix and I live in Brakel, the Flemish Ardennes region of Belgium. I’ve always been fascinated by animals especially dogs since I was a small child. Growing up in Hong Kong, which is one of the busiest and most populated cities in the world, owning a dog can be a rather luxury hobby. When I was about seven years old, after a persistent period of pleading, my dad took me to RSPCA to adopt my first German Shepherd puppy “Blackie”. Due to my family’s lack of experience about bringing up a dog, we had to return him after a short time. However, “Blackie” somehow planted a seed in my head about working with dogs when I grow up.

Throughout my childhood to my early teens, I had been dreaming to have a dog again, but because my family lived in a small apartment, I could only keep small animals such as birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish. Due to my parents’ fear of most of them, I used to keep some of these little animals out of sights without their knowledge, such as a bookshelf in our dining room’s corner and under my bed. Some of the more unusual creatures I had include scorpions, tarantulas and pythons, which almost gave my dad a heart attack when he discovered the serpent under my bed.

In 1994, my parents sent me to Australia for high school. After graduation, I began my formal education of animal studies in La Trobe University in Melbourne for my Biological Science degree. While university was teaching me to develop a scientific mindset and critical thinking, my college lifestyle gave me the opportunity to have my own dog at last, allowing me plenty of time for hands-on experience. Starting as an amateur enthusiast with an obsession, I first learned to train my own dogs including two Alaskan Malamutes and an American Pit Bull Terrier in the local dog schools and from reading various books. As the more I learned, the more fanatical I became, after about a year, I had earned the trust of other handlers to train their dogs. Most of these animals were family companions that came in all ages, breeds, and backgrounds. As a favour to my friends but more to develop my experience, I would teach these dogs a series of basic commands so they would behave in a socially acceptable manner. Some of the owners would ask me to train their dogs to guard their territories and to bite aggressors. From these dogs I started to learn how to be a decoy. Around that time I was introduced to the sport of Schutzhund/IPO/IGP and the Belgian Malinois. Although ordinary in looks comparing to some other breeds, the Malinois blew me away with his everlasting energy, immediate response, devoted attitude and explosive movement. The even more exciting discovery is Schutzhund with its three highly demanding disciplines including tracking, obedience and protection. Naturally, I purchased a seven weeks old Malinois puppy – Schwarchund Marko “Corvette” in order to participate in the sport. From then on, the pursuit of understanding canine behaviour, psychology, genetics and training has become my lifestyle and chosen career.

My university education and interest in various dog training fields has allowed me to progress smoothly in training sport dogs, pet dogs and service dogs. It also gave me the opportunities to work with trainers, breeders and behaviourists from a wide spectrum of cynology. Two of them in particular have influenced my early career greatly. They are Jim Tokis and Kris Kotsopoulos. Under their guidance, I became the first person that has titled a Malinois to IPO3 in Australasia.

In 2003, with the encouragements and supports by Jim and Kris, I started my own business CanineSquad, a dog training and behavioural consultation company based in Melbourne, Australia. My work then mainly concerned solving behavioural problems for dog owners, training their dogs in obedience, security and educating my clients the proper way to communicate with their pets.

In 2005, I met another significant person in my sporting career – two times world champion Haruo Masuda from Japan. Due to our shared enthusiasm for the sport, we became good friends. Haruo told me that if I am to further develop my finesse with working dogs and pursue my dream to be a world class competitor in Schutzhund, I need to move to Europe. This is an advice I took and never looked back.

Life works in mysterious ways. I believe destiny is what you make it. If you wish something hard enough and try your best to make it happen, eventually you will succeed. In November 2005, I had the opportunity to come to Belgium working for the founder of Kennel van de Duvetorre – Johan Weckhuyzen. With Johan’s support and assistance, I got the chance to learn from some of the most talented and knowledgeable dog trainers in the world. Three of them in particular, have been the major impacts of the evolution in my understanding of cynology. They are Johan, Julien Steenbeke, and Christoph Joris. With their help and technical support, I’ve been successfully running my own dog training company Sacraal Hart in Belgium since 2007.

Johan has produced some of the most successful Malinois in the sport of Schutzhund/IPO/IGP. Dogs such as Stoned van de Duvetorre and Cougar van de Duvetorre have had a significant influence in the global gene pool of working Malinois, and thanks to Johan, I was given my own very special Eclipse van de Duvetorre, who has brought me many victories and wonderful memories.

Julien is often affectionately referred by other trainers as the Godfather of IGP in Belgium. Many top handlers including two world champions were developed under his mentorship. He kindly took me under his wing and taught me a foundation strongly based on clicker training. Julien’s natural feeling in bite work has allowed him to bring out a dog’s full genetic potential in the protection phase.

In 2007, in addition to Schutzhund, I also started to train in Ring sport. Christoph has been a highly respected trainer in Belgian Ring Sport for many years, and who would be a better person than him to teach me about Belgian Ring? Christoph excels as a dog handler, decoy, breeder and coach. His experience in Belgian Ring is unmatchable and the dogs he breeds have been a major game changer of the Malinois in the 21st century. He has taught me the essence of Belgian Ring and the instincts of the Malinois. He is the coach of coaches and the maker of champions.

From 2000 to 2020, my career with working dogs mainly focused on sports or tasks that involved shepherd and molosser breeds. Then a project opened another door for me into the world of hunting dogs. In 2020, I was commissioned by one of the busiest international airports to select and train four dogs for them in firearm detection. Since the clients didn’t want to use any big and mean looking dogs for public relations reasons, they asked me to recruit medium sized hunting breeds for the job. Under the world pandemic of COVID-19, I had persistent difficulties in finding the clients’ requested breeds such as English Springer Spaniel and Labrador Retriever. The work-at-home policy had encouraged many hunters to go out shooting with their dogs and the demand of hunting breeds puppies greatly exceeded their supply for the next two years in Western Europe. If you were not a licensed hunter, many of the reputable hunting dog breeders just weren’t interested in selling you a puppy. Eventually, I found a breeder of Brittany Spaniel in France and purchased four puppies from him for the airport project. As guns and ammunitions are controlled matters in Belgium, I had to go through a no-criminal-record clearance and several tests to obtain licenses for hunting and sport shooting in order to possess firearms to train these dogs. I also became friends with several hunting dog breeders, trainers and hunters during my preparation for this project. After some months of training, I successfully supplied the airport with the four trained firearm searching dogs. Now I had this newly obtained hunting license and these new hunter friends, I thought to myself, “I might as well do something about it.” So in 2021, I bought my first English Springer Spaniel puppy Wellemeersen Uros from Field Trial champion and judge Rik Bosseloo. Rik is the person that initiated me into hunting dog sport and also my first teacher in Field Trial.

Field trials are working competitions for hunting dogs, particularly gun dogs. There are several types of field trials designed to assess the hunting ability of different groups of gun dogs according to their original purposes. There are Spaniel trials, Pointer trials and Retriever trials, each sport has its own specific rules and criteria based on the functions and working environments of its breeds. For spaniels, our dogs need to demonstrate an intense desire to search and flush game animals in woodland or crop field that are often heavily covered with brambles, where pheasants, woodcocks and rabbits inhabit. The dog handlers’ job is to subtly direct their dogs to places where preys favour to dwell, feed or hide. Therefore, on top of being capable dog trainers, it is essential for field trial sportsmen to be astute hunters, or at least possess enough game sense in order to present the dogs opportunities to make a find within 15 minutes. When possible, the handler casts his dog in front of him in a “zigzag” pattern to sweep clear the given area. Voice commands and whistling are kept to the minimum to avoid spooking off the quarries. Body language, hand signals and eye contact are the preferred ways of communication. One or two judges and two shooters with live shotgun cartridges accompany the team during the hunting course. A flush happens when the dog has located a prey in cover, such as a pheasant, and rushes at it, causing the bird to escape in flight. The handler is allowed to blow his whistle as a command to stop his dog from further chasing after the game, so it is safe for the gunmen to shoot. The ability of immediately and absolutely braking the dog during this hot pursuit is know as steadiness. The fallen pheasant often lands in the surrounding bushes. A well-trained, experienced dog observes and memorizes the landing while sitting steadily. On the judge’s cue, the handler sends his dog to fetch it. The retrieved quarry is inspected for any possible damage caused by biting, as no diner likes to eat a mangled bird for his Christmas feast. So “soft-mouth” is a critical trait for a hunting spaniel.

Through out the years, I’ve competed in Schutzhund, Ring Sport and Field Trial. The dogs I’ve trained from puppyhood and titled include four Malinois, two German Shepherd, two Rottweiler and one Springer. I’ve competed in nine IGP world championships and became Belgian Winner twice. In Spaniel Field Trial, I’ve won four CACT, one RCACIT, one RCACT, achieved nine Excellent and made one Belgian Working Champion. I’m a certified FCI IGP judge. I’ve written six cynological books in total, one in English and five in Chinese. I speak and write fluent English, Chinese, and a little bit of Dutch. Being able to travel the world on regular bases participating in working dog competitions and coaching other trainers have enabled me to see a wide range of animal training methods and the latest technology. My academic background in Biological Science and my residency in three different continents of the world has broadened my worldview and allowed me to precisely articulate my training systems.

My website is designed to assist you with the information you are looking for. If you would like to speak with me in person, please feel free to contact me.

Felix Ho