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Eric Winstead - Absolute K-9 Services Reviews?

25K views 27 replies 20 participants last post by  WillAngel  
#1 ·
Hi! I am located near Eric Winstead and am considering purchasing a dog from
Absolutek-9services.com . Does anyone have any experience with this breeder?
 
#2 ·
I'm in the same area code, so may be near by as well. I've never heard of them, so maybe they are new to this area?
Hopefully you'll get some responses. Are you looking to buy a puppy or adult? What breed? (it looks like he breeds Mals, so you may not get many people here who have dealt with him).
I will say that the website itself makes me crazy! I can't read the white text on that busy grey background, the music that comes up on the dogs for sale portion made me jump out of my seat.
 
#3 ·
I don't know anything about this kennel either, nor had I heard of it until your post.

A quick search of google turns up an affiliation with a kennel in Mississippi.

psdkennels.com

Maybe someone from there knows something about them!

Goodluck!
 
#4 ·
Bocron- I agree with you about the website. Supposedly this person has been training dogs for over 20 years. From time to time he does also have GSD's in addition to Malinois.

Beau- Unfortunately when I did a search, I came across a complaint about psdkennels.com and they also mentioned having contact with Eric from absolutek-9services.com as well. From what I gather, it sounds as if psdkennels.com got started with dogs purchased from Eric. Not sure of how much help they would be. See the complaint below.

** linke removed by Admin. if people want to see it than please contact OP by PM**
 
#5 ·
Bocron- I agree with you about the website. Supposedly this person has been training dogs for over 20 years. From time to time he does also have GSD's in addition to Malinois.
So where are they located? I never could figure that out. (I have a pet peeve about that, if I can't find where they are when I'm looking to buy then what happens when I need to find them if I have an issue?).
So do you want a puppy or an adult? I'm guessing working lines as opposed to show lines?
 
#7 ·
I bought a Malinois back in 2009 from Eric (Absolute K-9 Services) and would very much recommend them. Eric has alot of super nice Imported Belgian Malinois and German Shepherds. When My family and I went to purchase a dog and visited their facility we were quite impressed. His facility was really nice and clean. All the dogs were well taken care of. I even went back and used Eric to train our dog. I would still be using him but due to job relocation we moved to Virginia. The clubs out here don't really have anything to offer or compare to Eric and his training methods. We have been talking back and forth about getting another dog and I would definitely get one from him. We have been talking about a German Shepherd this time. I know that he trains alot of police dogs and competition dogs, but the year we were perparing for competition I never heard anything about that other kennels (PSD KENNELS). I looked them up and it looks like they copied Eric's website and changed the words around. When I did more research PSD Kennels are owned by Jaime and Cindy Gascon and there is nothing but negitive about them on the web stating there a Back Yard Breeder and there dog are no good.

Bocron if your near Eric (Absolute K-9 Services) I would recommend you to go visit them. There facility and dogs are truely amazing. There super nice and always been willing to help me.
 
#8 ·
Absolute Best Decision

Hey guys,

Saw this thread and created an account just so I could respond and tell you all I purchased a male Malinois from Eric Winstead. My pup was born on August 1, 2012. I can't emphasize enough how happy I am with not only my pup(Marshall), but the way Eric does business. I currently live in Indiana and found out about Eric and Absolute K9 Services while browsing the web for breeders this past summer. I liked what I saw on his web page so I gave him a call. After speaking with Eric numerous times I decided he was the right choice for me. I never went to his kennel as he is located in Georgia. I believe Eric answered every single one of my questions with 100% honesty and I never felt like he was trying to sell me something. He always responded to e-mails within 48 hours and when I was unable to reach him by phone he returned my calls within the same day. After letting Eric know my intentions and needs he selected a male and I had it shipped to the Indianapolis Airport. Since meeting my puppy it has been an amazing experience and I couldn't be happier. Eric is a true professional both as a trainer and a businessmen. Never had a single problem while working with Eric and I would recommend him to anyone who is seriously interested in Malinois. **** don't take my word for it, call the man and talk to him yourself!!!
 
#13 ·
OP, I knew that the name sounded familiar to me, go to PDB (Pedigree Database) and put the name into the search field in the forum section. You will see a review for them. You can also ask the people on that forum who may know more about this kennel.
 
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#19 ·
Absolute K9

I bought my malinois "Riot" from Absolute K9 Services last Feb. with the intention of training her as a dual purpose dog. Eric was very nice and easy to talk to while I was in the process of doing my home work on his kennel and his dogs. When I finally made the decision to purchase a puppy from him, he took over and said that he would choose the right pup for me. I'm a bit of a control freak so handing him the reins and letting him choose for me was pretty hard but I was convinced that he was an expert with 25 plus years experience so I let him make my decision for me. I checked the website daily looking for updated pictures of the litter my puppy would be chosen from, and secretly I had already picked my puppy " Molly" as she was labeled on his website was the puppy's pictures I was following from week to week until they were old enough to be tested by Eric to see which puppies would be best suited for each job their future owners had picked out for them. I noticed on week 4 that "Molly's" picture was no longer listed with the rest of the pups. I figured she had been purchased so was no longer available. The next time I spoke with Eric I mentioned "Molly" and asked why she wasn't on the website. He simply stated that she did not make the cut and did not meet his standards since she squealed when he picked her up. "Something was wrong with her" "They shouldn't show fear like that when they're handled everyday from day one" he said.... I was pretty appalled. The puppy was 4 weeks old and had no outward defects looking back at the pictures she was a bright vibrant puppy, and in the videos was running around just like the other ones. Either way what was done was done. I never agreed with it but when the puppies reached 6 weeks old Eric called me and told me my puppy would be "Faith" and he would ship her out to me in TX that next Fri. She later became "Riot" after we got her home and learned "Faith" was not an appropriate name for this little hyena. I sent her back to Eric when she was 8 months old and paid him generously to start training her as a dual purpose dog (narcotics) He said she was an exceptional dog and he would have her finished and ready to work in 3 months or less. He kept her for 4 months then shipped her back and when I took her to the training facility here in TX the next week she didn't even know what the narc sent was and wouldn't bite a guy unless you covered him in bacon. He told me she was a drop out and that he had never had a puppy like her. So he would give me another puppy free of charge when I was ready. Well now I'm ready and he will not answer or return my phone calls and emails.
 
#20 ·
MonicaLea, what made you decide to go with this breeder/trainer? Did you research him and what he's bred in the past?
Do you still have Riot?
 
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#21 ·
I wanted a protection dog for my business, so I began researching Belgian Malinois and German Shepherds.
After several interviews and training observations, I am still looking.
Eric Winstead was out of the running immediately. First, he has way too many dogs for sale on Puppy Find at any given time. To train a Police dog, it takes a long time and is very costly; in the thousands of dollars. So who is paying attention to the pups? Who is evaluating these pups, putting them through the paces to determine their futures? Winstead is the trainer, not sure what Master trainer is, I don't see any certifications concerning that. I guess I could have missed them on his website.
I read his ads on several sites as well as his website. I thought some of the misinformation was due to the misspelling and horrible grammar. But as I looked closer, I became very alarmed.
Winstead claims His stud is certified PH1 and PH2 Objectwalkinghond. There is no such thing. There is no such certification.
Also, KNPV and Police training are two totally different training methods, one is for sport one is for Police service training. He claims his stud was voted the the 2011 KNPV Police Canine. What does that mean?
I have not found any certification for executive protection, that does not mean it does not exist, I just can't find it.
Is he defrauding his customers? I can't say. What I can say is if my dog was five time world champion (of what?), I would be making those awards or certificates more clear on my website so people could read them.
I hope this helps.
 
#23 ·
If you are looking for a Mal, there are several reputable breeders around.

Loganhaus
Ot Vitosha
Loups du Soleil
Dantero
 
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#24 · (Edited)
Printex said: "
certified PH1 and PH2 Objectwalkinghond. There is no such thing. There is no such certification.
Also, KNPV and Police training are two totally different training methods, one is for sport one is for Police service training. He claims his stud was voted the the 2011 KNPV Police Canine. What does that mean?

Sometimes spelling is critical to find the answer . (bewakingshond would be watch-dog , guard , German it would have been bewacht )

Since there is not much familiarity with the KNPV or Ring, or Mondio, this might clarify one concern .

"Until very recently the KNPV offered five different titles: the PH 1 (Police dog 1), PH 2(Police dog 2), Objectbewakingshond (guarding), Reddingshond (search and rescue) and Speurhond (tracking). . However the Reddingshond title has just moved from the auspices of the KNPV to the Dutch National Ministry and the Dutch Kennel Club (kind of an odd combination, eh?) However that is just an aside for my purposes here. In this article I want to focus on the PH 1 since it is the most popular certificate awarded and, to us in North America, is what we generally mean when we say "KNPV". "

I happen to love the KNPV program so this is an opportunity to share with you . The excerpt I gave was from this site Israeldogs

and offering this, from a forum , of which my friend is a member. He competes with his Mal in France.
this link was randomly chosen , but looks good to me !
Rabbit - Kole Mountain Kennels

maybe this will help clarify the police dog certificate misunderstanding ----quote

"Rabbit received his PH1 certificate with honor and a score of 403 points. He was handled by Mr. P.H. Pijpers in the KNPV trial in 2008. In 2009 Rabbit acheived the police dog certificate with 378 points in the city of Almere Netherlands, he was handled by Mr. Edwin Sollart. After receiving the police dog certificate Rabbit began to work with Edwin at the Flevoland police department as police surveillance dog from 2009 to 2011."

this information is not in defence of the subject of the thread , just information .
 
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