Mike’s Story
For Mike Ritland, the goal has always been to make an impact, and for most of his life, he has done just that, both personally and professionally. Born in suburban Waterloo, Iowa, Mike’s parents instilled a solid foundation of integrity, compassion, and hard work that carried him through his teen years into one of the most pivotal decisions of his life. After graduation, without a second thought, Mike decided he wanted to serve his country as a Navy SEAL.
12 years as a Navy SEAL
During his service, he navigated the training ground and battlefield within the special operations community. While on deployment in Iraq with a group of Marines and their combat K9, this highly trained combat dog saved the Marines’ lives during a dangerous operation, making the K9 a true hero. And just like that, a light switch went off for Mike.
Mike’s Story
For Mike Ritland, the goal has always been to make an impact, and for most of his life, he has done just that, both personally and professionally. Born in suburban Waterloo, Iowa, Mike’s parents instilled a solid foundation of integrity, compassion, and hard work that carried him through his teen years into one of the most pivotal decisions of his life. After graduation, without a second thought, Mike decided he wanted to serve his country as a Navy SEAL.
12 years as a Navy SEAL
During his service, he navigated the training ground and battlefield within the special operations community. While on deployment in Iraq with a group of Marines and their combat K9, this highly trained combat dog saved the Marines’ lives during a dangerous operation, making the K9 a true hero. And just like that, a light switch went off for Mike.
Using the knowledge gained as a SEAL and his growing experience with the most elite dogs in the world, he left the military in 2008 to start his own dog company, Trikos International. Trikos’ reputation, forged from Mike’s career as a SEAL, grew rapidly. The company was awarded government contracts with DHS, DOD, TSA, and Customs & Border Protection. Circa 2010, Mike Ritland and Trikos International accepted the contract as the training group for the West Coast SEAL Canine Program and reunited Mike with his former teammates.
Trikos became a highly reputable dog training & procurement company that specialized in providing working K9s to a multitude of clients to include celebrities, private individuals, and government agencies.
Working with K9s became invaluable to Mike, providing “no bullshit,” real world feedback on how effective their training, nutrition, and conditioning protocols were
Working with tier 1 level dogs and operators (basically guys & K9s doing high-level shit), he received tried and true information that started to translate into different arenas of dog training & nutrition.
If it’s 12 degrees at 14,000 elevation or 130 degrees at sea level, Mike’s standard is that the dogs can still operate optimally despite any exterior condition with steadfast training.
Mike’s career brought him full circle while working on the West Coast. He discovered that former high level working dogs were being euthanized when they could no longer serve. Most of these dogs were psychologically compromised from chaotic and traumatic experiences that occurred while “doing the job.” After years of service in some of the worst places on earth, they were physically broken down, causing many to default to aggression. Mike saw this as another opportunity to make an impact, so he started the Warrior Dog Foundation. The purpose of the foundation is to prevent euthanization and provide care & dignity to retired working dogs who have served in any capacity. Some dogs are rehabbed or rehomed, if possible. For others, the goal is to make them comfortable while bringing them back to health.
Since 2010, the foundation has cared for over 200 dogs who were all scheduled for euthanization. Training and rehabbing the finest working dogs on the globe provided empirical data for what all breeds require mentally, physically, and emotionally. The methods and proper canine nutrition required to care for these warriors further expanded Mike’s experience, thus revolutionized his methods.
The SEAL Teams, Trikos International, and the Warrior Dog Foundation gave Mike everything he needed to help you get the most out of your dog & provide your K9 partner or best friend with the best nutrition and training possible
Mike wanted to empower everyday dog owners with his life’s work using the same training methods and strategy of care he vetted with high-level working dogs. Mike built an easily accessible and practical online training program called TeamDog.Pet — a training program based on his best selling book, “Team Dog; Train the Navy SEAL Way.” Team Dog has successfully helped tens of thousands of family dog owners train their way to a better dog. The program features hours of training videos that span from puppies to working dogs and from “sit” to K9 CPR & First Aid.
Through Trikos International, the Warrior Dog Foundation, and consulting with tens of thousands of subscribers via online dog training, Mike has established foundational principles that are essential for all dogs to operate at their optimum level of performance and health. After 20 years of experience, he began creating products born from the battlefield, not the boardroom. From his training methods and gear found in the Mike Ritland Co Store, to his Fueled and Trained by Dog Food and Treats, Mike is giving you the tools needed to provide your dog with an active and fulfilling life.
As a former Navy SEAL & K9 Trainer, New York Times Bestselling author, expert speaker on K9 applications, and host of the raw & unfiltered podcast, “Mike Drop,” Mike is dedicating his life to the health and well being of all dogs, no matter the breed, size, age or health as well as giving every dog owner the resources needed to be their dog’s hero.
“At the end of the day, work harder than they do”
