Start Up Loans makes hound investment in police dog training business

Valkyrie Clevedon has taken out a Start Up Loan of £12,000 to purchase and equip a van that will be used to collect and transport dogs from rescue centres to kennels and police forces, and out and about on training days.

Start Up Loans is part of the British Business Bank and offers government-backed personal loans of up to £25,000 and free mentoring to help anyone start or grow a new or early-stage business.

Business partners Bryony Cole and Mischa Painter have lengthy experience with dogs, running a successful training business and working as a veterinary nurse assistant and behavioural consultant respectively.

Both compete internationally with their own dogs in protection sport, testing canine obedience and controlled protection. Their success earned them admiration from within the police force, who invited them to coach dog handlers.

The pair later bought a dog from Europe specifically to be trained for police use, and called a force to ask if it would be interested. “They bit our hands off,” says Bryony, with little hint of irony. “They had seen our training in action, and knew what we could produce.”

They now train four dogs at any one time. Breeds are generally Malinois, German Shepherd cross or Dutch Shepherds, which have often been taken to rescue centres having proved unsuitable as pets. However, they make excellent working dogs, combining a stable temperament with an ability to bite firmly and hold on, apprehending a person safely and releasing upon officer instruction.

Having identified canine candidates, Bryony and Mischa test them in a range of environments, including urban areas, lifts, on different surfaces and in varied buildings. Having assessed each hound’s character and trained it accordingly, they place it with the force they think will suit it best - for example, some of the more rural forces deal with a lot of missing people and therefore require slightly different characteristics to their inner-city counterparts.

Bryony and Mischa worked with business manager Suzy Lowe from the British Business Bank's partner SWIG Finance to help them successfully apply for their Start Up Loan.

“I searched the internet for business loans suitable for new companies, and the British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans was the first thing to come up. The fact it was government backed was a plus point,” says Mischa.

“All the evidence we had to put together was super-in depth, but it was great experience. We got to work things out and see everything on paper. It gave us a good opportunity to assess our business plan and feel we had all our boxes ticked.

“The Start Up Loan was crucial to the business, and we would definitely recommend it to others.”

SWIG business manager Suzanne Lowe said: “Valkyrie K9 is a bespoke service built on the foundation of trust, skill and expertise. They were a pleasure to work with, demonstrating a true passion and an understanding of the future potential of the business. I wish them every success.”