INTERVIEW: Ken Licklider dedicates his life to ‘Alpha Dogs’

Finding bombs, recovering dead bodies and aiding the military in anti-terrorist missions sounds like a job for a well-trained soldier. One can almost imagine the person: Camouflage, sniper gear, full-throttle energy, determined facial expressions.

Now what happens if that person is not a person at all, but a dog?

Expertly trained dogs are often integral to the safety and security of a police department or military outpost. Ken Licklider, of Vohne Liche Kennels, knows all too well the power and resourcefulness of a skilled dog, and now TV viewers can get a chance to see the training in action.

Licklider and his dogs are featured in Alpha Dogs, a new reality series on Nat Geo Wild that airs Fridays at 9 p.m. The TV show is the culmination of a long career for Licklider, one that dates back almost four decades.

“I tell you what, I pinch myself every day,” the kennel owner said recently during a phone interview. “I didn’t expect half of what we have. Pinch myself every day.”

The journey of Licklider becoming a TV star is a strange one. Jack Osbourne, son of Ozzy and Sharon, was helping produce a reality show called Armed and Famous in Muncie, Ind. Osbourne was interested in both police work and canine work, Licklider said, so he visited the nearby kennel to see if there were any opportunities for a reality series.

“So they brought him up here, and we became instant friends,” Licklider said. “He loved what were doing here and we hung out. He started talking about doing the show, and at first I turned him down.”

Licklider said he was thinking of the old paradigm of reality series depicting silly people in silly circumstances. He valued his work as “very serious” and didn’t want to be the butt of jokes. But Osbourne apparently broke down the dog trainer’s shell. “After we talked for a little while, he said he would allow me to have some creative control over what we did,” he said. “I agreed, and the rest is history.”

The filming for the series took place from May to October of 2012, a vigorous schedule that included 10-12 hour days of filming. “I had no idea what this would take,” Licklider admitted. “It was difficult.”

Convincing his team of dog trainers to support the project was a tough obstacle, and trying to deal with the camera operators proved to be a challenge as well. “I’ve got the greatest group that I work with. I come to work because I like to. I had to get (the camera operators) to understand that they work hard all day, and then they got cameras in their faces, and then they’ve got to do interviews where they repeat the same thing over and over. … It was an experience to say the least.”

Licklider characterized his team as “hard workers” who sometimes need to work a 20-hour day if need be. “We’re not afraid to work outside the box,” he said. “We train things that other people say can’t be done. And we all get along.”

Nat Geo Wild reports that Licklider’s business has grown into a multi-million dollar company.

Interestingly, Licklider didn’t always want to operate a kennel and work with dogs. A veteran of the Air Force, he first signed up for the military intending to be an electrician. It turned out that baseball changed his course in life.

“I was a decent ball player,” he said. “My generals at that time, the colonels, they all had their own teams. And I got on the baseball team and got into the finals, and I was scheduled to leave. So they said, ‘Yeah, we’re going to put you in dog school.’ And the rest is history. That was 36 years ago.”

Today, Licklider said he doesn’t have a job, only a great hobby. He said running VLK, as it’s commonly known, is both fun and challenging. “And as far as job satisfaction, our dogs find lost children, they save soldiers’ lives, policeman’s lives,” he said. “I’ll come to work as long as I can and it’s fun.”

Over the years, he’s had some highlights and special dogs that went on to high-profile assignments. “I had a dog that I was training myself, and I originally put him in the police department, but realized he was a little bit too much for that cop,” he said. “I ended up putting him with a unit that I can’t even tell you the name of, and he ended up saving many, many lives, and taking down people that we read about in newspapers.”

Another dog from Brazil was able to follow two different commands, whether it was swimming, diving or climbing a tree. “I’ve had several that are remembered the rest of my life,” he said. “There’s pictures of them here, and they’re tattooed on my body.”

At VLK, he trains German shepherds, Belgian Malinois and Dutch shepherds, among others. He said a pit bull was actually the best dog he’s ever trained in his life.

For now, Licklider hopes Alpha Dogs takes off and he’s able to show viewers his adventures in other countries. “I’d love to take them overseas and go into Bulgaria and the Czech Republic and the back alleys buying dogs and dealing with the people we deal with, or going into Africa,” he said. “There’s a ton of things we can do. And as long as Nat Geo wants us, we’re there.”

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

• Alpha Dogs airs Friday nights at 9 p.m. on Nat Geo Wild. Click here for more information.