Green Beret brings his dog-handling skills to Game Fair in Minnesota

Ian Donovan is driven by patriotism to serve and defend the United States, and that’s what motivated him to leave his job as a roughneck on Gulf of Mexico oil rigs and become a Green Beret in the U.S. Army Special Forces.

He is also driven by a love of dogs and dog training. What began in his childhood – raising and training hunting dogs – resulted in managing dogs for the Army during six deployments. Dog training continues to this day, now as an expert working with a dog food company.

That’s what brings Donovan to Minnesota for both weekends of Game Fair, working at the Kinetic Dog Food booth and hosting daily seminars on dog training.

“I’m going to highlight the similarities between military working dogs and sporting dogs,” he said.

Pointers, setters, Labradors, and other sporting breeds are performance animals, he said, and the similarities between a hunting dog and a working dog in the military is astounding.

“Genetics, training, and nutrition are what makes a performance training dog in the military, and that’s what makes a hunting dog,” he said.

Born and raised in southern Louisiana, Donovan grew up chasing rabbits with beagles, upland hunting with pointers, and waterfowling over Labradors and spaniels. After high school, he went to work on oil rigs throughout the Gulf Coast, enduring long hours and grueling physical labor.

“I enjoyed that, and it was physically challenging with lots of travel as a single guy, but I maxed out the fun at that job and wanted more of a challenge, so I joined the military,” he said.

Being older than the average recruit, with more strength, smarts, and life experience, he took advantage of a special non-prior enlistment contract known as an 18x contract.

“You have the opportunity to go to Special Forces service and selection right off the street if you get certain scores on physical and mental tests,” he said.

A ticket to combat

Donovan made the cut and went through infantry basic training, airborne training, and assessment and selection to become a member of the Army’s Special Forces, known as the Green Berets.

His desire was to serve in combat missions and be part of a highly skilled team that successfully accomplished those missions to advance the interests of the United States.

“I’m a patriot, and if nothing else, I was very fortunate to live out my life’s purpose, which is patriotism,” he said.

One thing about being a Green Beret, however, is that after training and deployment, you spend a lot of time training U.S. and allied forces. Donovan said he enjoyed training people but really wanted to continue going into combat.

His next time up, he found a pathway to that. 

“On one of my deployments there was a multi-purpose canine (MPC) with us and that dog was a tremendous asset for us,” he said.

When he got back from that deployment, Donovan said he realized that he could continue to go into combat if he was a dog handler.

“We kind of called those dogs ‘combat tickets,’ because within each Special Forces group there’s a kennel, and they need a dog and handler to go along.”

Being a Green Beret meant he had all the training and expertise as his fellow soldiers, but after going through a three-month dog-training course, he would be needed on multiple missions.

His first dog was a blonde Malanois, one of the most common breeds used by the military. The other primary breed utilized is the Dutch shepherd.

Both breeds are known for their athleticism, agility, and ability to do three things the military needs: 1) track enemy personnel foot step to foot step; 2) detect explosive devices; and 3) a strong bite for a less-than-lethal means of enemy acquisition.

Both those breeds of dog are usually acquired through rigorous breeding programs in Slovakia, Holland, and Germany. The key to training dogs for such high-pressure situations is getting them to believe that what you want the dogs to do is the most important thing in the world. How do you do that?

“Those breeds are very toy-driven and I need to be able to articulate to this dog that while I understand this is your toy and you want it, and I want you to have it, there’s something I need you to do to get it,” he said. “Once (the dog) understands that he has to do something to get it, that’s your launch pad, and you create a dog that’s looking to you for what you want from him and that makes all the difference.”

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Combat situations are controlled chaos where nothing ever seems to go right, Donovan said. Dogs look to their owners and trainers for how to feel and react.

“Anxiety runs down the leash, I tell people all the time,” he said. “If you’re worked up, your dog is going to be worked up. If you’re getting shot at and can play with the dog and it’s not a bad thing – dogs don’t have the cognitive reasoning to know – so it takes a different kind of thinking for that challenge. It was something I looked forward to every day.”

Three of Donovan’s deployments were as the kennel master with the 5th Group and all six of his deployments were into various parts of the Middle East. He has been to Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Israel, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon, and facing ISIS was one of the key missions. All three dogs that he utilized on his missions served him and our country well and retired after their service.

Genetics, training, and nutrition

Seeking out the best nutrition for his dogs overseas was actually what led him to his post-military retirement job, working with Kinetic dog food. He was tasked by his boss in the Army to solve a nutrition problem they were having with dogs not meeting their full potential and not being in their best health. 

“The only reason I have a connection with Kinetic is that they helped me change my dogs’ potential as a performance animal. Once we started giving proper nutrition, we cut down on the visits to the veterinarian,” Donovan said.

After leaving the Army, he went to work for Kinetic as a representative working with military and law enforcement clients. He instructs handlers on how to fuel and train performance canines, and he travels to shows to meet with the public – something he loves to do.

“It’s always fun to get out and rub shoulders with the hunting community,” he said. “I’m fascinated to see how the fields of leisure and armed service entwine in this unique way … reminding us of the powerful bond between humans and dogs, and the importance of providing excellent care, suitable training, and optimal nutrition.”

It also keeps him closer to his home in Clarksville, Tenn., where he enjoys life with his wife Jess and five kids, ranging from age 20 to age 6. All of them enjoy the outdoors and going hunting. Each also has their own beagle pup, and Donovan is teaching his kids dog-handling skills so they can be great hunters and dog handlers as well.

“Before I was ever a soldier, I was a hunter,” he said. “After being a soldier, I am a hunter, and probably will be until the day I die.”

Catch Donovan’s seminars at 11 a.m. daily in the Main Seminar Tent at Game Fair from Aug. 9-11 and Aug. 16-18.