Scotch Pines Dog Training

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DICK KOEHLER 1934 - 1998 THE MYTH, THE MAN, THE LEGACY No discussion of Dick can begin without reference to his father, William R. Koehler, author of several books on the Koehler Method of Dog Training. Of the three Koehler children, Dick was the only one to follow in this father ’s footsteps, dedicating his life to dog work. This is an intimate, sometimes personal look back at Dick ’s life. We all know Bill as brilliant, internationally renowned, well respected, and in my humble opinion, unsurpassed in his field. How would you like to grow up in the shadow of Bill Koehler, let alone try to follow in his footsteps? Dick did a great job at both. Dick ’s first dog bite came at a tender age, when warned about not teasing the family ’s Scottie, Dick found the dog napping and blew in it ’s ear. The surprised Scottie took revenge on Dick ’s nose, and Dick learned that listening to his father was worthwhile! By the age of eight he had trained two of his own dogs (to his father ’s demanding standards); and was then allowed to work with dogs that came in for private training. By the age of 17 Dick was running training classes and the world ’s best dog training instructor was born. He did a tour in the Navy after graduation from high school and when he returned home he threw himself into the dog training business. By this time Bill was writing more books, and Dick was teaching more classes. Dick also did a large portion of the film work on movies like: Swiss Family Robinson, The Shaggy Dog, Big Red, and The Incredible Journey to mention just a few. Dick had at least three god given abilities that set him apart from, and far ahead of his would-be peers. One, he was a natural with dogs. Two, he could get more out of your dog in 5 minutes, than you could in two hours. And three, and perhaps best of all ... he knew exactly how to teach you to do it yourself! These abilities simply improved with the passage of time, leaving Dick unsurpassed as a training instructor. Bill, never one to openly compliment Dick, told many people that Dick was by far the best instructor he ever knew! And, coming from Bill, what else could I or anyone else add to that statement. In a recent Front and Finish article on Dick ’s passing, Vicky Hearn stated that Dick "was abrupt, difficult, cranky, given to startling and unsettling remarks and actions." She added, "He had not one ounce of his father ’s gifts for public relations, indeed, he just never could keep his mind on self-promotion projects long enough to make them work." Vicky must have had a bad hair day. Dick and I were together for sixteen years and even after a difficult divorce, we remained extremely close and always the best of friends. No one knew Dick any better, or loved him more, and I think that qualifies me to speak of his character. Dick wasn ’t perfect (who is) and at times he could be difficult to understand. He was also extremely intelligent, articulate, humorous (I ’m going to miss that laugh), caring, compassionate, kind, loyal, complicated, private...and often exasperating! He was also extremely generous, with a heart of pure gold.

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