All of this experience prompted Mike Ritland to write three New York Times Best Selling books: Trident K9 Warriors, Navy SEAL Dogs and TEAM Dog.
In addition to his novels, Ritland also has been featured in numerous other publications such as Town & Country, Police K9 Magazine, K9 Cop Magazine, the Washington Post, the Huffington Post, NYPOST, Men’s Journal, and more. Mike Ritland is not only an accomplished author and speaker, but he has been interviewed by dozens of media affiliates, including ABC, CBS 60-Minutes, CBS 60-Minutes Overtime, CBS This Morning, C-SPAN, C-SPAN2 BOOKTV, Fox News, Fox News Videos, Fox and Friends, NBC, and PBS.
Ray Care:
The Overcome and Conquer Show is presented by The Project. The Project is a full emersion, 75 hour experience designed for men who know in their they are not living up to their fullest potential. Rather than waking up every morning ready to dominate life, the mediocre man rolls out of bed and slides into the same, unfulfilling routine they’ve unhappily been in for way too long. The Project is for men that have lost their internal flame and motivation to conquer. It is for men living an unfulfilling life that lacks excitement and purpose. Sound familiar? Then listen up. The Project is specifically designed to challenge you mentally and physically. We push you to the ledge of self-limiting beliefs and prove you’ve got much more in the tank. We kill the bitch and unleash the beast. We uncover the demons that hold you back and turn extreme pain into super powers to dominate life. In the end, we turn mediocre men into modern day knights. We forge a brotherhood and bond that levels you up as a better husband, father, and friend.
Ray Care:
But the project is not for every man. In fact, it’s not for most. For men who are okay with being in a rut and achieving less than their fullest potential, The Project isn’t for you. If you’re not willing to put in the work to fix what isn’t working, The Project isn’t for you. However, if you’re done white-knuckling it through life, living one day at a time with no sense of purpose and are willing to do what it takes to improve, The Project holds the key to unlocking the next chapter.
Ray Care:
Graduates of The Project join a brotherhood of modern day knights and become the authors of their destiny. They have their fire reignited and reclaim dominance over their family, fitness, finances and faith. If this resonates with you and you want to learn more, we encourage you to apply today at www.MDKProject.com/OCShow.
Ray Care:
Everybody wants to be on top of the hill. The problem nowadays is people only get dropped off at the top of the hill and walk down.
Jason Redman:
It’s that I overcome mindset that makes all the difference.
Ray Care:
See, the way we’re taught is you’re going to claw. You’re going to scratch. You’re going to bite. You’re going to dig. You’re going to do whatever it takes to get to the top of that mountain.
Jason Redman:
That unequivocally is how I have managed to keep myself moving forward and finding success.
Speaker 3:
Two SEALs, one mission. The Overcome and Conquer Show.
Jason Redman:
Welcome back to the Overcome and Conquer Show. We have been on a run, dude. We have had some amazing guests. And today’s guest is … Dude, he is ranking up there with the guest of all guests, although I will say he’s got some special predilections. He tends to like … I’ll just say he likes animals better than people.
Mike Ritland:
[inaudible 00:02:51]
Jason Redman:
Oh, you can’t talk yet.
Ray Care:
You’re not allowed to talk yet until we introduce you. What’s wrong with you!
Mike Ritland:
Everything. What’s not wrong with me?
Jason Redman:
So today, guys, we’ll give you a little hint. Three SEALs, one mission, and he loves animals.
Ray Care:
He loves animals.
Jason Redman:
All right. Let’s get into it. Come on, let’s go. So, once again, we are in the throes. We’re recording this show during the whole Kong flu crisis. So, the world is falling apart, and it is amazing to me, people that don’t-
Ray Care:
Ah!
Jason Redman:
Yeah, the sky is falling. We’re all going to die. Wrap yourself in as much toilet paper as possible, because apparently that’s what’ll protect you. But it has been amazing to watch. We’ve had some guests on here. Obviously, we had Tim Kennedy on here recently and talking to him just about mindset and preparation. And I think that’s the difference, people. You’ve got to be … You’ve got to be proactive in this life. Crisis is always coming. It’s always coming. And really it doesn’t take that much to be prepared for it. In my garage, and I know Ray’s the same, Producer Ryan. I know our special guest is no different. He’s got at least a month’s worth of food and water, and obviously weapons to be able to protect ourselves, and devastating good looks.
Ray Care:
I want to give one more hint about this guy, one more hint. It’s three letters, papa, sierra, alpha. We’ll just say P-S-A. That’s all we’re going to say. We’re not going to say anything else and see if any of the guests can guess who this is from there. Don’t worry. We’ll get into it later.
Jason Redman:
I want to ask that question later, if he’s still talking to that individual anyhow. That’s what I’d like to know. All right, well listen. Ray, do you have anything else. Do you have any thoughts? Or even Producer Ryan, what do you got for the Kong flu crisis?
Ray Care:
Well, personally … You want to go, Ryan, or do you want me to go?
Ryan:
Oh no. Go right ahead.
Ray Care:
Here’s what I think. Ever since this thing has happened, I’ve spent more time with my family. I’m eating better. I’m working out more. And instead of-
Jason Redman:
Hey, you look better. Oh, wait a minute. I’m sorry. I’m thinking about the Instagram post where you put on your wife’s clothes, and you had your picture with her clothes on next to her picture with her clothes on. And I was thinking that, “Man, you look so good,” but it was actually your wife. I’m sorry.
Ray Care:
Yeah, shit’s getting weird; I’m not going to lie. But I’m not … Three SEALs, one mission, I even said that. I’m not even wearing pants right now, ladies and gentleman. That’s the rule when I have SEALs on. I don’t wear pants. I just wear a shirt. But I actually … Yeah, I know.
Jason Redman:
And he’s got his camera under the table.
Ray Care:
But as far as this whole pandemic, I think it’s just people, personally, that are overreacting to the unknown. I mean, yes, there are people getting sick. I get it. I get it. There are people that die. But you know what? I had a relative die from having the regular flu, not the Kong [inaudible 00:05:56] flu, years ago because it turned into pneumonia, turned into all this other stuff. But, the one thing that I do know is I did not rush out and buy toilet paper. I did not rush out and do all this crazy shit. I’m just living my life to the fullest, and I’m going to continue to do so. I have more guns and ammo than everybody else in my neighborhood, except for Tom [inaudible 00:06:14], so I’m good.
Ryan:
Amen. No, I feel you.
Jason Redman:
Yeah, but he’s a member of the tribe, so yeah. Producer Ryan, do you got any thoughts? Kong flu?
Ryan:
It’s just an interesting time that we’re living in. I don’t really … I’m definitely prepared. I’ve always been prepared. I think it’s something you should do. Everybody should be prepared.
Jason Redman:
Amen.
Ryan:
It’s just a sad time.
Jason Redman:
Well listen, speaking of prepared, we got to jump into this because I can’t let our amazing guest go any longer. One, because I’m beside myself looking at him. Not only is he devastatingly handsome, he’s got a glorious beard. And better than all of that, in the background of the camera there is like a Walking Dead katana just waiting to be broke out on the zombies that are coming. But I’m going to read you guys his bio. I’m going to do my big intro. And as you start hearing things, there’s no doubt you’re going to know who this guy is. But I’m going to roll into it.
Jason Redman:
Like we talked about, he is a fellow Navy SEAL. He served 12 years as a SEAL and saw action in Operation Iraqi Freedom. During that time, he saw something happen. He saw a marine mission where an explosive detection dog basically alerted the marines to a grenade that had been trapped in a doorway, and he literally saved the lives of these marines. And it was that point forward, he had always loved dogs, and he decided he was going to start working with these animals and utilize them to basically beat the enemy. And he became really one of the first groundbreaking SEALs that got into the CAD program, the Combat Assault Dog program and the multi-purpose canine training.
Jason Redman:
So, after he finished his service, he decided he loved dog training so much, he went off. He started a company, Trikos International. And he is now providing amazing, amazing working canines to celebrities, private individuals, and government agencies. I’ve got to tell you, his dogs are considered some of the best trained, best multi-functional dogs in the world. And he, along with that, he saw a need. I love people that see needs. He saw a need that there were so many of these combat assault dogs who basically after doing all these years of heavy work in the combat zone were not able to be turned over to a family, and he basically created a refuge for these dogs after their service life. So he created the Warrior Dog Foundation to take care of these dogs.
Jason Redman:
He has worked with all kinds of dog companies. He has done all kinds of amazing things. He loves to cook. He’s good looking. And he probably would finish all of this by just saying … Oh, wait a minute. He’s a New York Times bestselling author.
Ray Care:
Yeah, you forgot that.
Jason Redman:
[crosstalk 00:09:07] three books. Yeah, I almost jumped ahead. But he’s a bestselling author of three books: Trident K9 Warriors, Navy SEAL Dogs, and Team Dog. And it is my great honor and privilege to introduce, the one, the only, Epstein didn’t kill himself, Mr. Mike Ritland. What is up, brother? Welcome to Overcome and Conquer Show.
Mike Ritland:
Well, first of all, I appreciate you having me. Second, that intro makes me want to blow myself.
Jason Redman:
Exactly.
Mike Ritland:
And lastly-
Jason Redman:
Dude, we were wondering what you were doing during the intro. I didn’t realize you were that flexible.
Mike Ritland:
I was trying to keep it down. You know what I mean?
Jason Redman:
I love it.
Mike Ritland:
Christ … Thanks for having me. I know we’ve been meaning to do this. I need to have both of you on my show, and I’m honored to be on here. I appreciate you having me, no bullshit.
Ray Care:
I’m not going to lie, I reached out to Mike not to long ago and said, “Hey, brother … ” I literally did it like this, “Hey, can you come on my show? Can you come on our show?” And then, “Why the fuck haven’t I been on yours?” That was my sales pitch. And he went for it. So, good stuff. We’re honored to have you, Mike.
Mike Ritland:
Yeah. No, it’s a pleasure. Thanks for taking the time, not that we don’t have it right now, right?
Jason Redman:
Yeah, no kidding.
Ray Care:
Exactly.
Jason Redman:
I mean, it is podcast haven for everybody out there.
Ray Care:
He’s like, “Fuck, the end of the world? Sure, I’ll jump on their podcast. Nobody will be alive to hear it. Sounds good.”
Mike Ritland:
That’s awesome.
Jason Redman:
But, Mike, seriously man, you’ve been out there, and you have done it. You’ve been out there on the battlefield. You’ve been slaying it in business. You and I have done some events together. You’re out there. You’re motivating. You’re inspiring. But really the biggest thing you’re known for is you are a dog-whisperer, man.
Mike Ritland:
I don’t know about the whisperer part. I tend to raise my voice more than I probably should. Same way with the kids, right? For me, I grew up as a dog guy. It was something that, kind of as you said in your intro, that I was really kind of taken aback by what happened in Iraq. And it was in an area where we weren’t even working with the Marines that had the dog. It was more of a, “Holy shit, why don’t we have one of these dogs?” And so for me, from that day forward … I mean, that was early on, right after the initial invasion or not long after it. And so it kind of consumed me for a while. I also was a little bit, I guess silver lining, fortunate in that when I got valley fever I was on convalescent leave for almost a year. It was like 10 months of being on convalescent leave.
Mike Ritland:
And so one of the things I have no doubt we’ll talk about, and it kind of parallels what we’re going through right now. Like a lot of times, and I’m not trying to toot my own horn or blow smoke up my own ass, but I found myself laying in bed for 18, 20 hours a day and being physically ill enough to where there wasn’t a whole lot I could do physically. And so to me I looked at that as a hell of an opportunity to learn, and so I did exactly that. I spent that entire time just consuming every single thing I could about dogs from a training standpoint. I mean, I had a fair bit of experience with dogs up until that point, just with bird dogs and hog dogs and things of that nature, but that was kind of the catalyst of … Coming back from Iraq and then catching valley fever and having almost a year of literally doing nothing but watching videos, reading books, attending seminars via DVD at the time because it was before streaming. That kind of kick started everything, and I’ve been doing it ever since.
Jason Redman:
It’s amazing how quickly and how much of an impact the combat dogs made on the battlefield. I tell you what, I … That deployment that I got wounded on in 2007, we had a dog, and it was a Marine dog handler. But I’ll be honest, we did not utilize him to the level that, fast forward a couple more years, that the dogs were then being. Obviously, the dogs were totally integrated into the platoons. I mean, they were literally part of the troops. I think back on that night and just think about, “God. Man, if we had had a dog. And we had just stepped back, and we had released that dog into that dense vegetation, we would have known how large of an enemy force we had and that those guys were in there.” So it is amazing. It’s game-changing.
Jason Redman:
One of the times when I was working in operations, we actually did a study. We had recently lost a dog in combat, and it generated some questions at the highest levels. Well, how much do these dogs really make a difference? And we basically went back and did a study of all these different missions that dogs had been on where guys were getting ready to make an entry or had done someone, and they had used a dog to go in first and found out that either, A, there was a booby trap, or B, there was heavy enemy … armed enemies inside. And we calculated. Man, these different incidences probably would have generated a death, a KIA, and these dogs made the difference. And it was dozens, and dozens, and dozens of lives that were saved over the years from the dog program.
Mike Ritland:
To me it’s impossible to quantify really because you don’t know. If a dog finds an IED, for example, how do you determine how many people didn’t die because of that? It’s impossible. But to your point, unquestionably, you could say it’s thousands. Thousands of people are here today because dogs either found IEDs, or got the jump on an ambush, or the handler saw some change in behavior in the dog and was able to determine that somebody was coming from a direction because of the wind or whatever. To me it’s really remarkable, truly remarkable how effective they are.
Mike Ritland:
One of the things you mentioned about having a Marine handler and you not utilizing him, and then fast forward a few years and the full integration. That’s really the key. One of the things that I think most people make mistakes on is assuming that the dog understands what’s going on in terms of it having been explained. You and I and the team, the platoon, the troop, whatever, are sitting around and discussing all of the different things that are taking place. You don’t have the ability to do that with a dog. And so, while we understand like, “Hey, that’s friendly. That guy’s off limits,” the dog doesn’t get that unless he’s spent time. And that’s one of the things I see that hamstrings a lot of units, frankly, that they’re having issues. I go and work with departments all the time where that dog is either failing to deploy for some reason, whether he’s engaging the wrong people, or he’s not engaging the right ones, or whatever. And it usually boils down to a lack of relationship and trust and bond between the dog and handler, and then also just a lack of true integration into whatever team, person, unit, group that he’s supposed to be operating in. That’s a huge part of it.
Ray Care:
Wow.
Ryan:
That’s crazy. I have a question. Do you match up the dogs to the individuals? Is that that close, tight knit?
Mike Ritland:
To a certain extent, yes. It’s going to depend a lot of the unit, and how many dogs they have at their disposal, and the experience of the handlers. For sure, if you’ve got say five dogs and five handlers, yeah. They’re absolutely going to be saying, “Hey, this dog is best with this guy,” depending on how hard or strong the dog is, how green or naïve and unexperienced the handler may or may not be. Those are all going to play a role. Now, like with police departments and stuff, I would say generally, especially on a smaller side, there’s less of that. It’s, “We’ve got one handler. Let’s just find a dog that’s going to make the cut and pass our selection and be the right fit for him.” There’s still going to be some of that, but to me the bigger the group, the more handlers and dogs there are, generally the more you see that. But just some general rules of thumb are that.
Mike Ritland:
If you’ve got like a brand new handler that’s never handled a dog, you don’t want to put him with a really, really strong ass-eater that is hyper-dominant and is really going to kind of test the water and push his buttons. You’re going to want to go with maybe a little more push-button dog that’s a little more even keeled and social and things of that nature. But it’s always a trade off. I mean, the type of dog that, frankly, is required to go into, say … A hypothetical, even here stateside, is you’ve got a twice-convicted felon that’s 6’3″ 240 pounds, and he’s hopped up on fucking bath salts. Like the guy’s got nothing to lose. He’s not in a normal state of mind pain tolerance wise. The dog that you send in there better be a real motherfucker to deal with that guy.
Mike Ritland:
So if I’m picking the ass-eater with the seasoned handler that, maybe he’s bit his handler a couple times, and you’re kind of keeping him from biting the wrong people versus maybe the dog that’s way more push-button, and you’ve kind of got to dirty him up and bring that out of him, I’m going to take the harder charger on that. Now, if we’re going to go do a school demo, then yeah I’m probably going to take the more even keeled dog and whatever. So, just like with all things in life, balance and kind of the right tool for the right job is certainly part of that.
Ray Care:
Love it. So, I’ve got a question for you. I’ve got two questions. We’re all serious, and I love it, but you know I’m not a serious guy. So the question I have, and it’s a rhetorical question, have you ever been bit by a dog?
Mike Ritland:
Fuck yeah I have.
Ray Care:
Of course you have. Do you know how many times?
Mike Ritland:
I don’t. Too many to count.
Ray Care:
Baker’s dozen, 50, 100?
Mike Ritland:
I’d say a few dozen. Only a handful of really serious ones. To me a bite is where the skin is absolutely broken. I don’t count like a nip, or a jaw pop, a skin pinch, things like that. If I was counting those, it would probably be hundreds.
Ray Care:
Okay. So I’m going to tell you a true story that most people that don’t know about, except for fucking Rich Graham. Do you know who Rich Graham is?
Mike Ritland:
I do. Yeah.
Ray Care:
Okay. I’m going to tell the story before [inaudible 00:19:33]. This is a true story about me and why I will never get into a dog suit again. We were doing one of the races that Mike Donnelly. Was it … One of the SEAL races that they used to do. They stopped doing. Whatever, I can’t remember it. I’ll remember it later. But anyway, Rich Graham had one of these dogs. Actually, Rich Graham brought the same damn dog to my private party I had at [inaudible 00:19:59]. But they said, “Hey, Ray. Would you be willing to put on the dog suit? And what we want you to do is we want you to run. And the dog … Just make sure … ” I didn’t have the mask. “Just when the dog gets ready to attack you, get ready. Make sure you cover your face.” And boom. I said, “Okay. Sure, Rich. Roger that.” What he didn’t tell me is is that they were going to be coming in on a [helo 00:20:22], and then they were going to release the dog. “Okay, got it.” “So we want you to run in front of all the women and children. The dog’s going to attack you. You got it?” “Yeah.” And then Rich said, “Hey, I’ll jump off, and I’ll release the dog.” “Got it.”
Ray Care:
So I’m running. The helo comes in. “Holy shit. What’s going on?” I start running. This damn dog, literally it was four legs and hair with teeth, was coming at me, the hell bitch. And I’m running. And I’m not running fast. And anyway, this dog locked onto my leg. That suit did nothing. I’m literally trying to beat the dog in front of all these women and children, yelling, “Get this fucking thing off me!” Rich is taking his good old time coming to get me, until he realizes what’s going on. And to this day, I still hate Rich Graham because of that. He laughed so hard. And they said, “Hey, Ray. Can you do this again?” And I went, “Fuck no.” I still have scars on my calf from that dog biting through that suit.
Mike Ritland:
So you were wearing a suit on it. Like you were wearing the suit pants, and it just went all the way through it, or what?
Ray Care:
Yeah, it was like an old ass suit that Rich gave me.
Mike Ritland:
Ah, gotcha.
Ray Care:
Made it look like I was wearing a pair of fucking Carhartts. It fucking bit right through me.
Mike Ritland:
Like scratch pants?
Ray Care:
Yeah. So anyway, it hurt. That’s to you, Rich Graham.
Jason Redman:
Dude, that’s so funny.
Mike Ritland:
Yeah. I mean, suit thickness wise, I wonder if he had you in a pair of fucking scratch pants and not a suit bottom. I wouldn’t imagine so, but most suits should at least keep you from being injured. Now, having said that, I’ve had a couple different dogs over the years that bit hard enough to where they actually bit all the way through the suit and still opened me up.
Ray Care:
And I think that’s what happened. Because, on a serious note, Rich is a professional. He was just, “Holy shit.” It was that look on his eye when he realized that I wasn’t joking around. Then he came over and went into operator mode very quickly. And then they taped me up. He called me a pussy and said, “Let’s do it again.” And I told him, “Nope.” So, good stuff. All right.
Mike Ritland:
That’s awesome.
Jason Redman:
Dude, those dogs are amazing. Mike, when you were talking about the ones [inaudible 00:22:33] super high, just the super high ass-eaters with drive. I wasn’t operational at this point, but friends of mine and some of their teams, they would have dogs that they would be like … They had such high … Literally, they loved the bite. Like they had gotten a taste for literally human … humans. And when they knew they were going on a mission and they were getting ready to bite, they’d be so amped up. They would like bite dudes in the train. They would just be so jacked, ready to go.
Mike Ritland:
Yeah. I mean the tricky part with these dogs I think is exactly that. You’re taking something that in our society is inherently unnatural. You’re taking a domesticated species, and you’re funneling and channeling and breeding for natural forward aggression towards human beings. So that’s a dicey thing to control. Because in most instances, most people don’t … They won’t tolerate any of it, or they won’t allow even a little nip or a growl here or there or whatever, which that’s a whole nother story in terms of what to do or not or whatever. But in this case, you’re putting the responsibility of you and your men’s safety on the shoulders of a 65 to 85 pound animal that is supposed to be subservient and domesticated and submissive towards human beings, and they’re the exact opposite of that. And so our ability to control and manage that is not an easy thing to accomplish.
Mike Ritland:
But the types of dogs that go into special operations or SWAT teams of a big metropolitan area, where they’re going out, night after night having to go against guys who are not scared, who are physically capable of hurting them and have the intent on hurting them, again, you’ve got to have a pretty confident, strong dog to be able to deal with that. And most of the times where the dog gets wound up and redirects on a team member or whatever, it’s really just prey drive that manifests into frustration, which in turn equals a redirect. And they’re just … They’re frustrated, and they need to put their mouth on something, and they turn around and bite whatever they can get ahold of. But there’s certainly ways to manage that, but that’s where experience comes into play and having a really heads-up, good handler that knows how to read the dog and prevent them from doing shit like that.
Jason Redman:
So, Mike, I’ve got two serious questions. The first question is how many times when you’ve been dealing with people that you’ve gotten all jacked up, and you’ve bit them?
Mike Ritland:
I mean, most days, honestly. Fuck, I bite myself sometimes when I get bored.
Jason Redman:
But seriously … This is a serious question. Have you ever bit one of your dogs. Like you get so frustrated. They bit you, and you-
Ray Care:
The world according to Garth.
Jason Redman:
Yeah. Did you like bite the shit out of their ear or something just to like, “I’m going to show you, you little turd.”
Mike Ritland:
No. Because with these dogs, like in every instance where one has decided, “Hey, you know what? I’m going to take a fucking shot at the title,” it’s way past like an annoyance. To me that’s where … I wouldn’t compare it to being shot at, but the same type of uncontrollable emotion and hormones kind of flow through your body, after you’ve been bit especially, for real, with no equipment on, and that dog wasn’t just throwing a warning shot [inaudible 00:26:03] but actually came after you.
Mike Ritland:
I had one dog that I … Basically, I grabbed him by the collar. He spun around and grabbed my wrist and fucking broke it, split my wrist wide open, fractured my wrist, I mean, and that fucking quick too. After you’ve had situations like that and you know the difference between a dog just kind of trying to call your bluff or maybe peacock feather you a little bit and say, “Hey, fucker. That’s enough.” Versus that dog saying, “You’re fucking mine.” And you know that that dog is now coming after you with everything he has, it’s very different. It’s not a, “Well, I’m going to bite you back.” It’s doing everything you can to just avoid being bit.
Mike Ritland:
Because once they do get ahold of you, and this is the thing that I think most people have a hard time really grasping until it happens to them is that … Because everybody’s used to dealing with their pets where it’s like they mouth them or whatever. And you get this question all the time. “What if I just stuck my fist down their throat? Or what if I just shove my forearm into the back of their throat, and I’ll choke them.” And to me it’s akin to saying, somebody’s coming after you with a chainsaw, “Well, I’m just going to fucking grab it and stop it from moving.” When that dog grabs ahold of you, it’s absolutely destroying everything that it’s … It’s bearing its teeth into the gumline into your body, and then shacking like a fish in a boat that you just caught, and just wrecking your shit.
Mike Ritland:
So, when that does happen, for me, I try to grab their collar, take their air from them and minimize their body movement as much as possible, just to minimize damage. To me the last thing I’m thinking of is trying to fight the dog off of me, or bite him back, or anything like that. When it comes to that point, it’s fucking survival of the fittest, for sure.
Jason Redman:
Wow. So that’s basically the equivalent … That’s like me talking about, if a member of your family pulled a gun on you after he had shot somebody else, and me saying, “I’m going to bite you in the ear.” That’s pretty much what I just-
Mike Ritland:
Yeah, I mean, to a certain extent. But I think that’s a common misconception because most people … The tough part with working dogs is that most people have had dogs in their lives or have them, and so they make a lot of assumptions. “Well that dog … I can do the same things that I do with my dog. I’m sure you do that with your dog.” And while some of those are accurate, a lot of them are not. There are certain things that we as a species take for granted with our domesticated pet dogs that aren’t going to fucking bust a grape with their mouth by comparison. Where you’ve got these other dogs that, like they’re bred, raised, and trained to go fuck people up that don’t want to be fucked up by them. And so to me it’s really no different than combatives with police or military. Is that you’re training your guys to go in there and fucking manhandle people that don’t want to be caught, and for a dog that’s pretty fucking serious, especially when it’s going in against somebody that’s four, five, six, seven times its size. Again, and maybe he’s hopped up on something. Maybe he’s got a fucking screwdriver, a box-cutter, a baseball bat, a chair, whatever, and he’s going to try to beat the fucking dog to death while this dog is coming after him.
Mike Ritland:
So, keeping all of those serious factors in mind, it’s no bullshit. I mean, when you get a dog that’s bred right, has the appropriate genetics and then has the training and the scenario repetition to go in and then fuck somebody up, that dog is a motherfucker to deal with, for sure.
Ryan:
So, who’s got the most badass dog?
Mike Ritland:
Like which units?
Ryan:
Yeah, anywhere, Israel, does the US?
Mike Ritland:
I think every country at a certain level of … Whether it’s military or law enforcement, it’s pretty comparable, honestly. At this point, as globalized as we are, as we’re all kind of realizing with this coronavirus … In the last 20 years, I mean, post 9/11, it’s really … 20 years ago, I would’ve said Europe, for sure, specifically the Nordic, or Holland, Belgium, Germany, some of the Nordic countries for sure were leading the way, specifically Belgium and Holland. Belgium and Holland and Germany, I would say 20 years ago were for sure setting the standard. As much cross-training and as many times as we’ve gotten dogs from them and had seminars, and we as a country have used dogs at such a high level for so long now that I’d say we’re pretty competent with them. So I’d still say most dogs, most good dogs, are coming out of Europe. But in terms of them being used at a high level and having really solid canine programs, all westernized societies at a high level of military and law enforcement are pretty good dog units.
Ray Care:
Hey, guys. This is Ray from the Overcome and Conquer Show, and we are proud to announce that Icon Meals is our mid-roll sponsor. Icon is an industry leader in Cryovac meal technology. What does that mean guys? You are going to get the freshest meals delivered to you, next day service. Another key factor of why I love Icon Meals is they have two menus, guys. They have the signature menu and the custom meals. So if you’re like me, and you need more protein or less carbs, and you’re willing to go, and fitness is your life, you can make a customizable meal. And/or, if you’re just looking for the standard healthy meal choice, you can. So everything is organized for you. So, ladies and gentlemen, Icon Meals has taken all the work out of it. All you have to do is put in what you want, and they will provide what you need. And it doesn’t end there. They also offer popcorn, seasonings, coffee, cookies, crisp, bread, and gift cards. So guys, check them out at www.IconMeals.com.
Jason Redman:
Mike, I’ve got to take a step back, man. I mean, this has been so fascinating, but we’ve gotten ahead of ourselves, and it ties in so well with the word of the day. Everything you’ve been talking about relates to … I mean, from your SEAL training, from you being sick, laid up in bed for a year, and literally just dealing with these dogs, some of these dogs that have turned on you … I don’t know about you. I think I felt it. Ray felt it when you were talking about that dog latching onto your arm and breaking your arm. I was just thinking about that, how much pressure with the teeth and that pressure to break your arm. It comes around to the word of the day. And I think it’s critical. The Overcome and Conquer show, we always want to focus … We always like to bring it back to that. For that individual, we had asked you what your word was. And so I think it’s a great time to tee into that. So, Captain Care, would you do the honors?
Ray Care:
Yeah. The word that Mike chose today, which wow it hits home, is resilience. So, Mike, what I’m going to do is I’m going to read, right of Google, the definition. And you tell me how it relates and resonates to you, brother. So, resilience, the capability to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness. Can you go ahead and elaborate on that?
Mike Ritland:
Yeah. To me one of the neat things about what I do for a living, parallel and coinciding with all three of our careers, is that I get to interact with and usually spend a few days with high net worth individuals, ultra successful businessmen, celebrities, whatever, that have made it and then some. And I, over the last 12 years of selling dogs to these types of folks, I’ll spend a couple days with them and their family in their house delivering the dog. A lot of it is formal training and things of that nature, but a fair bit of it is casual conversation, and I’ll pick their brain a little bit about business and whatever.
Mike Ritland:
And one of the things that I realized in doing, and I promise I’ll bring this back to where it’s relevant, is that I don’t care what walk of life you’re in, whether you’re a tech guy, an oil guy, a fucking weed grower, you’re a commercial real estate developer, an A-list celebrity, whatever, is that everybody gets handed shit sandwiches. Yeah, some people have better deals than others. But the one common denominator between all of those guys, any business mentors I’ve had and everybody that I know in the SEAL teams that made it, just making it through BUD/S, if you contrast the people that do versus most who don’t, every one of these guys has one single thing in common, no matter what country they’re from, no matter what business they’re in, no matter what the fuck they do for a living, and that’s resilience, is that they never ever fucking give up, no matter what.
Mike Ritland:
No matter how many times they go bankrupt, or in BUD/S no matter how many times you almost fail or do fail or whatever, is that that mindset of saying, “You know what? I’m going to figure out a way to adapt to this shitty circumstance that I just got dealt, and I’m going to fucking make it happen.” And that’s who does it, every successful guy. I mean, some of them are super talented. Some of them are not that talented. What every one of them are is absolutely fucking resilient. And, as any special operator knows, without resilience you’re not making it through that selection. I don’t care if it’s [inaudible 00:35:26] and the Green Berets, fucking ranger school, a fucking combat controller, a fucking team guy, or whatever, that level of resilience that is required to kind of rise above whatever your circumstance is required, and I think especially now, given the current climate that we have.
Mike Ritland:
I mean, I was having a conversation with my oldest daughter earlier today about that. She was kind of feeling sorry for herself about not being able to go hang out with her friends and not getting to do some of the shit that she wanted to do. And I was like, “You’ve been handed a fucking gift right now. Whether you realize it or not, you have an opportunity that … Where in any other time in your life would you have a month to work on whatever the fuck it is that you want to work on? There’s no excuse for you not to be a way better fucking human being than you are a month from now because you’re handed a fucking opportunity to do so.”
Jason Redman:
Amen.
Mike Ritland:
So, yeah, you can sit around and feel sorry for yourself. Or you can say, “What’s something I want to be good at?” You can learn fucking how to cook. You can pick up any skill. I mean, especially any of us growing up in high school, just something as simple as having the internet at your fingertips. There are so many things you can learn and maximize and figure out and teach yourself from YouTube or anything else. It’s a wasted opportunity not to be doing that.
Mike Ritland:
Ray, to your point, similarly, I’ve been working out more. I’ve been cooking my own food more, spending way more time with my family, being present and thinking about things. To me it’s there’s a certain element of a godsend, of a reset button that’s being set on the entire planet right now that I think is overall good for people.
Ray Care:
I love it. You’re hitting key points here. I want to do something. I want to shift focus. You notice I’m the guy? I’m the shift-focuser guy.
Mike Ritland:
Shift fire.
Ray Care:
Yeah, I’m the shift fire guy, the max flex guy. We’ll start using those high speed terms. Everybody knows you for how fucking awesome you are with dogs. I get it. I’ve been asking you for two years, “Train my four pound Chihuahua.” You won’t do it.
Jason Redman:
Ray, before we came on, we talked about how awesome he was in the bedroom. Is that not-
Ray Care:
Oh, my bad. I’m sorry.
Jason Redman:
[inaudible 00:37:41]
Mike Ritland:
Why does that always get left out?
Ray Care:
I want to ask … That’ll get edited out. Don’t worry. My question is I want to know the shit about you that … and ask you some just crazy questions and just see how you respond to them. So, number one, you’re 5’11”. You’re this big fucking burly team guy. Why do you love cooking so much? Because literally I respond to a lot of your things. Those ribs you made the other day, I was like, “Dude, I’m coming.” Where did the love of cooking come from?
Mike Ritland:
Two things … No, three things. One, my mom is a really good cook, so I kind of grew up watching her, in typical Midwest fashion, like lots of classic, really rich, flavorful, fatty fucking Midwest type of meals. So I always kind of was inspired I think originally by her. But then, moving to Texas, I’ve been here for about 12 years now. When I first moved here, we would hang out with some family friends or new acquaintances or whatever, and I’d see these guys that would … They’d have a barrel smoker in their backyard, and they’d make pulled pork, or beef ribs, or fucking brisket, or whatever. And I would I would try it and I’m like, “Motherfucker, you made that?” I was like, “Your back-woods, fucking inbred, redneck ass pulled this off? Well, motherfucker, if you can do this, I ought to be able to at least make something that’s not a fucking carcinogen burger, right?”
Mike Ritland:
So that was kind of the middle of the phase. And then the last thing, I just … Fuck, I love to eat. I mean, that’s the bottom line. I love to eat. To me, I’m not one of those, “I want to do everything for myself … ” I mean, there’s certain things, like if it’s plumbing or shit, some things around the house, I’d rather have somebody that really knows what the fuck they’re doing do that. But when it comes to cooking and making food, because it’s something that you’ve got to do multiple times a day every day, I don’t want to suck at that. And so all of those things combined has just really inspired me to want to cook. And so most of what I do is I’d say barbecuing and grilling and things like that, but I do plenty of other more regular chef type stuff also that I’ve just kind of gotten into over the years.
Ray Care:
Your ribs … Your ribs got me quite aroused. I told you, I fired right … Yeah, look at me. Make eye contact with me. It’s all … We’re all looking down on the camera. Look at me. Look down at my 5’7″ frame, Mike Ritland.
Mike Ritland:
Your pants are off, right?
Ray Care:
I put them back on, everybody. I didn’t get the feel that you guys wanted to see anything, so I put them back on.
Mike Ritland:
Nothing could be further from the truth. You should stand up right now.
Jason Redman:
Yeah, I was going to say. That’s-
Ray Care:
Even if I stand up, I’m not fucking tall enough for you to see anything, so [crosstalk 00:40:22]. What other questions we got? We got some crazy-
Jason Redman:
Well actually I want to ask him on the chef side. Mike, what’s the most complicated thing, meal that you’ve put together?
Ray Care:
And for who?
Jason Redman:
You were saying it’s like a challenge. You were like, “I don’t know if I can do this, but … “
Ray Care:
Chateaubriand?
Mike Ritland:
No. I mean, shit, that’s just a steak anyway.
Ray Care:
That’s all I got.
Mike Ritland:
To me, I’d say the most complicated things are, at least from my perspective … I don’t do a lot of baking because I don’t eat a ton of carbs, but when you start incorporating like sauces, stocks or sauces from scratch where you’re taking seven to 30 fucking different elements of ingredients and then having to do certain things with them at a certain time before you incorporate them all together. It’s not super complicated, I would say, but stuff like that, stocks, whether it’s clam chowder soups, or certain stocks for stews or soups or things like that, that have multi-faceted components to them is probably the most in depth or complicated it gets, which again it’s really not that complicated. To me, cooking is really not that complicated. And team guys especially are just … anybody that has a job or a lifestyle where attention to detail fucking matters should be able to cook just fine because that’s really what it is.
Mike Ritland:
We’ll take barbecue as an example because it’s something that most people know me for, and it parallels being a team guy pretty immensely. It may seem like a stretch at first, but no different than being a team guy in that to be a team guy it’s not just being in good shape. It’s not just being a phenomenal shot. It’s not just having good intelligence. It’s not just having awesome equipment. It’s not just having awesome platforms and techs or support personnel and assets or air wings and overhead support and things. It’s all of those things. It’s not any one of those things. It’s all of them put together that gives us the reputation it has.
Mike Ritland:
On the barbecue side, like most people think it’s the rub. “Well fucking, what’s your secret rub?” It’s not the fucking rub. It’s the meat. It’s the rub. It’s the fucking type of grill you’re using. It’s the quality of fucking wood. It’s the right temperature. It’s being able to manage and control a fire, so that it’s not overly smokey, but not not smokey enough. It doesn’t get too hot on you. The fire doesn’t go out. It’s all of those things combined. And none of them by themselves are all that hard to really fucking master or figure out. They all take a little bit of practice, but they do require kind of a symphony of being able to do them all at the same time to have a finished product.
Mike Ritland:
Just like being a team guy though, to pinpoint one fucking thing that without you’re not going to be able to pull it off, is the genetics, right? Just like BUD/S is really a selection course in that it’s weeding out the genetic bullshit from the stuff that actually has what it takes to get the job done, is that if you’re buying a select quality piece of meat from fucking Walmart and expecting it to turn out like an A5 Wagyu grade from Snake River Farms, it’s not going to. No different than if you take the guy that just doesn’t fucking have what it takes and try to make him a SEAL, like it’s just not going to happen. So, I like to use those as kind of an analogy to say that’s why I am particular about it and kind of how it all meshes.
Jason Redman:
Dude, that was awesome. A, that was a great analogy. B-
Ray Care:
Snake River Farms.
Jason Redman:
I got two things out of that. Number one, that Mike Ritland is saucy. And, number two, I feel like a finger licking rib after his description of team guys and ribs.
Mike Ritland:
Fucking eh.
Ray Care:
[inaudible 00:44:25]
Jason Redman:
What’s up? Go, Ray.
Ray Care:
When he was talking about all the meat, I’m thinking like how complex it was and how you have to be able to balance everything. I don’t know about you, Mike, now I’m talking pre the family days. I’m thinking of like … You brought up a lot of memories of me in rota doing, back in the days, doing my odd number of components in the lovemaking room. So I was like handling multiple sauces at one time-
Mike Ritland:
It’s all a symphony, brother.
Ray Care:
It’s a symphony of-
Jason Redman:
I love it.
Ray Care:
Go ahead. I’m sorry. Let’s shift. Let’s talk about crazy things that no one knows. [crosstalk 00:45:03]
Jason Redman:
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. So, Mike, all of us, me, you and Ray, we’re constantly flying all over the place. We spend lots of time on airplanes. So, if you were on a 10 hour flight, and you could pick the person that’s sitting next to you, who would you want to sit next to you. You could pick anybody in the world. It could be the magical person that you would want to sit next to you for 10 hours, and why? Why would you want that person next to you?
Mike Ritland:
Do they have to be alive?
Jason Redman:
No. No, anybody on the planet.
Mike Ritland:
I would actually pick Glen Doherty, which I know both of you are pretty familiar with. Glen was a good friend, a really good friend of mine. We went through [BesQT 00:45:44] together. We were at the two platoons at team three together. And I’ve got pictures of him holding my kids when they were newborns. I remember spending a lot of time running on the beach, just him and I, just spending a lot of quality time together. Again, being on deployment with a guy, you learn quite a bit about them. And Glen was just one of those guys that just everybody that I knew that knew him well considered him their best friend, or almost everybody, or one of their best friends. He was just one of those guys that was good at everything. He was impossible not to like, incredibly charming, brilliantly witty, and just a solid fucking guy.
Mike Ritland:
Most team guys are really fucking good dudes, and there’s just something about them that kind of sets them apart from everybody, but Glen really kind of took it to the next level from my experience. And he was just, whether it was our time in Iraq or any training trip we’d been on, he was the one guy that was kind of the glue that really … He was the morale glue that held the platoon together. He had an innate and uncanny ability to turn any situation into a good time, a funny time, and was just one of those guys that was, for lack of better terms, he was reassuring to have around, more so anybody I’d ever met. He was a fucking warm blanket, kind of like what’s around Ray’s ankles right now. So, just a fucking good dude.
Ray Care:
True story about Glen. My wife and I used to call him the sweater because he would sweat so fucking bad when we would train.
Mike Ritland:
I did an [ARG alpha 00:47:28] with him. Believe me, I know.
Ray Care:
Yeah, I worked with him on his other stuff, which we don’t talk about, but I get upset about it. True story. Glen was … I can’t believe I’m going to tell you this. I’m sure you knew it. But Glen was doing something else. He was doing some stuff with … What the hell’s that guys name, the SEAL that … Wind Zero.
Mike Ritland:
Webb?
Ray Care:
Brandon Webb, yeah. He called me up when I was working at the farm and said, “Hey, I want to get back on.” You know what I’m talking about. I call JD Smith. He immediately was going to Mexico City. After that, he called me and said, “Hey, I’m going.” I was like, “Dude … Man, you better … ” And then I got the call right after that, so it fucking kills me.
Mike Ritland:
Yeah.
Ray Care:
I think you are too. We’re both ambassadors for BUBS.
Mike Ritland:
Yeah.
Ray Care:
So, I promote the hell out of it because I love his legacy. So, great answer.
Jason Redman:
Great answer.
Mike Ritland:
A tough story for me, and one that I’ve shared once or twice otherwise. It’s not something I talk a whole lot about. So with Glen and Ty. When Glen got that gig, he actually called me, and I had just started my first dog company at the time, and asked me if I would go do this pilot program, the start of that project with that group. And I was like, “Man, I just started the company up. I’ve got this property. I’ve got a dog kennel. There’s no way I can do it.” And he said … Similarly, that’s funny you mentioned that. That was kind of one of the questions he asked. He was like, “Well, if there was somebody that you could recommend that you’d be all right with spending 10 hours sitting next to in a vehicle all day long with nothing to do but sit there and talk, who would you recommend?” And I was like, “Well, do you remember Ty Woods from … “
Mike Ritland:
I actually introduced them. About two years prior to that, the three of us went down to Mexico and fucking hung out for a weekend. I linked them up to begin with. I said, “Do you remember Ty? The dude we went to Mexico with.” He’s like, “Oh fuck yeah.” I said, “Well, he’s just getting out. He just called me and asked me if I knew of any work or whatever, and I didn’t, but he just called me a few days ago asking.” So, because shit had been winding down on the contractor side pretty hard then, so I linked the two of them up for that gig to begin with. So there’s certainly an element on my end that is almost like missing a fucking plane that crashes. If I had said yes to Glen, would I have been in Ty’s spot? I mean, maybe not, maybe. Who knows? But to me that’s, while we’re all grown-ass men that make our own decisions, that’s been a more tough part of that whole fucking story for me to deal with. Again, it’s not something I spend a whole lot of time talking about, but just because you know him so well and what have you … It’s just something that’s really hit home with me over the years.
Ray Care:
Wow. There’s not many nights that go by, if I don’t have a drink, I don’t give a little toast to the BUB. I miss him.
Mike Ritland:
Yeah. Hell of a good dude.
Ray Care:
All right. Jay, I got nothing on that. I’m sorry. It’s rare that I don’t have much to say, Mike.
Jason Redman:
I guess I’ll just say, for those people that aren’t out there that aren’t familiar with that story, it’s the story based off the film, 13 Hours. Go watch it. I’ll just leave it at that. And then, Mike … Wow, man. I tell you what, this has been awesome. I mean, we’ve just enjoyed a lot of the different stories. I think finishing on that note, with a salute to Glen Doherty is the right way to do it.
Jason Redman:
Yeah, we’re just going to wrap up the show and go full circle. Because resilience, there’s so many different levels of resilience we’ve talked about. There’s physical resilience that obviously we’ve all had to have. In going through training, there’s resilience. I mean, you nailed it with different levels of people at the highest levels of success, whether it’s in showbiz, or whether it’s in business, or even small business. I know all of us are encountering it right now with the craziness going on in the economy, the resilience to keep driving forward, the resilience to deal with dogs, and then there’s that mental and emotional resilience of, man, all the regrets all of us have when things happen in life, and we look back, and we really had no direct impact on it, but just being human we carry those mental and emotional scars.
Jason Redman:
So, I think we’ll wrap the show on that. We typically do like two minutes of motivation basically around the world of the day. So, Ray and I will kick it. And then, Mike, we’re going to give you the last word. [crosstalk 00:52:06]
Mike Ritland:
All right. Appreciate it. I’m going to try and string it out for another 30 minutes, just to try to fuck with your timeline.
Ray Care:
Oh you ain’t fucking … Hey, brother. Coronavirus, I’ll fucking wear you out. I’ll sit here all fucking night with-
Mike Ritland:
I’ll take my top off to match and sit here all goddamn night.
Ray Care:
All three of us could stay up for a week straight. I’ve got nothing to lose. Let’s go live and do this shit.
Jason Redman:
We’re here as long as Ryan’s hard drive is big. And I got to tell you, Producer Ryan’s got a really big hard drive.
Mike Ritland:
Fucking huge.
Ray Care:
He’s got a big hard drive.
Mike Ritland:
Look at the hard drive on that guy.
Ray Care:
All right, let me start with resilience. It’s always the junior guy. So guys, listen, resilience comes in many forms, like LT said, mental, physical, emotional, social, spiritual. The key is, is no matter how quickly or how roughly you get off course, you need to get back. You need to recover. You need to get back. You have to have that fucking front sight focus. Keep your eye on the fucking prize. Like I said before, the only way that you’re going to be successful and to succeed is if you put in the time plus effort to get in the results. You have got to bounce back quickly. You are the captain of your ship. You’ve got to steer it back on course. Do not let the sea steer you. You steer the ship and go straight.
Jason Redman:
Guys, resilience, it just comes down to doing the grind. That’s all it is. And I try to tell so many people … So many people want to quit or give up when they don’t see themselves coming in first, or they’re not at the top of their game. And I got to tell you, if you ever watch a race, and you think back years later after the race, nobody ever says, “Hey, I ran the Boston Marathon, and I came in 732nd.” Unless you are a world record holder, nobody cares about that. You finished the race, man. And that’s what life is about. That’s what resilience is. It doesn’t matter what you’re going through in life; you just continue to grind forward. You put one foot in front of the other, and I don’t care if it’s physical, mental, or emotional, man, you can do it. And Mike Ritland is all about that. I love your stories, Mike. I’m going to kick it to you, brother. Wrap us up with resilience.
Ray Care:
Bring it home, big papa.
Mike Ritland:
So you guys give your take and then have the guest go last now that all the fucking wind is out of the room with talking about the word of the day.
Ray Care:
Well, you weren’t in the fucking smurf crew, so fuck you. Go.
Mike Ritland:
It’s always got to be about size, doesn’t it, Ray?
Ray Care:
[inaudible 00:54:24]
Mike Ritland:
All right. So, resilience to me, especially given right now, resilience is something that really is a choice. At the end of the day, the beauty of it is that it’s not a genetic gift that you’re handed down generation to generation. It’s a fucking choice that you make every day, and not even every day. It’s throughout the day. It’s that every fucking decision that you’re faced with, you can have the decision or the choice to either be resilient about it, or be a fucking pussy about it and let it crumble you like a fucking lawn chair, right? So, to me, take this as an opportunity to practice resiliency and look at anything that comes your way, whether it’s you lose your job, you don’t have enough money in the bank to support your family more than four days, whatever it is. I mean, resiliency is a state of mind. It’s a way of life. And let any hardship that comes your way right now, let it be a lesson for you to now know the next time what you need to have to be prepared.
Mike Ritland:
If you’re living paycheck to paycheck as an example … And I’m not knocking it. Everybody’s been there. But if you’re in a position where income stops coming in, resiliency means, “Well, the next time I’m going to have a plan in place where I’ve at least got enough reserve to take care of my family until I can figure out how to make it from somewhere else.” That’s our job as the heads of the household, or the providers, or even if you’re on the bottom of the totem pole as the youngest child in the family. Everybody can be resilient, and everybody can contribute to that factor.
Mike Ritland:
And at the end of the day, that’s the one thing, again, that all the people that I’ve met over the years that had an interesting story, that had something to show for what they’ve done and what they’ve accomplished, all had one thing in common, and that was that they were resilient. No matter what happened, they figured out a way to overcome whatever these odds were, and they were resilient in how they lived their life to be able to get to where they are. And it’s been hugely impactful for me to see that because that’s something, again, that … The encouraging and inspirational part of that is that you don’t have to be a fucking multi-million or billionaire to have that mindset and that trait. You can be anybody and decide to be resilient, and that’s what’s going to help you get to where you want to be better than any other thing out there.
Jason Redman:
I love it.
Ray Care:
Damn.
Jason Redman:
Ray, I’m surprised you didn’t drop a boom there, like I wanted to.
Ryan:
I did too.
Ray Care:
I didn’t want to interrupt the man. I was letting him-
Mike Ritland:
Yeah he did.
Ray Care:
I did, just because he’s taller than me.
Jason Redman:
Yeah, don’t lie. Don’t lie. Well, Mike, dude, awesome.
Ray Care:
Great stuff.
Jason Redman:
Listen brother, tell everybody where they can find you, first thing. If somebody is interested in getting one of your dogs, where do they go? Where do they learn more? Where do they learn to donate to the Trident K9 Foundation? And I know you have a podcast. Tell us about social media. Give us the blast, man. Where can people find you?
Mike Ritland:
So the quickest way is just Google Larry Flynt’s Hustler, and that’s where I-
Ray Care:
I’m on that page right now. Oh, wait a minute.
Mike Ritland:
What are the odds? Is there a mirror behind you? How did I know that. Honestly, the best way or the easiest way to see every different aspect of what I have going on is to just go to MikeRitland.com. That has Trikos, which is the personal protection dogs, police dogs, dogs in any form or fashion that you’re looking for, for whatever needs. TeamDog.pet is my online training course that I started almost four years ago now. In today’s time especially, I’m glad that I have started as long ago as I did, and it’s been running on all cylinders, which has proved to be pretty instrumental during this period. But that in essence is for everybody, any dog owner out there that wants to kind of piggyback on all of the principles and concepts that I’ve learned over the couple of decades I’ve been messing with the four legged terrors that I’ve been messing with and how to apply all of these training principles to your average everyday house pet. That’s what those are. There’s forums in there that I get in every week and answer questions and interact with some of the members, depending on what their situation is. And it’s just been a really good resource. It’s 99 bucks unlimited for the year, so it’s … I wanted it to be affordable for your average everyday dog owner also.
Mike Ritland:
Warrior Dog Foundation, WarriorDogFoundation.org, which is the nonprofit that I started back in 2010. We’ve taken in over 180 dogs at this point, from pretty much every working capacity you can imagine here in the states. We’ve currently got 26 dogs under our care right now. And our primary mission statement with that is to act as a resource/sanctuary for dogs that are going to be euthanized that served their country in some form or capacity. And so we’re very proud to have been able to act as a retirement home for so many dogs over the years. We do try to re-home as many of them as we can, and we do re-home a number of them. Some of them just end up kind of living out their glory days on the ranch and just getting to be a dog and unwind, which ultimately they deserve at least that. But if you can go to WarriorDogFoundation.org and help out there, especially right now. Our needs haven’t changed any. We’re getting another dog in in two days. No matter what virus is going around or recession may or may not be happening, the dogs still need to be taken care of 24/7, so any help or assistance you can provide is greatly appreciated.
Mike Ritland:
Last but not least, the Mike Drop Podcast. On all social media, just Mike Drop Podcast is the best way to look at that. Social media for every other entity, just the name on whatever platform you’re talking about, and it’ll come up. But I appreciate you guys having me. It’s been great talking to you, as always. I need to have both of you on my show, maybe not at the same time, but-
Ray Care:
A threesome of awesome. I’ll come. I’m more than you can handle as it is.
Mike Ritland:
That’s what I’m saying, fucking man sandwich. The one-guy man sandwich.
Jason Redman:
Dude, I’m the bread. I’m not the meat. All right, Mike. Hey man, it’s been an honor, brother. Everything you’re doing, salute, man.
Ray Care:
Yeah, much respect.
Mike Ritland:
Appreciate it. Likewise, gentlemen.
Jason Redman:
So, thanks for coming on, man. Definitely be safe out there. Good luck with the time with family and expanding. Yeah brother, another amazing show. So this has been another amazing episode of the Overcome and Conquer Show. I am Jason Overcome Redman.
Ray Care:
And I am Ray Cash Care.
Jason Redman:
And we are out.
Ray Care:
Boom!
Speaker 3:
Thanks for listening to the Overcome and Conquer Show. Tune in next time. And please remember to subscribe on iTunes. Please visit OvercomeAndConquer.com.
Ray Care:
The Overcome and Conquer Show was presented by The Project. The Project is a full emersion, 75 hour experience designed for men who know in their they are not living up to their fullest potential. Rather than waking up every morning ready to dominate life, the mediocre man rolls out of bed and slides into the same, unfulfilling routine they’ve unhappily been in for way too long. The Project is for men that have lost their internal flame and motivation to conquer. It is for men living an unfulfilling life that lacks excitement and purpose. If this resonates with you and you want to learn more, we encourage you to apply today at www.MDKProject.com/OCShow. Boom!