About Us
Quality dog training equipment and education since 1982
A New Era for Leerburg
In 1982, Ed Frawley started Leerburg Enterprises. At that time, he had been filming dog training videos for 4 years. Now 78 years old, Ed retired from Leerburg at the end of January 2026 with a goal of spending more time with his family and doing a lot of fishing. Ed sold Leerburg to 2 friends who are both retired K9 handlers and instructors - Ian O’Connell and David Littlefield. Ian and Dave have great plans for Leerburg. They are keeping every employee and the business will stay in Menomonie, WI.
Leerburg has been your trusted resource since 1982. For over 42 years, this company was built on one thing — a genuine love for dogs and the people who train them. Under new ownership, that doesn't change. Our mission, our products, and our dedication to you remain exactly the same. We're honored to continue serving you.
Meet the New Owners of Leerburg
Meet Ian O'Connell
Growing up in northern Wisconsin, Ian O’Connell’s passion for working dogs started early. Born in Rice Lake and now living near Menomonie, Ian began training and working hunting dogs at just 10 years old, building the foundation for a lifelong career centered around dogs, training, and service.
Ian began his law enforcement career in 2001 and has spent decades serving his community while developing extensive experience in police training and K9 operations. Since entering the Police K9 world in 2016, he has handled two dual-purpose Police K9s and is currently working his second dog. His background includes real-world deployment, patrol operations, training, and continued collaboration with local K9 units. In addition to his K9 work, Ian serves as a Use of Force, Firearms, and Less Lethal instructor, continuing to train and mentor officers at the local level while remaining active in law enforcement service.
Before becoming Managing Partner and co-owner of Leerburg, Ian built and operated a successful tree and landscape company from the ground up. That entrepreneurial experience, combined with his operational law enforcement background, helped shape his practical, no-nonsense approach to training, leadership, and business.
Today, Ian helps lead Leerburg with a focus on preserving the company’s reputation for honest training, working dog development, and real-world application. His experience spans hunting dogs, police K9s, firearms instruction, and hands-on operational work — bringing a balanced perspective rooted in both tradition and modern working dog demands.
Meet David Littlefield
David Littlefield’s interest in dog sports started when he bought his first German Shepherd. The dog, Tucker, was too much dog for a novice handler and he discovered Schutzhund through a desire for self-preservation. Over the following years, he worked a series of dogs in sport work, in addition to starting to do decoy work. When he started working for the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, his sole desire was to become a K9 handler. After 5 years on patrol, he joined K9 and attended his first dual-purpose handler course, working a patrol and human remains K9. His first dog, a female GSD named Tessi, was responsible for teaching him how much he had to learn about the intricacies of the K9 world. David stayed in the K9 unit for 16 years, working 2 more dogs, K9 Fenix and K9 Geli. He is a certified instructor in patrol and detection, and a certifying official with NPCA.
How Ed Frawley Started Leerburg
Ed Frawley attended his first dog training seminar in 1974. In 1978, he bought his first video camera so he could film the training seminars he had been regularly attending. In 1982, he started selling dog training videos under the name Leerburg Video Production.
From the very beginning, Ed built Leerburg's reputation as a company that only provides quality training products combined with the best training information available.
We built our business based on a policy of only selling products that we use in training our own dogs. We don't try to compete with the big box retail stores or the pet food warehouses of the world. We have built a niche based on functionality and quality.
"I am a satisfied customer and will always be a customer. I place an order and the girls on the other end are informative and friendly, offer sound advice, and answer any questions I may have knowledgeably. They strive to make sure I need what I get, get what I need, and know all the information needed to make an informed decision and not waste my money. Ed Frawley is an inspiration - I use his techniques on every dog I have had, and the improvements in my relationship and liveability with my dogs has been a world of difference better."
The training information in our DVDs, streaming videos, and online courses has been developed by some of the best dog trainers in the world. These are men and women who have many years and even decades of experience.
Leerburg is not a big corporation, it is a small family-owned business. Ed and Cindy feel that quality products and information combined with the best customer service in the industry is what has sustained our business for over 40 years.
The equipment we are selling has been designed by professional dog trainers who are out there training dogs every day. Whether you are competing in high level sport work, Police K9 training, or you simply want a well-mannered dog for your family, we can help provide the tools necessary to achieve your training goals. Read more about who we are...
Our Founder — Ed Frawley
In this video, Ed Frawley talks about how he got started in dog training, how and why he started videotaping dog training, how that led to the creation of Leerburg, and the experiences he had along the way.
The video is long (about 2.5 hours) and has been broken it down into chapters. You can view the video with chapters on Video On Demand. There, you can also stop watching the video at any time and pick up where you left off on any device that you are logged in to. Read more about Ed Frawley...
Ed Frawley grew up with dogs in the family and started to take training seriously in high school. He started Leerburg Video and Kennel in the mid 1970's and has produced dog training videos since.
"You are always going to be exposed to people who offer advice on how to train your dog or fix your dog's behavioral issues. The problem is that most of these people don't have the experience to offer sound advice. This results in a lot of bad dog training information being passed out."
Cindy Rhodes
In the early 2000s, Cindy Rhodes joined the Leerburg team. Cindy began training dogs when she was 13 and has bred Dobermans and Malinois under the kennel name Kaiserhaus since the late 80s. She has competed in AKC and CKC obedience and Schutzhund (IPO). In 1990, she competed in the USA Schutzhund III Nationals with a Doberman female she raised from a puppy. Her sports of choice now are Mondioring and Agility.
Cindy was also a professional dog groomer for 15 years and has raised and trained dogs of many different breeds. This experience has given Cindy a wealth of information on training and managing dogs of all breeds. If you are looking for free dog training advice from an expert trainer, you can view Leerburg's Ask Cindy section. Cindy also offers in-person training for puppy training and dog sport foundations. Learn more about Cindy's in-person dog training lessons.
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