Top Tier K9® |Pet, Working Dog and People Training
Home of the Foundation Dog®
The Professional's Choice
Recognized as the World's Greatest Dog Training Company 

Top Tier K9 Certifications

​​

Top Tier K9 certifications are designed to ensure that dog trainers who earn and maintain the certifications have a core capability that has been satisfactorily demonstrated to the staff of Top Tier K9 as part of our certification processes.  Franchisees (Certified Top Tier K9 Locations) maintain ongoing certifications and continuing education.

Our certifications are designed to improve our students level of learning through practical exams that the classes prepare them for and to improve our students confidence in starting and running their own dog training businesses. 

​

Top Tier K9 does not accept any other national or international organization's certifications.  Our program has been specifically designed to teach our students how to start and run their own businesses, open a Top Tier K9 Franchise, and to train dogs in a balanced way that is transferable to the dog's owner. This is a multifaceted training and certification program that creates great business people who offer the world's best dog training and owner educational services to others from around the globe. 

Core elements of our programs:  

Balanced dog training:  Our students learn how to apply the tools necessary to successfully train dogs whether they are offering a purely positive solution for their clients or a balanced offering utilizing a process that rewards positive behaviors and corrects negative behaviors with the least amount of corrective action necessary to stop the unwanted behaviors.  We teach the techniques and methods that actually work in training dogs and package them in a way that the owners of the dogs can continue/replicate the training they learn.

Replicable processes pet training:  The methods we teach are the same methods we use in our own dog training businesses.  We have determined the 80/20 rule as it applies to training and satisfying dogs and their owners.  We have developed a method of sales and service delivery to clients aimed at the 80/20 rule and have supported that with documents, contracts, DVD, Virtual Reality Dog Training Center, and internet support allowing our certified trainers to deliver consistent results that satisfy the typical client in their own business offerings.  A Masters in Pet Training prepares the student to handle the other 20% of dogs that display severe behavioral issues.

Replicable processes Foundation Dog® training:  We have developed a method to imprint new working line puppies beginning at 8 weeks old and have established a program management process that ensures the proper training is completed in a way that ensures the happiness, health and progress of the puppy.  There are 4 phases of development with multi-week intervals involving gateways that test the progress of the puppy through the defined development process to assist in forecasting and exploiting the strengths and weaknesses of each puppy for development as a virus detection dog, bomb/narcotics dog (any specific odor), protection dog, sports dog, tracker, search and rescue dog and service dogs for people with severe disabilities.  

​

This replicable process is taught within our Foundation Dog® Trainer Program.  Students then demonstrate their competency by imprinting and forecasting their own working line puppy within our Foundation Dog® Trainer Program, and then demonstrate proficiency within select function elements related to their specific business desires in our Foundation Dog® Certification Program live on-site.

​

Replicable processes business development and project management training:  we teach our students the basics of project management including time, cost and scope management.  Within this triple constraint exists all of the common issues related to customer satisfaction.  We teach our students how to satisfy customers by applying replicable project management processes to the training of their client's dogs and to effectively communicate the scope to the owner,  each dog is a new project and the application of effective project management improves client satisfaction and business success. ​