Top Tier K9 |K9 and People Training
Home of the Foundation Dog®
The Professional's Choice

Academy for Dog Trainers

The Top Tier K9 Dog Trainer School is designed using Bloom's Cognitive Taxonomy, advanced Internet technologies, and an industry first Affiliate model, to take you step by step from knowledge, comprehension, application, and analysis levels of learning allowing the future dog trainer to go as far as they desire with the ability to "jump off" at strategic points to maximize potential and minimize investment in time, energy and money. 

We have the only programs that provide our students with business, project management, sales and marketing support to help them start and manage their own dog training businesses.  Our affiliate model puts our students on the map and our dog trainer program includes actual project management and business training as part of the curriculum.

Our Internet based programs are "Live On-Line" and our campus programs are "Live On-Campus".  We don't send you to video libraries and expect you to figure out the right way to learn.  We meet you in our classrooms and we teach you, the old fashioned way through verified and validated levels of learning.  All of our programs have our instructors face to face with our students in every learning platform, live on-line and live on-campus.

You do not have to certify with Top Tier K9 to enjoy the value of our classes. Many of our students are seeking professional development or simply taking our classes to enjoy learning how to train their own dogs for service, sport,  or simply as obedient family pets.   

It starts with the Pet Trainer program where you learn to train pets for other people.  Pet trainer techniques must be transferable to the owner and the pet is not trained until the owners are trained as well.  We teach you to do this successfully using our proven techniques and methods of dog and human training.

You can then move into the Foundation Dog® trainer program.  This is a program where you learn to take a working line puppy and train it in tracking, scent detection, protection/apprehension, and off leash/advanced obedience.  Once certified as a Foundation Dog® trainer you will have one of the best demonstration dogs anywhere to use to promote your skills and your dog training business and you have the option to enter any or all of our masters programs to learn how to finish a Foundation Dog® as a Law Enforcement K9, Military K9, Virus detection Dog (Special Security Dog) Service Dog for people with disabilities, executive/family protection dog, or a sports dog. 

Academy for Dog Trainers

Professional Training Programs

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Pet Trainer Program

1. Pet Trainer Program: Live On-line

2. Pet Trainer Certification with Business Development: Live On-Campus

Foundation Dog® Trainer Program

1. Foundation Dog® Trainer: Live On-line

2. Foundation Dog® Trainer Certification:  Live On-Campus

Internships

Certified Foundation Dog trainers are eligible for on-campus internships.  This is a competitive opportunity allowing you to work with hundreds of Foundation Dogs® and pets at 3 different locations.

Masters Programs

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Service Dog Training Program

1. Service Dog Training Program On-line or On-Campus

2. Service Dog Training Certification Live On-Campus

Special Security Dog Training Program (Virus Detection)

1. Special Security Dog Training Program: Live On-line

2. Special Security Dog Training Certification: Live On-Campus

Executive/Family (Protection Dog) Training Program

1. Protection Dog Training Program: Live On-line

2. Protection Dog Training Certification: Live On-Campus

​Advanced Business and Project Management Workshops

1. Business Development Workshop Live On-Campus

2. Project Management Workshop Live On-Campus

Pet Trainer Certification

Students travel to Top Tier K9's main campus in Madison Fl. to demonstrate their new skills.

The student has up to 2 weeks to certify as a Pet trainer.  Requirements are to demonstrate proficiency with the skills learned during the hands on training accomplished in the Pet training Program under the watchful eye and mentoring of some of the industries top dog trainers and entrepreneurs.  This 2 weeks is the test for certification, you must be prepared to pass the certification before you go to Top Tier K9.

During this 2 weeks you will attend our Business Development Bootcamp where you will learn to manage your own business and develop your business plan.

 

Foundation Dog® Trainer: 14 Weeks Live On-line

Top Tier K9 has developed a one of a kind puppy imprinting and forecasting system that we teach to our students.  It incorporates effective project management processes and advanced working dog training techniques to teach students how to plan for and predict their training programs based on the desired use of their dogs with the health and welfare of the dogs as the top priority.

If the scope of the training is to produce a bomb detection dog, a narcotics dog, a search and rescue dog, a protection dog, a service dog for people with disabilities or a fully polished demo dog the Top Tier K9 system helps our students achieve that goal through a replicable plan and process that they take with them into their own businesses.

Plan your work and work your plan.  This requires our students to comprehend working dog training and project management processes before they select their candidate puppy for use in the program.  Something no other training program even tries to accomplish.  Once our students comprehend the working dog program and processes, they then select their candidate puppy from a Top Tier K9 affiliate breeder or a quality breeder of their choice to begin the training.

After creating their training plan our students select their candidate puppy based on selection criteria learned from the previous classes and begin the formal processes of training their working line puppies based on the Top Tier K9 Imprinting and Forecasting plan developed in the previous class creating their very own Foundation Dog®.

We assist our students every step of the way using proven learning and teaching techniques that ensure our students comprehend the material before they apply the training to their new puppies.  Our expert staff will analyze and evaluate each students performance and provide any needed adjustments to help our students become certified Top Tier K9 Foundation Dog® Trainers.

Once the trainer and his/her puppy are ready to be evaluated for final approval, they go to our Madison Florida location for additional hands on training, mentoring, and Certification.

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Live On-Line with our certified and professional staff

Foundation Dog® Certification 

Students who pass all requirements to get to this level of training have proven themselves to be strong prospects for adding working dog offerings to their pet training businesses.  

We actively recruit the best in the business in protection, detection, search and rescue, pet trainers, working dog trainers, veterinarian and kennel owners/managers.  Men and women who have proven themselves as great managers, trainers, and business people.

Students take their freshly trained puppies (now working dogs) to our main campus in Madison Florida to show off their skills for evaluation on techniques, quality performance, and capabilities as working dog trainers for mentoring and additional hands on work in their discipline(s) of choice.  Students also create their business and marketing plans at the end of this portion of the training.
 

Service Dog Trainer Certification

Top Tier K9 Certified Foundation Dog® Trainers are eligible to become a Certified Service Dog Trainer.  

Our students learn how to select a Foundation Dog® for use in the service dog industry, how to analyze the future owner of a service dog, effectively match that service dog to the owner, and then finish that dog for use as a service dog.

Training also includes:

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• Training a Foundation Dog® to become a service dog

• Teaching people with disabilities how to manage their service dogs

• Proofing Foundation Dogs® into the service dog arena

• Common needs of the service dog industry

• Health and nutrition of a service dog

• On-going support for service dogs and their owners

• ...and so much more

Classes are Live On-Line for 10 weeks with a Live On-Site certification for 2 weeks.  The process takes the trainer into the Synthesis level of learning relying on the levels of learning achieved within the Pet and Foundation Dog® Certification Programs.

Business Development Workshop - Live On-Site - Professional development.  This 1 week immersion program teaches students the basics of business development regardless of the technical offering of the entrepreneur.  This is a stand alone program that is not specific to the dog training industry but can be used by students as the platform to launch any business the student wants to be involved in.  During immersion training, this class is specifically designed for the student planning to launch their own dog training business. 

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Classes and Prices Effective 1 January 2021

Prices are subject to change without notice.  Each class is paid for separately, allowing students to gain knowledge and select the next level of training only after they pass the previous level.  This allows students to determine if they have what it takes to be a successful dog trainer BEFORE committing to thousands of dollars of training.  Only TTK9 offers this form of certification path. 

Additional costs are associated with expenses for travel and living expenses at Top Tier K9's Madison Florida Campus for Pet, Working Dog, Service Dog and Decoy/Helper Trainer Certifications.  The Pet Training Program requires pets to practice with during the class under the eye of TTK9 certified Instructors via your computer or tablet webcam.  Working Dog Trainer Program requires an investment in one working dog puppy and the care and feeding of that puppy, this puppy can continue to be used in the service dog and decoy/helper programs.

There are no refunds.  You pay for each class as you determine you are ready for it.  Once the class is completed, provided you pass the class, you will be invited to attend the next phase of training.  There is no guarantee that you will certify .  If you are not motivated, if you do not dedicate the time and effort to accomplish the requirements, you should not sign up for this program.  Not everyone is capable of becoming a Top Tier K9 certified dog trainer and to maintain your certification requires dedication to honesty, integrity and ethics. Those who prove they are not honest, lack integrity, or intentionally violate business ethics will have their certifications revoked, with no refund of any kind.

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Limited student housing is available on the Madison Florida Campus at $50 a night  Foundation Dog certifications are held at the Madison campus.  There are 3 RV hookups at $20 a night with water and electrical.  The Tallahassee facility is directly across the street from the Wyndham hotel.  Pet certifications are held in Tallahassee.  There are several hotels within 2 miles of the Tallahassee facility.

Top Tier K9 provides it's standards, encased in our certification programs, to an industry without standards or requirements for certifications.  Through this application we train students to become dog trainers and business professionals specifically for their own reward and satisfaction.  We are not a state controlled college or university, they don't teach people how to start their own businesses nor do they teach them how to train dogs...we do both. We are not preparing our students for employment, we are teaching them how to start and manage their own dog training businesses for their own satisfaction and reward.