Introducing a break-through program in K9 trainer training! This brand new course is available now! This is literally the only one of its kind worldwide! Apply today get your K9 trainer career in progress!
The Online version of our On-Site Police K9 Instructor course is now available in the comfort of your own home. This amazing course teaches world-class, relevant methods. Students learn how to train K9s for law enforcement, military, and security. Students can begin anytime after an online account is created…usually a day or two after enrollment. This course can be completed in as little as 6 weeks but access is granted for up to a year, so long as payment agreements are current.
There are no prerequisites for this stand-alone course. Tuition for this online version is $3500. Students will need at least one dog to work with. Since we do not recommend decoying your own dog, two dogs will be needed.
Training K9s is obviously a very hands-on skill. And a rare skill. Therefore we do require students to gain hands-on proficiency even during this online course. We’re here to help with that! Read on.
There will be handouts for you to download, videos to view, and notes to be taken while watching the videos. Some videos may not have accompanying handouts; it is therefore your responsibility to take notes of the information therein. There is a Final Exam at the end of the course so these handouts and notes will be extremely valuable for review. Another option is to attend here at the College with other classmates/Instructors and take your Final Exam on-site here at the training center: 717 Beaver Hollow Rd, Spencer, IN 47460. Available 2022 dates for this option are March 28-April 1, May 23-27, Sept 19-23, and Nov.7-11.
To facilitate hands-on training, online students are invited to visit us here at the College. This is NOT required but certainly encouraged. Be advised that there are prerequisites for your visit. The visit is designed to be towards the end of the course. Therefore, at the time of your visit, you and your dog will need to be on cold trails, past imprinting on target odor, and you should have some decoy/helper experience. Your visit will help to expand the skills of both you and your dog. If you are not far enough along in by one of these dates, you must wait until the next available date.
Course requirements for graduation: complete all course material and homework assignments, Final Exam, send videos to your instructor of you and your dog/s completing K9 skills (what we call the Practicals), or visit on-site to take your Final and Practicals. The final grade will be determined by these Practicals videos as well as the Final Exam. As with all of our other courses, students must at least acquire a final grade of 80% to graduate. Graduates are certified as a K9 Instructor.
The four video requirements are: #1) Off-leash obedience training with you and your dog/s, #2) a detection dog trained/handled by you, #3) a tracking/trailing dog trained/handled by you on cold trails at least 10 minutes old and 1/4 mile long, #4) you acting as a decoy/helper with an apprehension dog, with at least a minimum skill level of puppy sleeve work.
This course emphasizes obedience, trailing, bitework (including decoy work), and detection. These skills are taught from a leading-edge perspective, not low-level, outdated training. Graduates who utilize these methods will operate on a higher tier than many K9 trainers out there. DTC constantly encourages our students to strive for excellence; never settle for mediocre.
This course certainly applies to working dog training. If you are having trouble acquiring solid working dogs for your course, we may have some available. Contact us for pricing and availability. We typically have German Shepherds and Malinois, and sometimes Labradors or German Shortairs. Pricing varies according to age and the amount of training we have into the dog at the point of sale. For info on puppies, see our For Sale page.
Financing is available via the Tuition Finance Corporation. 50% of the tuition must be paid to the school as a down-payment. Depending upon credit score and other criteria, a monthly payment can be as low as $80/month. Students have up to 24 months to pay in full.* Student must first apply to the school (check yes on the application when asked if financing is needed). Upon acceptance, the school will initiate the contract via TFC.
Course Outline
Training Fundamentals
Conditioning
Phases of Training
Correction vs. Reward
Obedience Training
Basic and Advanced
Proper use of a Prong collar
Proper use of a Remote collar
Canine Health
Canine CPR
Canine First Aid
Kennel Management
Teaching Practical Agility
Confidence Development
Scent Theory
The Trailing Dog
Osphresiology
Narcotics and Explosives Detection
Selection of K9s
Puppy
Adult
Testing necessary drives
Drive Development
Puppy development
Prey Drive
Defense Drive Hunting Ability
Training the Search (Narcotics & Explosives)
Imprinting Target Odor
Simple Direct Association
Deferred Response
Other Detection Training Methods
Search Methods
Vehicle Searches
Building Searches
Teaching the Alert
Problem Solving
Proofing
Protection Equipment
Bite Sleeves
Bite Suit
Muzzle
Decoying Techniques
Proper Handling Techniques
Agitation
Working the Grip
Target Biting
Channeling Drives
The Trailing Dog
Scent Theory
Variable Surface Trailing
Scent Discrimination Trailing
Problem Solving
Patrol Containment Techniques
Criminal Apprehension
Building Searches
Open Area Searches
K9 Swat Integration
Problem Solving
Law Enforcment K9
Case law
Tactical Insertions
Search & Seizure
History of K9 training
Real-life Scenario training
*Delinquent accounts will merit loss of certification.