GI Bill® and DOD Skillbridge Accepted
Nationally Accredited through ACCET
Open to all military, first responders, and civilians with a high school diploma or GED
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Training
Courses

Detection
Services

School K9
Safety Initiative

Law
Enforcement

World Class Training Facilities

Veterans

American K-9 Interdiction™, LLC (AK9I™) has been approved by the Virginia State Approving Agency (SAA) to provide education and training under all Chapters of the Post – 9/11 GI Bill® Please select the “SAA Approved Training” menu item for further details.
Learn More About The Courses AK9I™ Currently Offers.

Service Disabled Veterans

If you have a service-connected disability rating of 20% or greater and are currently unemployed or under-employed (working part-time), you may be eligible for the Department of Veterans Affairs Veteran Readiness and Employment, also known as Chapter 31 or VR&E. American K-9 Interdiction™ is an approved and authorized provider of vocational rehabilitation training under Chapter 31. Our comprehensive 13-week canine training program is specially tailored to meet the medical and counseling appointment needs of service-disabled vets suffering from PTSD and TBI.
Tuition, books and training materials may be paid for by the Department of Veterans Affairs utilizing your GI Bill® benefits .
All students will select, train and own their patrol/detector dog at the end of the course. This will greatly facilitate obtaining employment as a canine handler or the establishment of a canine services business.
For further details or for answers to questions you may have, please email ak9icontact@ak9i.edu

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BASIC OBEDIENCE (25 HOURS):

Application of Principles of Conditioning (reward schedules, fixed and variable ratios and intervals) for the commands of “sit, stay, down, heel and come” walking in heel position and obstacle agility course. Utilizing Operant Conditioning methods, students are taught to condition the dogs to respond to basic verbal and hand commands and navigate the obstacle course using positive reinforcement methods.

PATROL DOG TRAINING AND CONDITIONING (95 HOURS):

Bite work, grip development, decoy mechanics and development, single and multi-person pursuit and apprehension, apprehension from a vehicle, apprehension with gunfire, vehicle extractions, handler protection, prisoner escorts, recalls and outs, tracking and trailing. Utilizing Operant Conditioning methods, students will condition their dogs to pursue, bite, hold and guard a decoy with and without gunfire under a multitude of conditions, locations and stimuli.

BASIC OBEDIENCE (25 HOURS)

Application of Principles of Conditioning (reward schedules, fixed and variable ratios and intervals) for the commands of “sit, stay, down, heel and come” walking in heel position and obstacle agility course. Utilizing Operant Conditioning methods, students are taught to condition the dogs to respond to basic verbal and hand commands and navigate the obstacle course using positive reinforcement methods.

DETECTOR DOG SEARCH PROCEDURES (110 HOURS):

Canine odor recognition protocol (4-hole variable, odor wall), practical application of detector dog handling search pattern and search procedures in buildings, vehicles, warehouses, stadiums offices, open areas parcels, luggage and bomb threat response protocols. Using operant conditioning methods, students are taught to condition a “green” dog to detect and passively respond to target odors in different environments.

DETECTOR DOG CERTIFICATION (25 HOURS)

Final certification of detector dog team in real world environments using North American Police Working Dog Association (NAPWDA) certification standards. Students will certify with their dog by demonstrating their dog’s ability to detect and respond with a passive response to the target odors. Students will also be able to identify their dog’s behavioral change when the dog is in the scent cone and working to source.

ACADEMICS (40 HOURS)

Orientation, canine safety, canine health care and grooming, canine kenneling and transportation, Principles of Conditioning, explosives and narcotics safety, storage and transportation. This segment of the course is designed to teach students safety practices in and around the kennels and safe handling and transportation of explosives and narcotics. Students are introduced to Operant Conditioning (reward schedules) and Classical conditioning (pairing of unconditioned and conditioned stimuli) escape training, the canine sensory spectrum and titration levels.

BASIC OBEDIENCE (25 HOURS)

Application of Principles of Conditioning (reward schedules, fixed and variable ratios and intervals) for the commands of “sit, stay, down, heel and come” walking in the heel position and obstacle agility course. Utilizing Operant Conditioning methods, student are taught to condition the dogs to respond to basic verbal and hand commands and navigate the obstacle course using positive reinforcement methods.

DETECTOR DOG SEARCH PROCEDURES (110 HOURS)

canine odor recognition protocol (4-hole variable, odor wall), Practical application of detector dog handling search pattern and search procedures in buildings, vehicles, warehouses, stadiums offices, open areas, parcels, luggage and bomb threat response protocols. Using operant conditioning methods, students are taught to condition a “green” dog to detect and passively respond to target odors in different environments.

DETECTOR DOG CERTIFICATION (25 HOURS)

Final certification of detector dog team in real world environments using North American Police Working Dog Association (NAPWDA) certification standards. Students will certify with their dog by demonstrating their dog’s ability to detect and respond with a passive response to the target odors. Students will also be able to identify their dog’s behavioral change when the dog is in the scent cone and working to source.

PATROL DOG CERTIFICATION (25 HOURS)

Final certification of detector dog team in real world environments using North American Police Working Dog Association (NAPWDA) certification standards. Students will demonstrate their dog’s ability to pursue, bite, hold and guard a decoy with and without gunfire under a multitude of conditions, locations and stimuli.

DETECTOR DOG SEARCH PROCEDURES (65 HOURS):

Canine odor recognition protocol (4-hole variable, odor wall), Practical application of detector dog handling search pattern and search procedures in buildings, vehicles, warehouses, stadiums offices, open areas, parcels, luggage and bomb threat response protocols. Using operant conditioning methods, students are taught to condition a “green” dog to detect and passively respond to target odors in different environments.

ACADEMICS (40 HOURS):

Orientation, canine safety, canine health care and grooming, canine kenneling and transportation, Advanced Principles of Conditioning, explosives and narcotics safety, storage and transportation. This segment of the course is designed to teach students safety practices in and around the kennels and safe handling and transportation of explosives and narcotics. Students are introduced to Advanced methods of Operant (reward schedules) and Classical conditioning (pairing of unconditioned and conditioned stimuli) escape training, the canine sensory spectrum and titration levels.

BASIC AND ADVANCED OBEDIENCE (65 HOURS):

Application of Advanced Principles of Conditioning (reward schedules, fixed and variable ratios and intervals) for the commands of “sit, stay, down, heel and come” (all commands are given off-leash) and obstacle agility course (on-leash and off-leash), long downs, vertical/horizontal carries, ladder climbs, window entries and tactical movements, off-leash send-outs, wagon wheels and T-Patterns. Utilizing Operant Conditioning methods, student are taught to condition the dogs to respond to advanced verbal and hand commands and navigate the obstacle course using positive reinforcement methods.

DETECTOR DOG SEARCH PROCEDURES (235 HOURS):

Canine odor recognition protocol (4 hole variable, odor wall), Vapor Pressure (the scent cone), factors affecting the scent cone, e.g., wind, humidity ambient temperature, convection and terrain, advanced application of detector dog handling search patterns and search procedures in buildings, vehicles, warehouses, stadiums offices, open areas, theaters, parcels, luggage and bomb threat response protocols. Off-leash distance casting and control, shooting a line and orbiting. Using advanced operant conditioning methods, students are taught to condition a “green” dog to detect and passively respond to target odors in different environments. Students are also taught how to overcome cognitive dissonance utilizing advanced techniques for behavior shaping and modification as well as receiving Instructor Development, Electronic collar and K9 Selection training.

DETECTOR DOG CERTIFICATION (25 HOURS):

Final certification of detector dog team in real world environments using North American Police Working Dog Association (NAPWDA) certification standards. Students will certify with their dog by demonstrating their dog’s ability to detect and respond with a passive response to the target odors. Students will also be able to identify their dog’s behavioral change when the dog is in the scent cone and working to source.

PATROL DOG TRAINING AND CONDITIONING (130 HOURS):

Overview of bite work, grip development, pursuit and apprehension and gunfire stimuli. canine team selection (how to evaluate both the dog and handler), breeding programs, puppy rearing and evaluation, initial bite work and grip development for puppies, advanced animal behavior (physiological and psychological factors),kenneling, kennel operations and kennel management, training operations and situational problem-solving, advanced tracking and trailing with drop articles, multiple turns and cross-tracks. Door breeching with and without flash bangs. Utilizing Operant Conditioning methods, students will condition their dogs to pursue, bite, hold and guard a decoy with and without gunfire under a multitude of conditions, locations and stimuli.

PATROL DOG CERTIFICATION (25 HOURS):

Final certification of detector dog team in real world environments using North American Police Working Dog Association (NAPWDA) certification standards. Students will demonstrate their dog’s ability to pursue, bite, hold and guard a decoy with and without gunfire under a multitude of conditions, locations and stimuli.

PATROL DOG TRAINING AND CONDITIONING (60 HOURS):

The primary purpose of this course of instruction is to prepare canine teams for integration into the tactical operations of law enforcement as a nonlethal option. Bite work, grip development, decoy mechanics and development, single and multi-person pursuit and apprehension, apprehension from a vehicle (bailouts), apprehension with gunfire, vehicle extractions, handler protection, prisoner escorts, recalls and outs, tracking and trailing and building search/working “in the stack.” Utilizing Operant Conditioning methods, students will condition their dogs to pursue, bite, hold and guard a decoy with and without gunfire under a multitude of conditions, locations and stimuli.

ACADEMICS (40 HOURS)

Orientation, canine safety, canine health care and grooming, canine kenneling and transportation, Principles of Conditioning, explosives and narcotics safety, storage and transportation. This segment of the course is designed to teach students safety practices in and around the kennels and safe handling and transportation of explosives and narcotics.Students are introduced to Operant conditioning (reward schedules) and Classical conditioning (pairing of unconditioned and conditioned stimuli) escape training, the canine sensory spectrum and titration levels.