GAK9 Idaho- America’s Premier Dog Trainer

GAK9-Idaho offers K9 tracking and trailing training through a tiered program:
Phase I – Basic Course: This is an extensive 10-day course, or a modified 5-day primer, designed to teach handlers and dogs to work in rural and urban environments. It includes orientation, classroom work, field work, anti-distraction training, introduction to proximity alerts, proper training notes, court testimony, and after-action reviews with video. It concludes with Basic Trailing Level 1 Certification.

Phase II – Intermediate Course: This is a one-week course focused on adding tactical operators to the tracker dog element. It teaches how to hunt high-risk subjects as a team, with the K9 tolerating a tactical team in close proximity. Topics include team elements individual responsibility, enhanced proximity alert training, flanking movements, IED on the track awareness, and video review. It leads to Tactical Certification from level 1-3.

Phase III – Advanced Course: This two-week course, or modified one-week primer, teaches how to counter evasion and ambush tactics with the K9 and tactical team. It covers managing active evaders and concluding dangerous manhunts safely, including scent pool training, back tracks, cross tracks, stairway to heaven, obstacle and barrier training, IED and booby traps on the trail, counter SERE, counter ambush, and video review. It also leads to Tactical Certification from level 1-3.

SAR training courses are typically 3-5 days, designed for each group’s needs. They start with orientation and classroom, followed by field work building the foundation of “scent article = this trail = this person.” It incorporates reading five indicators of trailing behavior and anti-distraction training. Clients often book semi-annually or annually for ongoing development.

Pricing Summary

Pricing is available upon contact for all courses (Phase I – Basic Course, Phase II – Intermediate Course, Phase III – Advanced Course, and SAR training courses).

GAK9-Idaho, owned and operated by ZMK9 LLC, specializes exclusively in K9 tracking and trailing training. They cater their classes to each dog team’s individual needs, whether it’s a Patrol-trained K9, MPC, or a Tracking/Trailing specific K9. Their core philosophy emphasizes instilling drive and focus, overcoming distractions, and scent discrimination as the absolute foundation for successful trailing.

The training involves step-by-step techniques that teach K9s that a target scent equals a scent trail, leading to a reward. Handlers are taught to read K9 trailing indicators and work as a team to follow specific human scent trails to locate targets. GAK9-Idaho provides a basic tracking/trailing foundation designed to take K9 teams to the highest level.

They specialize in Law Enforcement and Military classes, incorporating tactics and proximity alerts for intermediate and advanced levels, and also provide tools for successful prosecution. SAR-specific classes receive the same foundation for successful SAR missions. GAK9-Idaho believes tracking/trailing is the hardest K9 discipline and provides honest evaluations through double-blind testing, sharing decades of experience and tools used by successful K9 tracking/trailing teams worldwide. They can host individuals or teams of up to 8-10 at their facility in Ashton, ID, or travel to client locations. Kevin Baughn has been working with Jeff Schettler, CEO of GAK9.com, since 1999.

Accomplishments

Kevin Baughn has over 20 years of experience handling and training scent-specific trailing canines. He was a Bloodhound handler for the San Jose Police Department in the late 1990s and later for Los Gatos PD (both retired). He developed and instructed a P.O.S.T. approved course “Using Bloodhounds to search for Missing Persons.” Kevin and his Bloodhound partner, Zack, received commendations from the FBI, ATF, and local departments.

He has testified in court on scent-specific trailing cases, with one case leading a judge to submit material to the California Association of Judges for rules concerning jury instruction on “Trailing” and “Tracking” verbiage. Kevin has trained hundreds of police K9 handlers globally and is a CA Superior Court Training Expert and CA Post Certified Training Course instructor. He is also a tactical trailing trainer, Military and Police K9 Trainer at GAK9.com, and an Expert Advisor to “Mythbusters.”

How to Get Started!

To get started, clients can contact GAK9-Idaho via phone or email. They can also fill out a contact form on the website, selecting their interests from options like LE & Military (Phase 1, 2, or 3), SAR Course, or Other.