Top Tier K9 – Greenwood

Top Tier K9 offers comprehensive dog training programs, including Pet Training and Working Dog (Foundation Dog) training. The Pet Training program includes a 3-4 week board and train option for basic obedience and communication, followed by a “Pets Plus Program” for advanced training. This advanced training covers areas such as advanced obedience, obstacle work, protection training, service dog training, and scent detection.

The Foundation Dog® program is designed to create world-class working dogs, starting with puppies. These dogs are prepared to be finished as Police K9s, Military K9s, Service Dogs for people with disabilities, special security dogs (including virus detection dogs), and personal, family, or Executive Protection dogs.

Additionally, Top Tier K9 operates an Academy for Dog Trainers, offering professional training programs. These include a Pet Trainer Program (with live online classes, on-campus certification, and Master Pet Trainer certification) and a Foundation Dog® Trainer Program (with live online classes and on-campus certification). They also provide Masters Programs for Service Dog Trainer, Special Security Dog Trainer (Virus Detection), and Executive/Family (Protection Dog) Trainer certifications.

Top Tier K9 is recognized as the World’s Greatest Dog Training Company, specializing in pet, working dog, and people training, and is the home of the Foundation Dog®. They are a professional’s choice, leading the way in developing dog trainers to launch their own successful businesses.

The Top Tier K9 Academy for Dog Trainers, established in 2014, is built on world-class program and project management processes to create a scalable learning system for individuals to enter the dog training industry regardless of their previous skills. Their certifications reflect the high level of learning achieved by graduates and their commitment to excellence in dog training and owner education.

They offer business startup and management training to help graduates become successful entrepreneurs. Students learn to train pets, Foundation Dogs®, Service Dogs, Protection Dogs, and Advanced Security Dogs, alongside project management, business development, public speaking, and risk management skills.

Their certified locations provide a phased approach to training pets while concurrently training the pet’s owners, ensuring integrated learning for both. This includes on-leash and off-leash obedience for the pet and proper owner education.

The Foundation Dog® program is their method for creating world-class working dogs by beginning training with puppies and completing the certification process. This scalable, phased approach, applied to properly selected working line puppies, produces dogs capable of protection, scent detection, tracking, and other tasks.

New in 2024, they offer a Professional Breeder Program to educate certified locations on developing successful breeding programs for quality working-line puppies, transforming the traditional revenue stream of “selling puppies” into selling working dogs and Foundation Dogs!. They employ balanced training methods, utilizing positive reinforcement, proper corrections, and pressure as needed for each specific dog.

Top Tier K9 also features the world’s first Virtual Reality (VR) Dog Training Center, an optional educational tool for certified locations. Pet owners with a VR headset can practice training a virtual dog in the metaverse while their real dog is being trained at a certified location.

Accomplishments

Top Tier K9 is recognized as the World’s Greatest Dog Training Company and was established in 2014. They are the creators of the Foundation Dog® system. Their Certified Foundation Dogs were the first in the world to successfully hunt for and indicate on the COVID-19 virus.

The company has received significant media attention, including being featured in Tallahassee Magazine (January 2025) and receiving the “Best in Florida” award (September 2024). They were featured on the television show “World’s Greatest!” in June 2024. Their CEO, Jeff Minder, was interviewed by Lt. Col Oliver North on “Real American Heroes” in May 2021.

Top Tier K9 has also been featured on “Unleashed – Dogs without Limits TV” in April 2022 and April 2021. Senator Rick Scott called for a study on the airport use of COVID-19 detection dogs trained by Top Tier K9 in February 2021. The company and its COVID-19 detection dogs have been covered by various news outlets, including News4Jax, Action News Jacksonville, CBS News Miami/Tallahassee, Politico, First Coast News, ABC News Tallahassee, and WCTV News Tallahassee. Notably, Duane Pickel, an instructor at Top Tier K9, was the first to train a dog to find cancer cells.

How to Get Started!

Dog owners interested in pet training can join their next Pet Training program, which begins on July 10th. They can also download the Top Tier K9 Pet Training App to find a trainer near them. For those aspiring to become professional dog trainers, Top Tier K9 offers an Academy for Dog Trainers, with limited seats available per quarter for non-Franchisees operating outside protected territories. Individuals interested in owning a dog training business can also sign up for a Top Tier K9 Franchise.