Welcome to Fowler K9 Academy. Our aim is to harness a dog’s natural instincts, intelligence, and trainability to help their owners with practical tasks. Our top priority is to encourage socialization and family bonding through sports and training, while also evaluating a dog’s working abilities and maintaining a high standard of each breed. For those interested in sport protection training, we offer a traditional program that consists of basic obedience training, an optional intermediate class, and a drive-building and grip-development course. We also offer an Idaho POST K9 Academy and private courses for professionals who need a more customized approach within a shorter duration.

Controlled Aggression Through Obedience.

When starting a puppy or young dog in protection training it’s important for training concepts, principles, and a good communication system to be understood. We use our group classes and private training program to teach these tools through basic to advanced obedience. When the protection dog is in a higher drive states we use the obedience to control the dog with already understood obedience behaviors.

Group Drop-In Sessions – 6 Days a Month

The group drive building and grip development sessions are to encourage the proper drives and grip for a personal protection dog. A personal protection dog should have a certain level of prey and defensive drives. They should also have full calm grip. We use drive building and grip developement sessions to encourage these behaviors with different types of equipment based on the dog and its genetic capabilities. Obedience and grip development sessions should be done concurrently.

Assessments are free on Saturdays and $20 during the week, but required prior to entering a drive building and grip development session.
Call or email to book a Saturday assessment.

The Sport Protection Dog program combines dog obedience with the proper drives and grip development in pre-determined protection and obedience routines. The Protection dog program tests a dog’s ability to protect itself and its handler. The temperament of the dog, and its protectiveness. The program also teaches the dog to be safe for its handler and for the public. 

Training for the Sport Protection Dog is in a group class format with a head trainer and dedicated decoys who meet to train 4-6 times a month. The group will train in all levels of equiment including, sport style arm sleeves, full suits, undercover sleeves, muzzles, and more.

There are 3 levels of Basic Sport Protection. For each level the dog and handler will learn how to complete a basic heeling pattern on and off leash, obstacles, and demonstrate the following:

1. Friendly greeting of a passive and hostile decoy
2. Alert on command of passive decoy
3. Deter threat in 360 degree of handler
4. Search for decoy
5. Hold and bark
6. Escape and transport of decoy
7. Courage test

The Advanced Protection Training Program brings in what a dog has learned in the Basic Protection dog levels and puts them into scenarios. The saying we learned in law enforcement is that “We don’t rise to the occasion, We fall to our training and experience.” So we bring the dog and handler into practical training scenarios that make training look like reality vs a patterned event. Scenarios range from being attacked in the park, protection in and out of a vehicle, decoys who are passive and active, scenarios with and without visible equipment, props, noises, and much more.

 Before entering the more Advanced Protection Training, each dog and handler must pass an evaluation meeting the minimum requirements from the Level 1 Basic Protection Dog.