Certified Professional Dog Trainers
"Reliability off lead should always be the most significant criterion when evaluating and comparing training methods." (Koehler, 1990)
Sparks K9, located in Monroe, WA specializes in solving tough behavioral, obedience, and aggression issues. We can help you create a safe, happy, healthy relationship with your canine companions! Dog training, socialization, puppy training, and dog obedience by Internationally Recognized and Certified Dog Training Professionals!
~ John Sparks, NADOI #1127, IACP-CDT
~ John Sparks, NADOI #1127, IACP-CDT
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Washington's Dog Training & Canine Behavior Experts! We Provide Unique Training & Advanced Behavioral Solutions for Difficult Dogs, including pet, sport, & working dogs!
Motivation is our favorite "tool"!!!
Learn more about our basic courses
Puppy Basics (8-16 weeks old)
Get your puppy (8-16 weeks old) started off on the right paw with our safe, early, effective socialization and "real-life situations" based Puppy Training & Socialization program.
- This class consists of 6 weeks of 1 hour classes in an open-enrollment format (you can start on any week (instead of having to wait for the next 6 week class to begin), designed to get students and puppies into class and off and running with proper socialization and learning during the critical time-frame for puppy development.
- This class is designed so that any puppy can start at any week, for instance, if you start on week 3 of an in-progress puppy class, you will progress through our week to week unique curriculum in this order: week 3, 4, 5, 6, 1, 2, etc.
- With our unique training curriculum, professional staff, student handbook, homework assignments, online course videos, and ongoing support, you are guaranteed the best possible early training and socialization start for your puppy in the Puget Sound Region.
- Puppies must start this course prior to 14 weeks of age!
- *Also available as an online course with interactive feedback from John
Beginner Novice (4-7 Months Old)
Your puppy is growing like a weed, and is probably giving you a run for your money!
This class is for puppies from 4-7 months old and is designed to develop early learning and social skills that will help them as they grow and mature into adult dogs.
In this class, you will learn:
-how dogs learn
-how to motivate your dog
-what marker training is and why it is useful
-how to build and proof useful obedience behaviors
-problem-solving for common issues with pet dogs
-how to avoid frustration
-how to avoid creating a reactive dog
Your young dog will:
-learn to learn
-develop handler engagement
-learn to teach sit/automatic sit/sit-stay/recall/heel on a loose leash and more
-practice proper behavior around humans and other dogs
-develop their budding social skills while under professional supervision
This class is homework intensive. YOU will be your dog's training experience, so follow-through and effort are imperative to achieve optimum results!
*This class is not appropriate for young dogs with significant reactivity/aggression issues.
**No children under 10 allowed at class.
This class is for puppies from 4-7 months old and is designed to develop early learning and social skills that will help them as they grow and mature into adult dogs.
In this class, you will learn:
-how dogs learn
-how to motivate your dog
-what marker training is and why it is useful
-how to build and proof useful obedience behaviors
-problem-solving for common issues with pet dogs
-how to avoid frustration
-how to avoid creating a reactive dog
Your young dog will:
-learn to learn
-develop handler engagement
-learn to teach sit/automatic sit/sit-stay/recall/heel on a loose leash and more
-practice proper behavior around humans and other dogs
-develop their budding social skills while under professional supervision
This class is homework intensive. YOU will be your dog's training experience, so follow-through and effort are imperative to achieve optimum results!
*This class is not appropriate for young dogs with significant reactivity/aggression issues.
**No children under 10 allowed at class.
Novice Obedience (6 months and older)
Sparks K9's "Novice Obedience Class" is for anyone that is ready to truly commit to putting in the consistency, hard work, and effort that is required to have a wonderfully trained companion dog. This course is homework intensive, but the journey you take with your dog will yield fantastic results. The curriculum is focused on building the dog/handler team and creating a dog that is confident and in control.
This Novice Obedience Course is designed to get your dog trained to AKC Companion Dog Standards. By the end of this course, your dog should be able to:
**Dogs should be at least 6 months old at the start of this class and both handler & dog should be reasonably fit/active without health issues.
***This class is held indoors/outdoors (depending on the weather), so dress appropriately for the weather conditions during class!
****All dogs are welcome in this class, including reactive/aggressive dogs.
*****Handlers (original handler) enrolled in this class are allowed and encouraged to repeat the class with the same dog, or other dogs they own (at the time of original registration) as often as they wish, at no extra charge. Spouses will be allowed to take the class for half of the current registration fee. Repeat handler/dog teams may be limited to audit spots (due to class size/space limitations).
******All handlers must be a minimum of 18 years old (unless given prior approval). Only 1 adult handler allowed on the training floor per dog (for safety reasons).
***See our Refund/Cancellation Policy
This Novice Obedience Course is designed to get your dog trained to AKC Companion Dog Standards. By the end of this course, your dog should be able to:
- Calmly and politely walk at heel - to get you in and out of places where you can take your dog
- Stand for exam – as a common courtesy to the vet, groomer, and for yourself when it comes time to need to clip or grind toenails, brush the dog, clean the teeth, check him for fleas and ticks, or to remove foxtails or other foreign matter.
- Off-leash heeling – for those casual moments when you need control, but don’t have a leash handy.
- Sit-stay - for when you need to leave the dog behind to go into a store or business.
- Down-stay – for when you need to leave him to attend to some necessity (like a flat tire or to assist someone you may meet while you are out, or to sit down at an outside café and have a meal or beverage.
- PLUS - Along with those things that can be objectively tested for, we will, of course, train basic manners for both home and away.
**Dogs should be at least 6 months old at the start of this class and both handler & dog should be reasonably fit/active without health issues.
***This class is held indoors/outdoors (depending on the weather), so dress appropriately for the weather conditions during class!
****All dogs are welcome in this class, including reactive/aggressive dogs.
*****Handlers (original handler) enrolled in this class are allowed and encouraged to repeat the class with the same dog, or other dogs they own (at the time of original registration) as often as they wish, at no extra charge. Spouses will be allowed to take the class for half of the current registration fee. Repeat handler/dog teams may be limited to audit spots (due to class size/space limitations).
******All handlers must be a minimum of 18 years old (unless given prior approval). Only 1 adult handler allowed on the training floor per dog (for safety reasons).
***See our Refund/Cancellation Policy
nose work (all ages)
Sparks K9's Nose Work course is unlike most nose work courses offered to the general public.
Your dog will NOT learn to search for food; instead, we will teach you proven training methods that produce some of our nation's top Law Enforcement & Military narcotics and explosives detection dogs.
Instead of focusing on teaching dogs to search, we teach dogs the indication first, and then back-chain the search. Our back-chaining method is effective on almost all dogs, from insecure and unfocused dogs to highly driven and intense workers.
Focusing on the indication and commitment to odor first eliminates many of the common issues found in other detection methods. We break down and isolate the desired end of search behaviors and only move forward with searching once the dog knows what he is looking for and what to do when he finds it.
*Registration Fee includes:
Your dog will NOT learn to search for food; instead, we will teach you proven training methods that produce some of our nation's top Law Enforcement & Military narcotics and explosives detection dogs.
Instead of focusing on teaching dogs to search, we teach dogs the indication first, and then back-chain the search. Our back-chaining method is effective on almost all dogs, from insecure and unfocused dogs to highly driven and intense workers.
Focusing on the indication and commitment to odor first eliminates many of the common issues found in other detection methods. We break down and isolate the desired end of search behaviors and only move forward with searching once the dog knows what he is looking for and what to do when he finds it.
- Nose work is a biologically natural and fulfilling activity for dogs that you can enjoy with them, while building confidence and focus in dogs with undesirable behavioral issues (insecurity/fearfulness, reactivity/aggression, destructive behaviors, etc).
- All dogs can participate in nose work, including puppies and elderly dogs. In just a few short weeks, you’ll see your dog confidently ignore distractions and focus on the target scents.
- In this class, you will learn about the basic concepts in searching for odor, proper use of equipment, how to handle odor, how to make and place hides, and how to teach your dog the importance of odor obedience. You will also learn how to make the target odor(s) extremely important to your dog.
- Once your dog is motivated and committed to offering a clear, rock-solid indication directly at the source of the odor, you will be ready to back-chain in the search. Since dogs already know how to search for things with their noses, this part is fairly straightforward.
*Registration Fee includes:
- Professional Nose Work Kit in a waterproof case ($55.00 value)
- Nose Work Training Indication Box ($75.00 value)
- Other Nosework Training Aids
- Lifetime Access to Sparks K9's Nose Work "The Indication" training videos and instructions.
- Invitation to all future Nose Work advanced and practice sessions (after class completion).
primal drives (play and drive development)
Your dog is an Apex-level predator and has a very specific set of biological needs that if left unfulfilled, can lead to an unsatisfied dog that may express himself in a wide range of behavioral issues.
Dogs have three basic biological needs: Socialization, Hunting/Prey, and Sleep/Rest. As your dog's leader and caregiver, it is your duty to set him up for a successful, safe, and fulfilled life.
The basic skills you will learn in this class are prerequisites for many of our advanced classes (protection sports, advanced nosework, performance obedience, etc).
Socialization covers everything from basic obedience training, structure within the family/pack unit, exposure to new places/people/things, to how we live with our dog on a day-to-day basis.
Dog/Handler teams learn about building a strong social commitment in our obedience classes, so a solid foundation of social commitment and obedience is a prerequisite to this class.
In this class, you will learn how to enhance your dog's social skills and ability to function in new situations by using his other drives to further build his "Team Spirit" and social commitment.
Hunting/Prey Drive is something that many dog owners struggle with. In this class we teach you how and when to safely use hunting/prey with your dog to build an even stronger social commitment with you, the handler.
Hunting and prey are natural behaviors for dogs, that left unfulfilled, can manifest in frustration and a myriad of problems in our day-to-day lives with our dogs.
The basic hunting/prey techniques taught in this course can be used to help satisfy your dog's basic primal needs and leave him feeling fulfilled.
You will learn:
- what is Marker Training and why you NEED it
- the 3 Keys for success and how to utilize them
- how you can use your dog's regular food to build drive and satisfy prey/hunt needs and desires, while creating a better relationship with your dog
- how to build your dog's interest/desire to tug/play
- the "Rules of the Game"
- how to properly use tugs/toys to satisfy your dog's prey drive.
- how to enhance your dog's obedience skills with prey rewards
- using payment in Prey drive to modify behavior and build social commitment
- simple hunting/searching games you can easily implement to fulfill your dog
Sleep/Rest are often overlooked in relation to dog training and setting our dogs up for success in life. As Apex-level predators, dogs require a significant amount of rest. Dogs should rest/sleep an average of 60% of each day. We will teach you how to use periods of rest to contrast and enhance your dog's periods of actively working.
PRE-REQUISITES
* This is a group class where we will be using arousal - All dog/handler teams must be current/former Sparks K9 students with solid basic obedience and handling skills.
* If you and your dog have not trained with us in the past but have solid obedience skills in heavy distraction environments, we may approve you for this class after an initial consultation.
Dogs have three basic biological needs: Socialization, Hunting/Prey, and Sleep/Rest. As your dog's leader and caregiver, it is your duty to set him up for a successful, safe, and fulfilled life.
The basic skills you will learn in this class are prerequisites for many of our advanced classes (protection sports, advanced nosework, performance obedience, etc).
Socialization covers everything from basic obedience training, structure within the family/pack unit, exposure to new places/people/things, to how we live with our dog on a day-to-day basis.
Dog/Handler teams learn about building a strong social commitment in our obedience classes, so a solid foundation of social commitment and obedience is a prerequisite to this class.
In this class, you will learn how to enhance your dog's social skills and ability to function in new situations by using his other drives to further build his "Team Spirit" and social commitment.
Hunting/Prey Drive is something that many dog owners struggle with. In this class we teach you how and when to safely use hunting/prey with your dog to build an even stronger social commitment with you, the handler.
Hunting and prey are natural behaviors for dogs, that left unfulfilled, can manifest in frustration and a myriad of problems in our day-to-day lives with our dogs.
The basic hunting/prey techniques taught in this course can be used to help satisfy your dog's basic primal needs and leave him feeling fulfilled.
You will learn:
- what is Marker Training and why you NEED it
- the 3 Keys for success and how to utilize them
- how you can use your dog's regular food to build drive and satisfy prey/hunt needs and desires, while creating a better relationship with your dog
- how to build your dog's interest/desire to tug/play
- the "Rules of the Game"
- how to properly use tugs/toys to satisfy your dog's prey drive.
- how to enhance your dog's obedience skills with prey rewards
- using payment in Prey drive to modify behavior and build social commitment
- simple hunting/searching games you can easily implement to fulfill your dog
Sleep/Rest are often overlooked in relation to dog training and setting our dogs up for success in life. As Apex-level predators, dogs require a significant amount of rest. Dogs should rest/sleep an average of 60% of each day. We will teach you how to use periods of rest to contrast and enhance your dog's periods of actively working.
PRE-REQUISITES
* This is a group class where we will be using arousal - All dog/handler teams must be current/former Sparks K9 students with solid basic obedience and handling skills.
* If you and your dog have not trained with us in the past but have solid obedience skills in heavy distraction environments, we may approve you for this class after an initial consultation.