Police K9 Instructor & Detection Dog Trainer Courses
Become the Instructor Your Teams Depend On
Develop better dogs. Teach more effective handlers. Build training that prepares teams for operational work.
Handling a working dog gives you valuable experience. Becoming an instructor requires another level of understanding: how to develop performance, explain the process to others, and recognize why training succeeds or fails.
Highland Canine Training’s Police K9 Instructor and Detection Dog Trainer programs help you make that transition. Through classroom instruction and hands-on training, you will develop the knowledge to select dogs, build proven training programs, teach handlers, and address problems throughout a team’s working career.
Whether you are a handler preparing for an instructor position, an agency developing internal training capability, or a civilian pursuing a professional training career, our programs provide a foundation you can apply beyond graduation.
Move From Experience to Understanding
An instructor’s value becomes especially clear when training stops going as planned.
A dog struggles in an unfamiliar environment. A handler unintentionally changes its behavior. A team performs well during routine training but fails when the setup changes. Repeating the same exercise may produce another successful repetition without resolving the underlying weakness.
Our programs teach you to examine what is happening, identify contributing factors, and choose a purposeful next step.
You will learn to:
- Evaluate dogs for the work they are expected to perform.
- Connect training methods to canine behavior and learning.
- Develop skills through structured progression.
- Recognize weaknesses before they become established habits.
- Adapt instruction to individual dogs and handlers.
- Evaluate results and explain your training decisions.
These skills help you become a more capable problem solver and a more effective K9 instructor.
What That Means for You—and the K9 Teams You Train
For K9 Handlers Becoming Instructors
Build on your handling experience with the ability to develop other teams. Learn to explain techniques, recognize differences between dogs, and help handlers understand their role in performance. You leave with a clearer framework for instruction, maintenance training, and troubleshooting.
For Agencies Investing in Personnel
Develop internal expertise that can support team selection, training, and ongoing improvement. A knowledgeable instructor can help identify deficiencies earlier, use training time more purposefully, and give supervisors clearer information about team capabilities and limitations.
For Civilians Building a K9 Training Career
Develop practical skills for working with dogs and communicating with clients. Learn how to evaluate prospects, establish realistic training objectives, and explain progress. Understanding the process behind performance helps you make better recommendations and deliver more useful instruction.
Choose the Program That Fits Your Goals
Police K9 Instructor Course
Comprehensive preparation for training police dogs and their handlers.
This program covers patrol, detection, trailing, obedience, and the broader responsibilities of developing working dog teams. It is designed for students who want the versatility to teach across multiple police K9 disciplines.
Instruction includes:
- Dog selection and suitability evaluation.
- Canine behavior, learning theory, and foundational training.
- Obedience, patrol, and apprehension work.
- Tracking and trailing.
- Detection training using Odor First: A Highland Canine Detection Architecture
- Handler instruction and team development.
- Maintenance training and problem-solving.
- Relevant canine case law, records, and report writing.
- K9 supervision and program management considerations.
The breadth of the program helps you understand how individual skills fit into overall team performance. For agencies, that supports more coordinated training. For instructors, it provides a wider foundation for recognizing problems and developing appropriate solutions.
Commercial Police K9 Instructor Course Pricing
6-weeks: $5,850
8-weeks: $7,775
12-weeks: $9,950
Price includes deposit and course materials. Optional student housing is additional. Learn more about our Police K9 Instructor Course today!
FEDERAL AGENCY OR LAW ENFORCEMENT? ASK US ABOUT OUR DISCOUNTED GSA PRICING!
Detection Dog Trainer Course
Specialized education for those who want to focus entirely on detection.
Learn to develop detection dogs from prospect selection and initial odor introduction through search training, handler instruction, and performance evaluation.
Students receive instruction across narcotics, explosives, human remains, and other detection specialties, with emphasis on the disciplines they are most interested in pursuing.
Topics include selection, imprinting, search development, final responses, training aid handling, proofing, controls and distractors, handler influence, blind testing, maintenance training, documentation, relevant case law, and certification.
This dedicated focus helps you understand how each training decision affects odor recognition and operational performance. You will learn to identify gaps, build purposeful training problems, and teach handlers to observe their dogs more effectively.
Odor First™: Train the Odor. Everything Else Follows.
Understand What Is Driving the Dog’s Response
Odor First™ is Highland Canine’s complete system for imprinting, training, handling, and certifying detection dogs. It is the primary detection system taught in both programs, with other methodologies taught for comparison.
Its central principle is that detection decisions should come from target odor.
For trainers, the benefit is a consistent process for teaching and troubleshooting. For handlers, it is a clearer understanding of their dog’s work. For agencies and clients, it supports more meaningful evaluation and better explanations of training and performance.
Commercial Detection Dog Instructor Course Pricing
6-weeks: $5,650
8-weeks: $7,375
12-weeks: $9,550
Price includes deposit and course materials. Optional student housing is additional. Learn more about our Police K9 Instructor Course today!
FEDERAL AGENCY OR LAW ENFORCEMENT? ASK US ABOUT OUR DISCOUNTED GSA PRICING!
Housing & Financing Available
We offer fully furnished, on-site housing as well as transportation and airport pick-up for individuals traveling to our school. We also offer simple and easy financing options for those who wish to pay for their canine education over time. Attendees are allowed and encouraged to bring up to two (2) dogs with them to integrate into their course.
GI Bill® & VA Benefits Accepted
Our 12-week Police K9 Instructor Program is approved to accept GI Bill and other VA benefits at our main campus, located in North Carolina. If you are eligible and wish to use your VA benefits, our SCO's and admissions specialists will be happy to assist you with the enrollment process.
An Unmatched Police K9 Instructor Course
Two Campus Locations
Both programs are offered at our Main Campus in North Carolina and at our Southeast Campus in Alabama. Both campuses ensure that graduates of our program are confident in their skills, and most importantly, confident in their ability to develop and problem-solve K9 teams using proven strategies designed for the field.
Experienced Instructors
At our main campus, Instruction is provided by Jason Purgason, a former Police K9 handler and K9 Supervisor, and Amber Vaughn, an experienced instructor and handler who has trained hundreds of operational teams. Our Southeast campus is led by Corey Archer, a former K9 handler and Supervisor with years of operational experience.
Unmatched Education
Classroom education and hands-on work connect theory with practical decisions. You learn how to approach individual dogs and handlers, evaluate progress, and explain the process to others. Each team is different and we teach you how to meet those needs. You’ll learn a variety of methods for each aspect of training police dogs teams
Customized K9 Instructor Training for U.S. and International Agencies
Build Internal Expertise. Strengthen Operational Capability.
Your agency needs instructors who can develop reliable teams, teach handlers effectively, and resolve problems before they affect operations. Highland Canine Training offers affordable, customized K9 instructor programs for government, law-enforcement, and military organizations in the United States and abroad.
Train at our facilities in the United States or bring our instructional team to your location overseas. We structure programs around your specific goals, personnel experience, and operational priorities so your investment supports the capabilities your organization needs.
Train in the United States or at Your Location Abroad
Training at our U.S. facilities gives your personnel access to our instructional team, training environments, and established educational programs.
Training at your overseas location brings instruction directly to your organization. This option can reduce international travel requirements for participating personnel and allows training to take place within the environment where your teams work.
We will discuss your objectives, group size, available resources, and scheduling requirements to determine the appropriate delivery format.
Practical Training at an Affordable Cost
Instructor development should deliver lasting value. Our programs combine affordable pricing with instruction structured around your organization’s goals.
The investment extends beyond the personnel attending the course: the knowledge they gain can support future handlers, stronger maintenance training, and continued development across your K9 program.
Experience with Supporting Government and Military Organizations
Highland Canine has provided instruction to personnel from U.S. and international law-enforcement and military organizations, including:
Mexican Army and Navy.
Nigerian Army.
Mexico’s Fiscalía General de la República (FGR).
Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL).
Guatemalan Police.
Bahamas Police.
US Military Special Forces.
Our School for Dog Trainers has also welcomed students from North and South America, the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, Australia, and Asia.
This experience helps us teach personnel with different professional backgrounds and training needs while keeping instruction focused on principles they can understand, apply, and teach within their own organizations.
Let's Discuss Your Agency's Training Needs
Tell us where your organization is based, how many personnel you want to train, and the capabilities you want to develop. We’ll help you identify a program that fits your needs.
Contact us to discuss customized programs, group rates, overseas delivery, and availability.