Regional Seminars

Participants from the American Kennel Club’s Patriotic Puppy Program (PPP) joined trainers from Arete Canine at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center (GPSTC) in Forsyth, Georgia on May 17-18, 2025, for an opportunity to learn new skills for training future detection dogs for local, state and federal law enforcement programs around the country.  PPP participants are breeders and trainers who are working closely with AKC staff to address the shortage of quality detection dogs available from sources found within the USA.

Training staff from Arete Canine of Barnesville, GA led two days of instruction that focused on developing new skills for both the canines and the trainers that were in attendance.  Joey and Heather Leigh, as well as Tim Baird and other Arete Canine trainers, worked side-by-side with each participant, often sharing multiple ways to address issues the dogs were showing in the new training environments of GPSTC’s “mock village”.  The mock village is a tactical training area that features classrooms, and seven buildings modeled after structures found in typical Georgia towns. It includes a bank, an office building, a convenience store, a motel, a warehouse, and a residence.

Participants split into groups up based on the age of the dogs they brought to train, with puppies working closely with Heather and the older pups in another area of the Mock Village working with Joey and Tim.  For the more experienced group of trainers, this was an opportunity to get coaching on ways to improve the quality of their dogs for future placement as detection dogs.  For the newer, less experienced trainers, the two days of coaching by industry leaders will provide a firm foundation to develop their skills for future success.

When the dogs needed rest breaks between training sessions, the instructors continued to share additional lessons in the classroom setting that were built upon the day’s lessons.  Q & A sessions emphasized the value of documenting training sessions through good note taking, various training philosophies, and specific training scenarios to address the weaknesses observed in the previous training.

The last session of the weekend included the opportunity for participants to watch –and even handle for themselves –some of the canines Arete currently has in the advanced stages of detection dog training.  This experience gave participants hands-on experience with the level of training required to succeed in graduating from the Patriotic Puppy Program to become a working canine.

Participants received an unexpected treat when they learned that their GPSTC contact Alex Rozier and his dog K9 Phoenix, demonstrated their skills as a fully trained detection dog team – and revealed that K9 Phoenix is an Arete graduate who was obtained through the AKC Reunite Adopt-A-Cop Grant program.

The program concluded with official recognition of Joey and Heather Leigh as official AKC’s Patriotic Puppy Program mentors. The Leighs’ extraordinary assistance and contributions the PPP program and its participants has played an important role in the program’s success. The success of the PPP comes from building a network of industry leaders like the Leighs who are willing to share their time and resources to benefit a group of patriotic breeders and trainers from around the country who are working to address the shortage of US-bred detection dogs.

After more than a year of discussion and planning, AKC’s Patriotic Puppy Program conducted its first Midwest hands-on training seminar on September 28-29, 2024, at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  Local Patriotic Puppy Program (PPP) participants Marie and Travis Appel led efforts to bring the PPP to Iowa for this event.  Participants traveled from around the country to join canine training specialist, Jamie Popper and PPP Program Manager, Stacey West for two days of training at Kirkwood’s Statler Agricultural Science Center on the Kirkwood Community College campus.  This setting presented some unique opportunities for all the pups and participants to experience.

Day 1 started with a quick introduction and game plan for the day by Stacey West, followed by a variety of age specific training scenarios for each of the future detection dogs.  Indoor classrooms with tables, chairs and numerous cabinets were used to expose pups to both carpeted and slick tile floors.  Some of the younger pups were worked on training sessions to develop confidence and build toy drive, while others advanced their search skills for toys hidden in the cabinets.  Multiple rooms allowed trainers and handlers to work each pup according to their level of experience.

Following lunch, a new training area was explored: a large diesel lab that held combines, large trucks, rolling tables, tool cabinets, open grated stairs and other challenges.  One group started with the staircase, working one on one with trainer Jamie Popper to work through any issues with a very demanding set of stairs for younger pups.  Lots of great work by both dogs and handlers was seen during this session.  While Jamie focused on building pups‘ confidence on the stairs,   Stacey worked through other scenarios, helping develop some longer searches, building toy drive, and problem solving for handler and canines weaknesses on various issues.  Due to the size of this space, training evolved into multiple small peer groups with similar aged pups working together to challenge their pups in this new space.

In the afternoon session, SGT Nathan Trimble and K9 Ranger from Cedar Rapids Police Department stopped by to watch. K9 Ranger was the 500^th canine placed through AKC Reunite® ‘s Adopt A K-9 Cop grant program.  To everyone’s delight, SGT Trimble and K9 Ranger provided a demonstration of Ranger’s tracking skills.   The afternoon wrapped up with a quick Q&A session and discussion of plans for the next day’s training.

An informal dinner that evening provided the opportunity for many participants to compare notes, “talk dog”, and to  ask questions about training, government contracts, and other topics of interest.

On day 2, participants built on their training from the previous day’s session.  Participants selected specific training scenarios and locations based on an individual pup’s needs.  Classrooms, hallways, and the diesel shop contained a flurry of training sessions and scenarios. By mid-morning every pup had worked at least one setup.  Training continued throughout the morning with valuable side-discussions among participants on training, breeding, and future opportunities.

As midday approached, participants began making their final preparations to start their journeys home.  AKC PPP Program Manager Stacey West commented, “This weekend and these facilities  provided a great opportunity to advance participant and trainer-handler skills. It’s been exciting to watch the evolution of AKC breeders turning into AKC breeders and trainers of detection dogs. It’s exactly what this program was intended to do.”

“The future is bright and the quality of the pups in the Patriotic Puppy Program continues to grow with each generation. Keep an eye out for upcoming PPP training seminars in 2025 in your region of the country,” he said.

The American Kennel Club’s Patriotic Puppy Program (PPP) held a hands-on training seminar in Oroville, California, hosted by Jim and Teal Knapp of Hightest Kennels, November 10-11, 2023. Featured trainers for this event included Tim Baird with Arete K9, Jamie Popper with Blue-9, and Stacey West with AKC’s PPP.  This is the 2^nd hands-on event for PPP participants during 2023.  Participants traveled from multiple states including Washington, Oregon, California and Utah to join AKC’s staff and industry experts in two days of fun-filled, educational opportunities surrounding the development of future detection dogs for local, state and federal law enforcement programs in the USA. Topics included building toy drive in puppies and young dogs, introduction to interior room searches, environmental training for all ages of pups, open area searches in short and tall grass, introductory vehicle searches and a demonstration by a PPP graduate, bred and trained at Highest kennels,  who is now a certified working dog. Multiple breeds were represented including Labradors, English Springer Spaniels, a German Shorthaired Pointer, and a Doberman Pinscher.

Day 1 started with the basics of building toy drive.  Tim, Jamie and Stacey traded off working with the dogs to provide slightly different approaches to building drive.  From there, focus  moved to an area where the older dogs could experience some environmental evaluations.  Noisy trash can lids, moving objects and even a mannequin nicknamed “Cross-eyed Pete” tested the dogs’ ability to recover when startled.  After lunch, the training day continued with Jamie leading the younger pups through environmental training using products provided Blue-9. The treats were flowing, and the pups and their handlers did very well.  Later in the day, focus shifted back to the shelter where Tim provided direction on how to start room searches.  Day 1 concluded with dinner and an opportunity for attendees to socialize and network.

Day 2 built on foundations established the day before. Open area searches in short and tall grass, with various ways to introduce these types of searches, were demonstrated.  Trainers demonstrated the difference between “training” and “testing” in open area scenarios. Everything from low level excitement evaluation type searches to high levels of excitement with a helper in the field verbally enticing and throwing toys for the pups to find was covered. Next, puppies were taken on simple environmental walks with incidental toy “finds” to show how to incorporate early planted toys without the pressure of an actual search.  Tim demonstrated his approach to introducing vehicle searches. Jamie introduced a technique for shaping behaviors for dogs with lower levels of possession using a variation on a conditioned retrieve.  Despite more than 25 years of training, Tim and Stacey joined the others in learning a new approach to an old problem.

A demonstration of a certified working dog allowed everyone to see what the finished dog skillset should look like, followed by a Question-and-Answer period with the trainers.  Finally, AKC’s Vice President of Government Relations, Sheila Goffe, along with Detection Dog Task Force Program Manager, Melissa Ferrell; and Patriotic Puppy Program Manager, Stacey West, presented Tim Baird with a “Best in Show” rosette acknowledging Tim as the first official American Kennel Club Patriotic Puppy Program Mentor.  Tim has volunteered his time on countless occasions to help mentor PPP participants, participate in numerous AKC Detection Dog Webinars, present at AKC Detection Dog Conferences and conduct himself as an industry expert while sharing his experience to make those around him better.