A1K9 Limited Avis 15

I took my 1 year old female German shepard with reaction/aggression issues to A1K9 today for a 1 on 1 session with Charles. Rhys also joined the session so I had 2 experts for the price of 1 which was great, and it was the single most rewarding thing that I have ever done with my dog! She was a nightmare when we first got there, but by the end of just 1 session, she was like a totally different dog! I had so much more insight into my dogs needs and how to move forward in her training after that I cant wait to take her back. I cant thank them enough and I strongly recommend A1K9 to anyone who is having issues with their dog. A+ 5 stars from me!

I took my Labrador for a 1 to 1 with Charles after being to three trainers which was so deflating. To me in my mind this was going to be my last time I was going to try and get help.
Ivy is reactive on lead to dogs and people approaching she was attacked at 7 months old and she has been reactive on lead ever since she also pulls like a freight train and she has broke my wrist and I’m waiting for surgery.
I went down to A1k9 and was met by Tasmin and another lady and instantly I felt at ease Charles arrived and I brought Ivy out who instantly went over and sat by Charles which was a huge shock! Tasmin took Ivy she’s a small lady like me and she worked with her with ease I was fascinated…they then brought out the big guns! The wonderful protection dogs which I know call the elite because that’s what they are ! I was taken back how big they were and was nervous myself for Ivy but they were wonderful they gave Ivy nothing but calmness and positive interactions and she was moving around them and not pulling me over or reacting. My dream is to sit in cafe with her as I hike a lot and go lots of places and Charles showed me I could do this and took me to a cafe and Ivy laid down and chilled out.
They showed me the correct techniques to walk and handle Ivy and how simple but effective it is really is. I left feeling so happy and couldn’t wait to start working with Ivy at home 2 days later and we are sitting in cafe after our hike drinking coffee and Ivy is chilled out with dogs on the next table!!
I have now joined A1k9s Sunday packs walks and can’t wait to attend Sunday. They haven’t just helped my dog Ivy they have helped my confidence to and I can see it’s coming back an I know that it’s getting better day by day. Honestly the best thing I done and I can’t recommend enough. Charles and his team and the dogs are the best out there by a country mile 🥰🐶🐾

Charles & Debs are a fabulous team and we have no hesitation recommending them.

A1K9 are an outstanding, professional dog training company, offering a superb service.
My 5 year old Dalmatian enjoyed the one month residential obedience training and came home a new dog!
The training is thorough, professional and taught at an exceptionally high level. The whole team at A1K9 are incredible, highly skilled and very passionate about their work, and absolutely love dogs.
I would highly recommend A1K9 to anyone who needs obedience training for their dog, whether it is the two week boot camp, or the one month residential training, all aspects are covered.
Thank you A1K9 for such an incredible experience, performance outcome, and for looking after my dog so well.

After suffering a burglary and an attempted break-in whilst the family were at home, we made the decision to up our security with the addition of a family protection dog from A1K9.
From the initial telephone contact with Debra, our visit to the kennels to meet Charles, his staff and the dogs, through to subsequent advice and guidance, the service provided by A1K9 has been impeccable throughout. We were seriously impressed with the skill and quality of the dogs, the expertise of the trainers and the excellent facilities. Charles was very keen to ensure that we were matched with the right dog and spent a long time discussing our home, family and other pets. After interacting with some of the dogs and witnessing their capabilities, we brought our old male lab up to A1K9 to see who he would also get along with the best. In the end it was a unanimous decision all round and Dora became the new addition to our family. Dora is a highly intelligent, beautiful GSD who has developed into a very loving pet and we have no doubt she would protect us should the occasion ever arise. Our local vet also commented on what a good specimen, how healthy and alert she is. We all feel so much safer with Dora around and I’m sure she won’t be the last dog we have from A1K9.
Thank you Charles and all at A1K9, and special thanks to Rhys for doing such a brilliant job of training Dora.

My husband and myself have talked about having a family protection dog for a number of years. I will be honest and say I was apprehensive in the beginning as we have three children. Twins aged 7 and an 11 year old. I thought the worst… how can a dog who’s been trained to bite come and live with us and be around our children? How wrong could I have been!!
We have known Charles as a family for a number of years as we attended training classes with our GSD Tula. My husband contacted him and had a chat about what we were possibly thinking… Charles said come along for a chat/look. No pressure. Visiting the kennels was welcoming, all the staff were so lovely. Nothing and I mean nothing was too much trouble. Within seconds of entering the building we were offered coffee and made feel completely at ease. Charles chatted to us for a while to establish our family, requirements and anything else he felt necessary and then sent us off to have a look around the kennels with Rhys. After looking at a few of the dogs, both my husband and myself were completely smitten with Quinn. He made eye contact with us and just generally gave us the feeling of ‘take me home!’ Quinn’s handler Cameron was amazing. So informative and helpful with everything. Our children were made to feel welcome… they were given a tour of the facilities with Callum while we chatted ‘business.’
At no point whatsoever were we rushed. Any questions we asked were answered with complete honesty and even tho some of the questions sounded so silly in my head (and out loud) it never seemed that way with any of the staff at all. The two day handover was smooth and again everything was shown and explained to us in such detail.

Finally wr would just like to thank Charles, Cameron and Rhys (only these guys personally as they’re who we directly dealt with) for their professionalism and help. We know Quinn was a favourite to a couple of you and I can only promise that he’s living his best life. Hopefully we won’t have to put his training into use… however if the need arises, that black face and piercing eyes will hopefully do the trick!
Thank you all and one day, when we have room… we will 100% be back 😊

We can honestly say that we are absolutely thrilled with the new addition to our family. Athos, our German Shepherd, is totally gorgeous and is like a big cuddly bear with all 4 of our children, who range in age from 7 to 17. We all absolutely adore him. That said, we are also in no doubt that he would protect any and all of us should the need arise. Earlier this year we moved in to a new home, with my parents living in an annexe. When my husband suggested we could all benefit from a protection dog, I was initially slightly apprehensive, albeit my parents thought it was a fantastic idea - to protect them, as well as to look out for all of the family, including their 4 grand children. We gave Charles the brief and he immediately said (in a totally non-salesy way) that he had the perfect dog for us. He didn't push us, and during a day up at A1K9's impressive facilities in Wales, he gave us the chance to meet all of the potential dogs. It didn't take long for us to know that he was spot on with his recommendation of Athos. We took Athos home, and within weeks he has become one of the family. Whilst he welcomes all of our friends, he is alert to any new face that arrives at our home. He has found a soulmate in our 11 year old female black labrador, they adore each other, and she constantly keeps him in check!!! A huge thanks to all at A1K9 for our wonderful and talented family pet. It is fair to say that noone would know that our dog is a protection dog due to his wonderful nature. Admittedly his appearance alone would ward off most unwanted visitors! He is a wonderful family pet with hidden skills and incredible loyalty. Well done all at A1K9, he is truly a credit to you all and has brought so much joy to all our family. Thank you.

charles couldn't have been more professional in his explanations and helping me find the perfect GSD.
the staff at A1K9 were helpful and patient.
i even stayed overnight in charles's house while i was trained with my magnificent dog Vana.
he regularly checks in on Vana and me and is always available for advice.
he promised me a wonderful pet, companion and security dog and has delivered beyond expectations.
highly, highly recommended.

After arriving at A1K9 I had a chat with Charles and he established what I was looking for and what environment the dog would be kept in and I was shown around the kennels. It is obviously a very professionally run facility and I was very happy with the way the dogs looked and were treated. Charles was happy to answer any questions I had as I don’t have much experience with dogs.
After that a selection of dogs were brought out and they let me see them up close and I could decide which dog I liked.
There is a two-day training which is included which was about seven hours a day, it would probably have been longer but I was travelling from Wolverhampton and back each day. The training covered handling the dog in various situations from walking all the way to protection.
Taking the dog home was a four-hour drive and the dog was very well-behaved in the car no problems at all. I did email Charles on two occasions when I had questions and he phoned me back within a day on both occasions and I spent a day with him at his facility with no extra cost.
To conclude I am extremely happy that I picked A1K9 as the service has been excellent and I could not wish for more. If I go on holiday it is the only place I will kennel my dog as everybody there is extremely professional and the facilities are very clean and well-kept. Chase (my dog) is now one of the family and an amazing guard dog for my home and protection dog for my family.

Having personely worked in kennels for a number years with both rescue and security dogs in the past I can with experience say the A1K9 facilities could not be better. From the moment I first arrived the open, welcoming and at all times profesional approach from all the staff gave me the confidence and peace of mind I was looking for. After an indepth sitdown discussion with Charles(A1K9 MD) his vast knowledge from decades of experience working with the guarding breeds only added to my confidence I had come to the right place to find the right dog for my personal needs. Meeting a selection of Charles' dogs the stability of them is immediatly apparent and sitting here three weeks into life with my new boy back at home having met all manner of people, children, dogs, horses you name it with nothing but a calm relaxed result everytime I could not recommend A1K9 highly enough as your choice to life with the perfect dog for your personal circumstances.
Ican not thank Charles and all the staff enough.

Having purchased 3 A1K9 Personal protection dogs over a number of years from Charles I have always been extremely impressed with the entire service.
Nothing is too much trouble, the facilities at A1K9 are outstanding, dogs are chosen specifically for your needs/requirements with the right dog for you being selected.
After sales service is second to none with regular contact to ensure there are no issues. I wouldn't go anywhere else to purchase a Personal protection dog. They are second to none.

First class facility and training from the team at A1K9. The initial training period for me as the owner and Sally was excellent and any follow up questions were quickly answered once we got Sally home. Highly recommended.

After suffering an aggravated burglary (in central London) I contacted Charles at A1K9.
Charles asked me to come down and meet some of the dogs. In no way did i feel pressured in anyway to commit to taking a dog. In fact quite the opposite.
Charles asked me to bring my dogs with me, so off i went to Wales with a Labradoodle and Miniature Pinscher in tow.
Charles was totally to the point and 100% clear that it was all about finding the right dog for my family ( I also have 2 teenagers) so wanted a very calm yet capable dog to protect the whole family but not a highly strung animal that could be a danger to my kids or their friends.
I admit i had an idea of what dog I wanted but after following the guidance of the A1K9 team I can honestly say i have the perfect dog.
She is first and foremost a pet but if called upon she will protect the whole family. She genuinely has the perfect temperament and this is totally due to the way she has been trained by the A1K9 family.
Charles & Debs are on hand if ever i need to ask any questions and I would now consider them to be friends.
This is the most professional operation and I cant recommend them highly enough. Personally i wouldn't ever consider getting a protection dog from anyone else ..... shame i can only give 5 stars !!
If i go on holiday i always send ALL my dogs to Charles and Debs to look after as they care immensely about each and every dog.

I found the whole experience of buying my darling dog completely professional, stress free and enjoyable.
I bought my dog from A1K9 in August 2020 during the lockdown. Charles the MD of A1K9 was professional and knowledgeable about my dog and the GSD breed itself. During the 2-day handover process I was given a full run down of how to handle my dog in the various scenarios that may present themselves. I was also given an invaluable booklet for reference around key commands & Do’s & Don’t with the dog. This has been a great help to me
The team treated both my son & myself with the greatest of respect given we had very little knowledge about protection dogs explaining in detail the questions we had.
The dogs themselves are treated as individuals & Charles’s knowledge of the personality & temperaments of the dog is spot on. When we went up to view one of the dogs I had seen, Charles spent a lot of time getting to know me & ascertaining my family situation & lifestyle to present other suitable dogs who would be a good fit for me so that I had a choice of dogs. There was a full demonstration by all the dogs presented of their protection work & obedience & also I had a chance to use the commands on all the dogs myself.
I have to say my boy is the “Perfect Fit” for me. He is & continues to be an absolute delight with a calm demeanour but protective of the whole family.
Charles and his team have been very helpful in dealing with post purchase queries and I feel that I can ring up and ask questions even a year on. A big thank you to everyone especially Charles & Debra at A1K9 for an impeccable dog and a great experience from start to present in getting my perfect protector & companion. Highly recommend A1K9!

We have been fortunate enough to have been clients of A1K9 since 2001, you are always guaranteed
A1 facilities
A1 staff
A1 cleanliness
A1 dogs and an A1 welcome 😊
Nothing is too much trouble for Charles and his team, from the minute you walk in.
Charles is the most honest and straightforward person you will ever meet.

We searched and visited many dog training facilities in the UK before we found A1K9 - whilst others maybe cheaper it shows in the quality of dogs, training and customer service.

We currently have our 3rd A1K9, our daughter will never be without the protection of an A1K9 dog.

We love the peace of mind having a highly trained dog from A1K9 gives us, not just around the home, but that we can take our dog anywhere with us, holidays, school run, days out, shopping trip, work.

You wont regret purchasing an A1K9