Working K9, Protection & PSA Training in Illinois
Drive without control is a liability. Control without drive wastes the dog. Foundation through advanced work for Malinois, Shepherds, and high-drive breeds, based in Bourbonnais.
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Veteran Owned • 25 Years With Working Dogs • Temperament-Evaluated Bite Work • (815) 549-6428
Custom K9 Dog Training offers working K9, protection, and PSA sport training in Bourbonnais, Illinois. Programs run from foundation obedience under drive through advanced protection and scenario work, built by U.S. Navy veteran Mark Harwood with 25 years across working-dog disciplines. Every dog is temperament-evaluated before any bite work begins.
High-drive dogs are not harder to train. They are different. A Malinois with no job invents one, and you will not like what it picks. The program gives the dog what it was bred for and gives you the control to live with it.
What Does the Working Dog Program Cover?
- ✓ Foundation obedience under drive and heavy distraction
- ✓ Drive building, grip development, and outs that hold under pressure
- ✓ Protection and PSA sport scenario work, foundation through advanced
- ✓ Handler development: reading the dog, timing, leash and field mechanics
- ✓ Off-switch training so the working dog can settle in a home
Trainer Note: Control comes before bite work, always. A dog that will not out cleanly or cap its drive has no business on a sleeve, and a decoy session will not fix an obedience hole. We build the foundation first because everything above it depends on it.
Is Protection Training Right for Your Dog?
Not every dog belongs in bite work, and an honest trainer says so. Protection work done on a stable dog with sound nerve builds confidence and control. The same work done on a nervy or unstable dog builds a liability that lives in your house. That is why every dog gets a temperament evaluation before any protection training starts.
If the evaluation says your dog is not a protection candidate, you will hear it straight, along with what the dog is suited for. Plenty of high-drive dogs thrive on obedience under drive and structured work without ever touching a sleeve. And if your high-drive dog's problem is chaos in the house rather than work on the field, start with our in-home dog training program.
What Does Working Dog Training Cost?
Working K9 and PSA programs are custom scoped after the temperament evaluation, because a green dog starting foundation and a titled dog polishing trial work need different programs. Standard obedience packages start at $600 for 5 sessions; the full pricing picture lives in our dog training pricing FAQ.
Working K9 & PSA Training FAQ
What is PSA dog training?
PSA (Protection Sports Association) is a protection dog sport that tests obedience and controlled protection work under realistic scenarios and heavy distraction. Training builds from foundation obedience under drive through grip work, scenario work, and trial-level control.
Is protection training safe for a family dog?
Done right, protection training makes a stable dog safer, not more dangerous, because control is trained before and above everything else. Done wrong, or done on an unstable dog, it creates a liability. That is why every dog is evaluated for temperament and nerve before any bite work.
What breeds are best for working and PSA training?
Belgian Malinois, German Shepherds, Dutch Shepherds, and similar working lines dominate the sport because of drive, nerve, and biddability. But the individual dog matters more than the breed. Evaluation tells you whether a dog has the temperament for the work.
Can a working dog also live as a family dog?
Yes, if the off-switch is trained as seriously as the drive work. A working dog needs to cap its arousal and settle in the house. Programs at Custom K9 train both sides: full intensity on the field, calm in the living room.
Your Dog Has the Engine. Build the Brakes.
Call or text and tell us about your dog: breed, age, what it is doing now, and where you want to take it. Working K9, protection, and PSA training based in Bourbonnais, Illinois.
Contact Custom K9 Call (815) 549-6428