ABOUT A1K9
A1K9 is recognised internationally as a leader in the personal protection dog field.
A1K9's
Speciality
Personal Protection Dogs
Our Passion and Expertise
Formed in 1993, we have since supplied well over 1000 of our superbly trained dogs to families and individuals across the globe.
Owner Charles Wall, a Londoner, relocated to Wales in the early 1990s and used his passion for dogs and understanding of personal security to train a handful of dogs for friends and family to enable them to feel more secure.
People loved them and word spread! After developing a sound and proven system, A1K9 was formed to meet that demand. By the mid 1990s, A1K9 had hired three staff and had 20 kennels.
The business has flourished ever since.
Our commitment to customer satisfaction is just one of the many things that separates us from other in the industry. We are not happy unless YOU are happy.
We have earned an international reputation for quality but we don’t rest on our laurels. Service matters.
Whilst protection dogs are the core of our business, we also offer residential training for clients own dogs, as well as a series of obedience classes where many local people attend with a wide range of breeds.
The A1K9 Difference:
Unparalleled Selection and Training
We have a diverse customer base, having supplied to over 40 countries, with clients including celebrities, ultra-high net worth individuals, businesses and estates. The level of repeat business we receive is testament to our dogs, our ethos and our standards.
This reputation has enabled us to secure exclusive arrangements with some of the best-known breeders of working dogs in the world, and we have first choice of their prime stock.
There is over a century of combined experience within the team at A1K9. Charles alone has over 40 years of training behind him, and staff, consultants and associates all add valuable expertise to the A1K9 family.
We select and train our staff with the same passion we apply to our dogs! New staff are guided through the process of developing a personal and family protection dog; there isn’t a pool of people qualified to do this work, it is very much an A1K9 bespoke product.
As a result, every dog that carries the A1K9 brand is a safe, solid, reliable protector than can live happily as a normal dog, until required to act and keep you safe.
Over the decades we have seen rising crime, changes in our clients’ needs, the quality of dogs available and various pieces of legislation. We have tailored our approach to match those changes. For example, we now almost exclusively source our dogs from overseas, where breeding programs still produce dogs suited to our needs.
These dogs are from well-established, proven bloodlines but that isn’t enough to be an A1K9. We assess each dog on its merits, not on its parents and only those who show the right characteristics are selected. Then we conduct strict health evaluations, including hip and elbow certification, before enrolling a dog in to our training program.
Any dog supplied by A1K9 will have had a minimum of 12 months training, conditioning and socialising. Not many can make that claim.
Finding Your Perfect Match:
A Responsible Approach to Dog Placement
We match the right dog to the right person, as not all dogs will suit all needs. That is one of the reasons we typically have 30 plus dogs available. We would rather lose a sale than supply a dog we know will not be right for them.
A client’s risk profile, lifestyle, personality, type of property and family make up are all taken in to account when recommending a dog, and we have a long history of getting it right first time.
Like anything, dogs benefit from maintenance and we recommend an annual refresher at our training facility. Many clients choose to do this when they themselves are travelling, removing the need to kennel their dogs when they are away.
Our modern facilities have been created with one thing in mind; to make the very best A1K9 we can.
Our purpose-built kennel complex can accommodate up to 40 dogs, each with its own insulated sleeping area and separate covered run, providing protection from the elements all year round.
We have numerous kennel staff and each dog has its own designated trainer, with all training overseen by both the kennel manager and Charles Wall himself.
Our facility is one of the largest in the world. We have 50-plus acres of wonderful Welsh countryside dedicated to the training and welfare of our dogs, with over a dozen fields, agility complex and various outbuildings for scenario training, as well as a 4000 sq ft indoor training hall that allows us to cater to all of our needs whatever the weather. In addition to our on site training facilities, we regularly take our dogs to the local towns and cities to proof their training in all environments.
Our client base stretches globally, therefore, it is not unusual for members of our team to travel to different countries to work with clients at their homes; wherever that may be in the world.
