Southwest Florida K9 Services LLC was started in 1996 and located in North Fort Myers, Florida. It is owned and operated by Rusty and Dee Graham, lifelong residents of Lee County.
Rusty retired from law enforcement in 2006 after serving 18 years of his career in the K9 Unit, holding positions of K9 handler, trainer, supervisor and administrator. Rusty currently has 33 years of K9 training experience in both law enforcement and private K9 training.
Dee is currently a certified vet technician with 23 years of experience as a K9 obedience trainer and a K9 behaviorist.
Rusty and Dee's training, knowledge and experience in the field of K9 behavior creates a proven and successful environment that results in a lifelong bond between the canine and handler.
The philosophy of Southwest Florida K9 Services is based upon behavior modification and adaptation through positive reinforcement training.
Rusty and his police K9 partners have competed at a national level at police K9 competitions and has achieved top honors on numerous occasions. Dee has competed at professional levels and has achieved national K9 titles.
Since 1996 Rusty and Dee have focused their business model primarily on civilian owned pets and offer a wide range of training opportunities from advanced obedience to socialization to agility training, tracking and protection training.
Rusty and Dee's mission is to focus the attention of the animal on the owner/handler and allow their owner to enjoy their "best friend" dynamic settings and environments.
Pet owners across Southwest Florida have seen dynamic improvements in their dog's demeanor and behavior after only a few weeks of training.
We would love the opportunity to work with you and your forever baby to make your relationship with your puppy a fulfilling time in your life.
Rusty and Dee
18 years as Police K9 Instructor/Trainer
14 years as civilian dog trainer
K9 Instructor:
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
United States Police Canine Association
National Police Canine Association
K9 Evaluator/Judge
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
United States Police Canine Association
National Police Canine Association
Owner/Head Trainer: SWF K9 Services
Cert Obedience Instructor: Penn Foster
You will find Dee on the tracking field on Saturday and Sunday mornings with her Schutzhund titled K-9 Kiwi. Also lead trainer working with the new dogs and puppies on Saturday and Sunday mornings. On Saturday afternoon she is the lead instructor in our AKC Star Puppy Class and works her Kiwi in obedience and protection work on Saturdays
You will find Dee on the tracking field on Saturday and Sunday mornings with her Schutzhund titled K-9 Kiwi. Also lead trainer working with the new dogs and puppies on Saturday and Sunday mornings. On Saturday afternoon she is the lead instructor in our AKC Star Puppy Class and works her Kiwi in obedience and protection work on Saturdays and Wednesdays.
"As a small child around 4 years of age I knew I was meant to work with animals in some fashion when I found a litter of kittens discarded on the side of the road wrapped in a pillow case and I brought them home. This was my first attempt at being an animal nurse.
It didnt work out so well as the kittens all passed away but it made me aware that I wanted to grow up helping animals.
Growing up I was given the chores to feed, water and of course clean up after the dogs.
At the age of 10 we adopted a border collie from a local shelter. It was at this time I realized training dogs was going to be a given in my adult life. I began bonding with her and shortly thereafter we began our training regimen. During the summer I would take her outside and teach her to sit and lay down with treats.
As an adult married to a law enforcement K9 officer my first dog to do serious training with was a small female GSD named "Casey". At the time I did not know the difference between imported dogs, backyard bred dogs, puppy mills, working dogs, show dogs or pets.
Luckily for me, she was the product of two imported Schutzhund titled working line German Shepherds. I soon learned how fast working line dogs could be trained due to their inborn instincts to work and their drive to please their handler.We worked together as a team for almost two years in Schutzhund but before I was able to title her she unexpectedly passed away at 2 years of age.
I was broken hearted and vowed to not have anymore dogs, although with my husband being a K9 officer thankfully that was not the case.
I started holding small classes for my friends and coworkers. That was the beginning and I am still excited and look forward to training every time step on the training field. It is my greatest satisfaction with training to take an untrained and unruly animal and turn them into an animal that their owners are proud to own."
"Dee"
We met Tim for the first time at the fence to our club. He was looking for a place to train with his new puppy and had located us on line after searching. We invited him to come onto the field and he walked in carrying a small beautiful German Shepherd puppy at nine weeks named Titan. Well Dee melted running up and taking Titan from Tim
We met Tim for the first time at the fence to our club. He was looking for a place to train with his new puppy and had located us on line after searching. We invited him to come onto the field and he walked in carrying a small beautiful German Shepherd puppy at nine weeks named Titan. Well Dee melted running up and taking Titan from Tim and I'm kinda surprised Tim ever got Titan back. Tim has evolved into a tremendous trainer showing a soft soft for a big man and we are very touched by having him here to help other K9 teams become better. You will find Tim working with Titan every Saturday morning on the tracking field, honing his tracking skills to achieve his IGP1 later this year. Tim then leads our advanced class on Saturday morning, co-instructs our AKC Star Puppy class on Saturday afternoon, then works with Titan in protection training after that and helps with decoy duties. Tim also works Titan and instructs on Wednesday evening.
Tim is also training a second GSD Basco with tracking, obedience and protection getting both dogs ready for many future Schutzhund Titles. Tim is a very important part of our training club and has helped us grow the club and help get others dogs to be what they can become. Tim is a lot of fun on the training field and it is a good time to attend one of his classes.
"I've had dogs most of my life as pets. I didn't start working with dogs until I got my first GSD as an adult. I wanted a dog that I could leave with my family while I went to work the overnight shift. We started with basic obedience and progressed to home/child protection training. I felt very comfortable leaving my family at night knowing I had my girl to protect them. I had her for 13 loving years.
A couple of years later I know I needed another GSD dog in my life. After finding my Titan I knew I needed a place to advance my knowledge of training and have my dog progress further than I had before.
I showed up at Southwest Florida K9 Services where I met Rusty and Dee with my 9 week old GSD puppy Titan. They asked me what type of training I was looking for with Titan and myself. I had just saw on their Facebook page that Dee had won the club championship and was holding a championship belt for her obedience win. I told them I wanted that belt. That was the start of our training journey.
Under the guidance of Rusty, Dee, and Dawn I progressed from the beginning puppy class to the advanced class. After several months of training I was asked to help out with the start of the advanced class and as time went on I was offered the task of taking over the Saturday morning Advanced Class.
I try to get the handlers to understand that with patience and consistency their life with their dog can be an awesome and rewarding journey.
In the group class I make it fun and enjoyable I use sarcasm and humor to relieve the stress some handlers feel when trying to get their dog to work with them. So if you stick with it and progress to make it to the Saturday Advanced Class make sure you bring proper footwear and a sense of humor.
P.S. Titan has received his BH in Schutzhund and is working towards his IGP1. He has also won the club obedience belt and currently holds the club championship"
Chris will be running the Basic Skill Development Class on Saturday and Sunday Mornings along with Dee. Chris graduated from Animal Behavior College and will be working with the puppies and new K9 teams.
Suzanne is here every Saturday and Sunday mornings to work with our more advanced dogs running AKC routines and Schutzhund components. Her and K9 Rocco have achieved their Schutzhund BH title and she is a great asset here at our training facility.
I love German Shepherds. I actually love all dogs, all animals really, but German Shepherds have my heart. They are my breed. I’ve always had at least one German Shepherd. I’ve always done at least some training with each of them, and have worked with various trainers.
Six years ago, when my two Shepherds were puppies, I hooked up with Rus
I love German Shepherds. I actually love all dogs, all animals really, but German Shepherds have my heart. They are my breed. I’ve always had at least one German Shepherd. I’ve always done at least some training with each of them, and have worked with various trainers.
Six years ago, when my two Shepherds were puppies, I hooked up with Rusty & Dee for training for them. Although I had some previous experience in training, Rusty & Dee taught me so much more. They honed the skills I already had, taught me new and more techniques in training and very importantly, taught me about dog behavior. They also encouraged my desire to keep training and to take my dogs further and further.
I can’t possibly explain the bond you get with your dogs when you start to train at that advanced level. You truly become a team…. Not just an owner with their dog, but a team working together to reach a goal. I titled my Diva with her Schutzhund BH title. The feeling of pride I have in her and the feeling of accomplishment I feel for the two of us as a team is indescribable. We’re now training for our next title and I plan to take my newest baby Sophia for her BH title as well. I credit and thank Rusty & Dee for our success, which was only possible with their training and encouragement.
You will find Tabitha running all over the field. Tabitha can be seen on Saturday morning working the concession stand, checking in new and returning K9 teams, selling and fitting equipment, and serving as our field rep to answer any questions and to get to know all of our customers. She is also co-instructing our Saturday afternoon AKC
You will find Tabitha running all over the field. Tabitha can be seen on Saturday morning working the concession stand, checking in new and returning K9 teams, selling and fitting equipment, and serving as our field rep to answer any questions and to get to know all of our customers. She is also co-instructing our Saturday afternoon AKC Star Puppy class and back on the field on Sunday mornings. She has become more than just this, she has become part of our family and the daughter that Dee has always wanted. She is also our club photographer and gets you and your puppies pics on our Facebook page. Tab is a much needed part of our training staff and I want to thank Tabitha for all that she does for us.
"Hello, my name is Tabitha Berry and my love of dogs did not start at an early age. I never had dogs as a child I had cats. My love of dogs developed after I got married and my husband had to get a Min Pin. Well, that dog hated him but loved me. She went everywhere with me. She was my trusted companion for 14 years.
From there we adopted a rescue Doberman, then got another Doberman and the rest is history.
I am currently on the board of a local rescue and specialize in larger working breed rescues. And I have foster dogs in and out of my house. I currently have 10 dogs of my own and I could not imagine living any other way.
At the training field you will find me in the concession stand checking in new and returning K9 teams, selling training supplies and training treats and helping with any questions.
I am also the person on the other end of our Facebook page and the public relations person on the field.
My passion for dogs has grown into a lifestyle that I love."
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6230 Mellow Dr, North Fort Myers, FL 33917
(941) 799-6763 (office) (239) 633-5844 Rusty (cell phone) (239) 633-5845 Dee (cell phone) (239) 340-1312 Tabitha (cell phone)
Open today | 06:00 am – 06:00 pm |