Hear from Our Customers
“We had Kevin out to Northern California to teach a 5-day LE tracking class. He’s a wealth of knowledge from past experience. He was excellent at reading both the dogs and the handlers while on the move. We ran a ton of tracks and Kevin never slowed down, he just kept pushing. His matter of fact teaching style is easy to understand. It was a ton of fun watching the dogs and the handlers progress throughout the week, we will definitely be back for more. Thank you very much!”
Justin
“Kevin is a great trainer with years of real life experience. I’ve had the opportunity to train with and learn from him in California and South Carolina during police and military trainings. Looking forward to our next time.”
K9 Trailing- Ben McBroom
“I’ve known Kevin since 2000 when he became the first Bloodhound handler in the San Jose PD MERGE/K9 Unit. In the ensuing years he continued to hone his skill until he became a much sought after trailing instructor. In 2018, he agreed to become the collateral duty Bloodhound handler for the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno PD. In reality he was a countywide asset for finding missing persons, locating evidence and integration of his Bloodhound in tactical operations. Along the way, he helped us find our Red Labrador Retriever (through his dock jumping contacts) and his wife, Sarah became our vet. We were very sad when they moved to Idaho, but safe to say, this family knows dogs!
Pete Decena, Chief of Police (ret.)”
Peter Decena
“Kevin is an amazing instructor who will teach you to become one with your dog. He will patiently teach you the basics, challenge you as you progress, and keep you on a path of learning and discovery. 100% trustworthy and 1000% effective.”
Jennifer Yeh
“GAK9 trainers are second to none. I say this after running a police bloodhound for 5 years under the training of Kevin Baughn. His ability to teach handlers to understand their dogs and work as a team is amazing. Now with his training facility in Idaho, I wish I was still in the tracking unit!”
Robert Smith
“Before my sweet Millie was a prima donna with no skills. Just her good looks. After being at GAK9 she has developed real skills and talent. I would definitely recommend Kevin!!!”
Kathryn Taylor
“Excellent trainer and staff. Kevin trains the best dogs in the business, very highly experienced and tenured in his work.”
Eric Frey
“I worked with Kevin and GAK9 on several occasions. Highly professional and knows their training. Great experience all around!”
Michelle Viviano
“I had previously attended a trailing class from a different vendor, after working with GAK9 we were able to eliminate myK9s bad habits through hands on instruction due to the small class size. My K9 has since been far more effective at trailing than previous.”
Travis Higgins
“Kevin’s law enforcement experience is impressive. However, his true passion has always been focused on K9 handling. He has traveled across the country and internationally to train students, but his school in Idaho is a world-class destination not to be missed. I had the pleasure of going there. I never tired of the fantastic views of the Grand Tetons nor the friendly hospitality. Kevin is an expert instructor that anyone could learn something from regardless of background. I highly recommend this training!”
Charles M.
“Kevin is one of my most favourite trainers.
He has great insight into both the team (mantrail-dog and handler) and the environment to give you a very challenging trail.He challenges you to go beyond your own limits, where you have to be strong in your feet. Not always fun and relaxed, but always fair, especially to the dog.
Love to work with you again.
Monique van Weeren (and K9 Mara)”
MantrailingNL
“To sum up working with Kevin, I’d call it an “experience that will change you!” I’ve been running trailing dogs since 1989 and have been all over the country training with the who’s who in the industry. I stumbled into working with Kevin by chance. A local team had brought him in for a workshop and I saw it as just an opportunity to work my dog (new subjects, different environments and a fresh set of eyes) . What I didn’t expect was a way of seeing the work from a perspective that I had never seen before! Kevin is good at understanding and applying trailing fundamentals. He reads dogs and handlers well and knows where any given team should be at any given time. Need a solid start? Having issues with a existing program? Want to push to higher levels? He’s your guy. What made my experience different from other trainers is in the way Kevin ties the work together. He has a system, a way of viewing the working relationship between man, dog and trail that will not only challenge you to reach higher levels but will prepare you for real world application( in a way that I had never seen before). It’s a simple system that I believe is easy to learn but will take a life time to master. Tie this in with his patients, his solid understanding of trailing principles, and a obvious love for dogs; it’s a package not to be missed. The kicker is he will create challenges that will meet your proficiency level and present them in such a way that you must solve the problems based on the simple concepts he teaches. You’ll be challenged and unless your cup is already full; you’ll walk away with something that will allow you to grow for years to come. All of this he presents in a no BS way that is encouraging but not enabling. Good stuff to say the least and well worth your time and effort. A solid instructor, with a great methodology and most importantly (in my book) a good human being……….. Defiantly a top shelf experience!”
Jack Fields
“Kevin was awesome! Took our team’s out of their comfort zone and to the next level!”
Chris Thurlow
“Great expertise. Great training.”
3Zebra40
“(Translated by Google) It’s not just dog sport. But also nature. It also includes the people. Kevin is not only one of the best coaches ever. But he also takes you with him as a person. Thanks for the great impressions. Greeting Arne”
Arne Linnig
“I have known Kevin for about 12 years and trained with him once a month for 9 years with Anvak. We have been to several weekly training sessions throughout those years as well. You cannot go wrong with allowing him to train you and your dog. He adjusts his methods to your skill level to ensure you are learning the correct way to do things and challenges you at the same time. During his training you will never say wow you are predictable and if you say it while you are on a trail you are probably not in the right place. Please please please never forget your reward you will be embarrassed because according to Kevin you only have one job. It was a blast training with him and you will create memories that you will never forget. Super excited to see the new facility.”
John O’Donnell
“Kevin’s positive attitude and wealth of experience make him a great trainer. Kevin makes training fun and is able to easily communicate essential training points to create an overall positive experience. Highly recommended for anyone looking to improve/ train.”
Greg Crader
“Kevin is a wealth of knowledge. I feel that after attending the basic tracking course I have the fundamentals and abilities to be a successful tracking team.”
Kash Hasemeyer
“I’ve had the pleasure of instructing a course with Kevin. He is an excellent instructor whose focus is on giving his students the information to solve the problem themselves rather than simply giving them the answer. Kevin is the best urban trailing guy I have met and things I have learned from him have become important teaching points for my own students. Kevin is also a tactical tracking expert. I highly recommend GAK9 Idaho to the beginning handler all the way to the seasoned urban K9 teams.”
David Paulus
“Awesome training! Learned a ton from Kevin and had a blast with my dog at the same time. Would highly recommend!”
Alex Thong
“Very expierenced trainer. Kevin was able to teach me a good working baseline knowledge of tracking that has transferred over to many finds and apprehensions for my K9.”
Bradley Althauser
“Worked with trainer Kevin Baughn for years on our tactical team with training both bloodhounds and German Shepards. His experience and knowledge really shines through with setting up realistic scenarios and exercises that test and train both the dog and the handler. Highly recommend GAK9 Idaho!”
John Alldredge
“Great trainers! Very professional and experienced! Amazing team to work with! Would highly recommend!”
David Nylander
“Great training and awesome instructor. Takes time to explain what’s expected”
Derek Moye
“Five Stars”
