TURN SELECTIVE HEARING INTO REAL WORLD RELIABILITY.

Maybe every walk starts with your arm being pulled out its socket. Recall works beautifully until your dog spots something more interesting. Visitors arrive and your dog forgets how to switch off. Asking for a settle turns into a negotiation, and taking your dog in public feels more stressful than enjoyable.

Your dog is not severely reactive. They are not aggressive. They are just a bit unruly, inconsistent and far too comfortable treating your instructions as optional.

You do not need a handful of disconnected tips. You need a clear training system that starts with motivation, teaches the foundations properly and shows you how to use those skills in everyday life.

This is exactly what the Top Dog Program is built to do.

The Top Dog Program is designed to help you build the kind of dog you can genuinely enjoy living with.

With consistent work, the programme can help you develop:

- Loose lead walking that makes everyday walks more enjoyable.

- Recall that becomes increasingly dependable around distractions.

- A dog that can settle instead of pacing, pestering or stay permanently switched on.

- Clear place / bed behaviour inside the home.

- Better positions, transitions and general obedience.

- Training routines that keep practise varied and efficient.

- Clear communication so your dog understands both what you want and what needs to stop.

- Greater confidence handling your dog at home and in public.

- A strong route towards off lead reliability when completing the full optional e-collar pathway.

The aim is not to create a dog that performs only while you are holding a treat in a quiet room. The aim is to build useful obedience that fits the real world.

Results depend on the individual dog and the owners consistency. Complete the lessons, attend the private 121 sessions, use the support and put the work in, and you will give your dog every opportunity to make genuine progress.

- Your dog is seven months or older.

- Your dog pulls on the lead.

- Recall is unreliable or disappears around distractions.

- Your dog struggles to settle instead the home.

- Their manners fall apart when visitors arrive.

- They understand some commands but perform them inconsistently.

- You want progress from basic foundations and more.

- You want expert help, without having to wait a week to ask a question.

- You want to earn access to the SK9A group sessions.

- Your dog is comfortable enough around other dogs to train safely in shared environments.

THIS IS NOT THE CORRECT STARTING POINT IF:

- Your dog barks, lunges, grows or loses control around other dogs.

- You plan walks around avoiding other dogs.

- Your dog reacts because they are frightened or desperate to reach another dog.

- Your dog displays significant aggression.

- Reactivity is the main reason everyday life has become difficult.

Obedience can form part of the solution, but obedience alone does not resolve significant reactivity. If your dog reacts strongly to other dogs, the Reactivity Boot Camp is the right first step.

Need help with reactivity and obedience?

Complete the Reactivity Boot Camp and move straight into the Top Dog Program for a reduced combined price.

This route addresses the reactivity first, then builds the broader obedience, reliability and real world skills covered in the Top Dog Program.

Online only training can leave you wondering whether your timing is right. Traditional weekly lessons can leave you trying to remember a mountain of information after each session ends.

The top dog program combines both formats so each one does the job its best at.

The training app gives you daily instructions and theory in a clear order. You can rewatch the training whenever needed and when suits you, instead of trying to remember everything from one conversation.

Your FOUR private 121 sessions are then used to sharpen the work, solve problems and focus on the areas where you and your dog actually need help.

If your dog already has a decent ”sit” but recall is falling apart, we do not waste a private session teaching the sit again. You work through the programme first, then we stay one step ahead and use your in person time where it has the most value.

Add to the mix direct trainer messaging to answer burning questions or review a video, and a community of owners doing the work alongside you, you are never left trying to piece the programme together alone.

Training is much easier when your dog actually wants to work with you.

Before the 45 day programme begins, you receive the Motivation Program. This stage teaches you how to build useful motivation and establish clear communication markers before even tackling the full obedience syllabus.

Some dogs complete this stage in two or three days. Others need a week or full two weeks. We allow up to 14 days because moving quickly without the foundations would only make the main programme harder.

At the end, you will film an Approve my marker video and post this inside the community. A trainer will review your communication and motivation. Once it is ready, your markers are approved and the Top Dog Program is unlocked.

No guesswork. No rushing ahead with shaky foundations. We make sure the engine is running before asking the car to move.

Motivation and Engagement

You will learn how to use food and toys to create a dog that wants to participate. The goal is productive motivation, not waving a biscuit around and hoping for the best.

Clear Communication

You will establish markers that tell your dog when they have made the correct choice. When appropriate, the private sessions can also introduce a fair “no” protocol so you can make unwanted behaviour less likely instead of only rewarding what you like.

Luring, Positions and Transitions

You will build the mechanical foundations behind useful obedience. This includes guiding your dog cleanly into positions and moving between behaviours without confusion.

Loose-Lead Walking

Walking should not feel like a daily upper-body workout. You will work towards a dog that understands how to move with you instead of towing you towards every interesting smell.

Recall

You will build recall from a taught behaviour into something that can become increasingly reliable around real-world distractions. Clients following the complete e-collar route will work towards dependable off-lead freedom.

Place, Settle and the Off-Switch

A dog should be able to do nothing. You will teach place / bed behaviour and calm settling so your dog can switch off in the home rather than constantly demanding attention or creating their own entertainment.

Chained Training Routines

Training does not need to mean drilling one sit for five dull minutes. At the end of each week, you will learn how to connect the behaviours you have covered into short routines.

As the programme progresses, those routines let you revisit earlier skills while continuing to build new ones. Training becomes more efficient, more varied and easier to fit into daily life.

Every day includes a theory element and practical training. The lessons are arranged from day one through to day 45 so you always know what to work on next.

You should plan for at least two or three short training sessions each day. We use the dog’s appropriate daily food allowance during training rather than relying on separate bowl fed meals, giving you regular opportunities to practise without adding unnecessary food.

Skills do not disappear from the plan once their lesson is finished. You continue using them, then combine them into weekly routines so your dog gets repeated practice across the programme.

Walks also become part of the training. You already need to exercise your dog, so we show you how to use that time productively rather than treating training as another huge task that must be squeezed into the day.

 Forty-five days does not mean one long training session every day. It means short, useful work built into the life you already share with your dog. 

The Top Dog Program includes FOUR 121 sessions of approximately 45 minutes each.

Sessions are normally held at Sussex Canine Academy's training area in Heathfield. An alternative nearby location may occasionally be offered when it suits the dog, the training and the owners schedule. Any change of location will be agreed in advance.

You can book all FOUR 121 sessions at the start of the program to secure times that suit you, or book them as your progress and discover where you and your dog need help. Booking ahead gives you the best choice of dates. Booking as you go gives you more flexibility around emerging problems, but short notice availability may be limited.

All FOUR 121 sessions must be used within the 45 day program. There are no extensions for unused sessions, and it is your responsibility to book your sessions.

Sessions are normally available Monday to Friday. Saturday appointments are some times possible, but weekends are often used for Boot Camps and Group Classes.

You do not need to wait until the next lesson to ask a ten-second question.

Throughout the 45 days, you can message a trainer directly through the app. You can ask questions, explain a problem or upload a video for review from your phone.

Messages and videos can be submitted at any time, day or night. Trainer replies are typically provided within 24 hours. Support is available during the active 45-day programme only.

That means small problems can be corrected before they become week long habits, and you can keep moving instead of wondering whether you are doing something incorrectly.

More Than a Video Course

Inside the Sussex K9 Academy app, you will also join a community of owners working through their own training.

You can:

• Post training videos and progress updates.

• Share wins with people who understand the work involved.

• Join challenges and competitions and win prizes.

• Learn by watching other owners progress.

• Receive trainer feedback on your submitted work.

• Stay accountable throughout the 45 days.

You are still responsible for doing the training. You simply do not have to do it in isolation.

Completing day 45 does not mean doing one final recall and disappearing into the sunset.

You will receive two group sessions as a congratulations for completing the programme. You may choose from eligible Pack Walks or Neutrality Classes, and both sessions must be used within two months of completion.

Pack Walks

Pack walks take place across Sussex and Kent in varied environments. Locations may include marinas, towns, countryside routes and other urban or rural areas. This gives you opportunities to proof obedience around like-minded owners and their dogs instead of practising only in the same familiar place.

Different levels are available: (By Invitation)

• Level One: Shorter and more suitable for younger dogs, older dogs or dogs that cannot comfortably walk as far.

• Level Two: Standard on-lead group walks in varied environments.

• Level Three: Designed for non-reactive dogs with reliable recall, including suitable off-lead work around other trained dogs.

For clients completing the full Top Dog Program route, Level Three is the goal: a dog with enough obedience and recall to enjoy greater freedom around the community.

Neutrality Classes

These larger group sessions use structured exercises to help dogs practise calm, controlled behaviour around other dogs while owners continue proofing their skills.

Join the SK9A Crew

Completing a Sussex Canine Academy programme is the route into ongoing group training. Once you graduate from Top Dog, you become part of the SK9A Crew and can book future Pack Walks and Neutrality Classes separately.

Membership is for owners who continue doing the work. To keep active status, Sussex Canine Academy must see you at least once every two months through an eligible group activity. If you stop attending, you may lose access to group bookings. 

This is a training community, not a certificate you collect and forget about.