Top Tier K9 Launches Virtual Reality Dog Training Program

Top Tier K9 has released its Virtual Reality Dog Training Program, an experience enabling shelters, dog trainers and owners to practice training pets and working dogs in a virtual environment.

Top Tier K9 is recognized as one of the top dog trainer schools in the world. They train both people and dogs. Their programs teach people to become professional dog trainers and successful business owners. Their Academy for Dog Trainers provides professional dog training lessons and support courses in business, project management, sales and marketing. Through their trademarked Foundation Dog Program, Top Tier K9 trains working dogs for careers in the military, security, police, sports, service and more. They provide comprehensive obedience, tracking, nosework and protection training.

Through their programs, Top Tier K9 realized the biggest challenge with dog training isn’t training dogs – it’s training owners. When owners or handlers use the wrong training methods, they can enforce destructive behaviors or incorrect responses from the dog.

Currently, competitor programs execute training and handling methods in direct contact with actual dogs. As a result, a dog’s behavioral patterns may become permanently affected. Using instructional videos for these programs are ineffective at engaging dog trainers/owners without the hands-on experience.

Top Tier K9 turned to Saritasa, a leading custom software development and technology company, to provide their training solutions to the pet industry and build a better communication system between humans and dogs. Saritasa utilized VR to achieve this objective, building the platform in Unity for Meta Quest 2. Top Tier K9 is the world’s first platform granting worldwide access to dog trainers, handlers and owners seeking high-quality training programs for dogs using cutting-edge technology.

Top Tier K9’s VR dog training platform starts in a 3D-rendered Top Tier K9 training center. The program guides users through putting a collar and leash on a dog. The experience then trains users on the top 5 commands: Sit, Climb, Down, Come and Heel. It uses markers – Yes and No – prior to rewarding or correcting the dog. The user must give commands in 1.3-second intervals to exploit the attention span/memory of a dog.

The training platform is available to license through Top Tier K9 franchisees, Top Tier K9 certified dog trainers and participating animal shelters.

“My vision is for dog owners to adopt this tool to practice training a virtual dog before they work with their own dog,” said Jeff Minder, CEO and Founder of Top Tier K9. Jeff is a Master Dog Trainer specializing in advanced puppy imprinting, including obedience, tracking, scent detection and protection (Foundation Dog Program).

Aaron Franko, VP of Immersive Technology in Saritasa, said that this new application of VR could potentially open doors for the technology’s use in other avenues.

For more information visit: Saritasa.