Ascension Canine Training

16/10/2025

American Tactical K9 2025 🇺🇸

Last week I was stateside teaching at ATK9 - the first Australian to ever do so. I conducted a one day class, four times over the five day event (day three was for meeting vendors). I instructed approximately 38 K9 handlers, from about 25 different agencies from across the USA.

I felt nervous teaching a one day class, when I am well used to delivering a four to five day type offering. Fortunately the class was well received with some fantastic feedback received.

I had handlers who work in varied environments, as well as handlers who had been shot at on felony tracks. All had a great attitude to training, and left better prepared for future high risk tracks.

I was lucky to have Ezra King and Chris Ramirez who came and laid tracks throughout the week for me. This made the week even better for the handlers who only had to listen and then handle their own dog.

It was quite a sight to see how many Australians were present at ATK9. Two Aussies were decoying for Paul Ludwig (Irondog K9), and a couple of Australian agencies sent multiple dog handlers to observe the week.

📷 O&J Wikner Photography

04/10/2025

USA bound ✈️

This is a significant milestone in my time training dogs. I'm thrilled to be the first Australian invited to instruct at ATK9.

Teaching what I know about reading dogs when tracking in order to gain the advantage over armed adversaries is something I'm deeply passionate about.

The audience (US Police from across the country) face profoundly dangerous conditions and I hope the teams I work with will leave my class even more capable to defeat the threats they face.

INTERPRETING K9 BODY LANGUAGE ON THE TRACK & DEVELOPING THE PROXIMITY ALERT 🚨

25/09/2025

Run your dog, not your mouth 🤙

Gaston demonstrates a flawless example of working through extreme distraction.

Video to follow soon.

Dog training is easy to talk about. Actually backing up your assertions up with demonstrations is a lot harder than talking a good talk.

23/09/2025

I recently provided a five-day training package to Corrections Victoria focussed on tracking training.

This unit already has some highly experienced dog handlers with great knowledge about tracking with a dog. I came in to provide a more expansive view of developing dogs from the beginning right through to the end in this art form.

One of the benefits of the GAK9 system I teach is the speed at which results can be achieved, and multiple dogs were certified under double blind conditions by the end of the week.

I have to thank Josh and Brent for coming out lying tracks and offering their own valuable insights into that niche skillset. It is not as simple as just going for a walk in the bush.

Thanks to Corrections Victoria for bringing me in and working so hard throughout the week. It was a privilege for me to work with a great unit.

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22/09/2025

I'll be instructing at ATK9 in two weeks time 🇺🇸

This will be a career highlight, and significant as I'm the first Australian to be invited to this high level conference. Instructing alongside big industry names like Simon Prins among many others is just amazing.

SAMS: my travel and activity will be conducted exclusively with five-eyes country members and conforms to legislation which applies to me.

10/09/2025

Great example of how profoundly powerful a well trained proximity alert can be.

08/09/2025

I recently had the privilege to conduct a course for NTPOL’s Dog Operations Unit focussed on developing and deepening understanding of the canine’s proximity alert when tracking.

We worked from dawn to dusk everyday over five days, and some fantastic learning outcomes were achieved. The teams were excellent and worked with an open mind throughout.

I was aided by Josh and Jay, who spent many hours in the Darwin bush laying in wait for the teams to come find them. The week would not have been as successful without their assistance and input, and I cannot thank them enough.

It is a career highlight for to be able to work such a professional and highly competent organisation such as the NTPOL’s DOU, and I am grateful to have been afforded the opportunity to do so.

📷 &J Wikner Photography

01/09/2025

Always some nice smiles at GAK9 Australia workshops 😁

📷 O&J Wikner Photography

29/08/2025

🎶No one poops like Gaston 🎶

📷 O&J Wikner Photography

28/08/2025

The Proximity Alert ⚠️

This is life saving training and also simultaneously improves handler ability to read changes of behaviour when interacting with odour pools.

This video is an extremely simplified example of a proximity alert by my dog Gaston. I have PowerPoint presentations on this topic and can happily eat up two weeks full time training this skill.

Nevertheless this video is a good example of a finished proximity alert behaviour.

27/08/2025

Off leash fire trails are how we get dogs started in the GAK9 system of mantrailing 🐕‍🦺

Working off leash means dogs get to use their senses and learn for themselves how to work odour efficiently, with no human interference, and self regulate arousal to optimum levels.

This method lays the foundation for the dozens of elements needed to produce a well rounded and capable tracking dog.

📷 O&J Wikner Photography