A person wearing grey sitting on a green picnic table. Theres a black shepherd to the left, black lab in the middle, and yellow retriever to the right all laying down looking at the camera. There's grass and trees in the background.

About the Trainer

Kathryn DuPre

Kathryn is the main trainer at DeltaK9. She grew up surrounded by family dogs, but during high school began working with her own dogs during her free time. This is where the journey really began. After graduating high school, Kathryn decided dog training was a career path she wanted to pursue.

In January 2021 Kathryn traveled from Washington State to Texas to attend Starmark Academy for Professional Dog Trainers. During the 16 week program she learned how to train using balanced methods in a variety of fields including obedience, behavior modification, trick training, agility, nose work, and more!

After completing the course, she graduated with certificate - “Master Canine Training and Behavior Specialist” - and a certification in Canine First Aid and CPR.

From there, she wanted to continue gaining practice before opening her own business. She spent a year training for a facility in Texas, before making the move back to Washington to begin DeltaK9.

A long hair black shepherd sitting on a brick pathway looking up at the camera. She is panting with her tongue and lower teeth visable.

Delta

Delta is a Shiloh Shepherd, and the namesake of DeltaK9. Delta is the dog that made this all possible. Prior to Delta, Kathryn was battling some severe health issues and struggling with day to day activities. Delta was obtained with the intent of becoming a service dog to assist Kathryn. Little did anyone know, Delta would create a complete turn around in Kathryn’s life.

Delta is a medical alert and response service dog. Having her has allowed Kathryn to have independence, including moving across the country to attend dog training school.

Delta is trained in various tasks including medical alerts, picking up dropped items, and mobility tasks. She is also trained in advanced obedience, agility, rally-o, and is a demo dog.

A red merle mini aussie with one blue and one brown eye sits in a patch of green ivy. He's looking up at the camera with his mouth open.

Zippy

Zippy is a Miniature American Shepherd. He was obtained when Kathryn was living at home with her family as a pet. He had some severe behavioral issues including anxiety, resource guarding, and aggression towards other dogs at the time of adoption. Kathryn had an interest in how to improve his quality of life and learning how to manage his behavioral issues. After seeing how his quality of life improved, Kathryn became interested in helping other dogs improve and live a healthier life as well.

Along with his behavioral modification journey, he is also trained in obedience and tricks.

A tan shepherd with a black face "mask" and black guard hairs lays in dirt, surrounded by orange and green pumpkins. he is looking up at the camera with his mouth open.

Flynt

Flynt is half Shiloh Shepherd, half Belgian Tervuren. He was obtained in April 2022 as a 2 month old puppy with his goals being sport work.

So far he has competed in disc, and is working on preparing for obedience, rally, agility, weight pull, and dock diving!

Flynt has worked through some common Tervuren problems such as barking at strange things.

A yellow retriever with light eyes and a pink nose lays down on a grey concrete floor. He's wearing a black leash and looking at the camera.

Teddy Bear (Ted)

Ted was a rescue dog that Kathryn was assigned and trained while at Starmark Academy. He is assumed to be a Yellow Labrador Retriever mix. He began training with severe anxiety around strangers and overall lacking confidence. According to the shelter he was found running loose on a farm with multiple other dogs after the farmer called animal control.

Ted learned how to trust people, along with basic obedience, home manners, tricks, and narcotics detection.

Kathryn adopted Ted from Starmark. From there, she found him a loving home in Washington where he happily resides now.

A young black lab sitting in a field of green grass. He is looking at the camera with his tongue out in a "blep".

Chance

Chance is a Black Labrador Retriever. He is a family friends dog who Kathryn took to Starmark Academy with her. While there, he was trained in a variety of things including advanced obedience, tricks, service dog tasks, and nose work.

When he returned home to his family after 16 weeks, he learned how to behave around the household cats, and had a foundation for service work like his family intended to pursue with him. He’s currently living his happiest life with them!