Andy Falco-Jimenez

Andy is the President of Falco Enterprises, Inc. and the Director of Falco K9 Academy. Andy has been working with Police Dogs since 1986. He has taken everything he has learned over that time to improve the way Police Dogs are trained today. In short, he has created a more effective and humane form of training for both the dog and handler. "I am proud of the fact that we are more human trainers than dog trainers. I truly believe that makes us far more effective than the other guys and gals."

CEO, Falco Enterprises, Inc / Falco K9 Academy

Director of Jake’s Dog Foundation (non profit)
25 years Police K9 Handler / Instructor
25 years Detection Dogs Handler / Instructor
SWAT Team Member Anaheim PD– K9
Police Officer, K9 Handler
President - Orange County Police Canine Association, Retired
In-house K9 Unit Trainer Anaheim Police Department, California, Retired
Author of 3 Dog Training Books and several magazine articles
Instructor and Lead Trainer International Police Canine Conferences
State of California POST K9 Evaluator
Explosive and Narcotics Detection Dog Trainer for the Disney Corporation
Certified Evaluator for the World Detector Dog Organization
Court Recognized expert for Patrol and Detection Dog cases
Director of Detection Dog Services

Read the complete bio.

History
Andy Jimenez is the President of Falco Enterprises, Inc. a company specializing in the training of humans and their dogs. The company additionally supports these customers with products and services. Andy is also the director of the training academy named, Falco K9 Academy. The academy and company are named after Andy’s former K9 partner, Falco von Aramis. Andy and Falco worked as a Police K9 Unit from 1989 to 1996 for the Anaheim Police Department in California. During this period Andy became passionate about Police K9 training and dog training in general. After traveling throughout North America and Europe in seek dog training and behavior knowledge, Andy developed Falco K9 Academy in 1995.

Director of Falco’s Police K9 Academy
Falco K9 Academy trains the handlers and dogs for Anaheim Police Department, Orange Police Department, Tustin Police Department, Palm Springs and Indio Police locally. Nationally and internationally, Andy has selected and/or training dogs for departments in Washington, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Florida, Texas, Ohio, Colorado, Oregon, Arizona, Washington DC, Connecticut, Main, Rhode Island, New York, Alberta, Ontario, Spain and Portugal.

Director of Falco’s Detection Dog Academy
As a detection dog handler, Andy realized the potential for using dogs to detect anything that has an odor. In addition to the usual Narcotics and Bomb detection disciplines Andy has developed training programs for new and innovative jobs such as Mold, Arson, lost children and more.
This expertise has led to contracts with one of the largest companies in the world, Disney; police departments in North America; and entrepreneurs in the Mold detection industry from coast to coast.

Instructor, International Police K9 Conference
As an instructor for the International Police K9 Conference, Andy travels throughout North America 4 to 5 times a year and instructs K9 handlers and administrators on the dog behavior, training, liabilities and use of police K9s. At each conference there are 40 to 60 students who attend the weeklong conference. Andy is the lead instructor for the “Problem Solving” section of the school. Problem solving is an unstructured class were student’s request help on any aspect of dog behavior and police K9 training. In the 5 years of conducting this class Andy has been faced with hundreds questions and “problems” from aggression issues to weakness in searching behaviors.

California Police K9 Evaluator
Every Police K9 team must pass a minimum standard to receive certification from California’s Police Officer’s Standards and Training office. The office has certified very few officials to judge the hundreds of K9 teams within the state. Andy Jimenez has been a state certifier for approximately 6 years (Since POST created the Standard).

Director of Falco’s Civilian Dog Training Academy
Andy realized it was more important to educate and train the human about the dog and developed a program to reflect this concept. Once people understood how a dog thinks and how they communicate it was easier for them to understand the basic concepts of training. This type of training is most important when dealing with aggression from a dog. If the human knows why a dog is showing aggression it is more likely they will know how to avoid an injury or correct the behavior before it occurs.
Additionally, it was important for Andy and all the Academy’s trainers, to have a complete understanding of all forms and means of dog training. Not one form of training works for all humans and dogs. For instance a very passive dog who loves food will be very easy to motivate with treats while another dog who is strong willed and not crazy for food may need to be trained by means of correction based training. With this formula, Falco has become very successful in the dog-training field. Falco currently has individual in-home training and group training throughout Southern California.

Court Recognized Expert
Since 1990 when Andy testified as an expert in a narcotics detection case in Los Angeles Federal Court (Anaheim Police Department criminal case), he has continued to be sought after in cases of all types involving dogs. From detection; to use of force; to slip and fall case and Pit Bull fight rings. He has testified or reviewed cases throughout the United States.

World Detection Dog Organization
In 2002 the WDDO was created and the first trainer requested to become the master trainer and certifier was Andy Falco Jimenez. Andy is responsible for assisting the leadership in maintaining a high standard for the membership and certification standards.

Author

8-Week Dog Training Manual
Decoying for the Modern Patrol Dog
Detection Dog Handler’s Manual

Nicole Reusser

Nicole comes to us from Switzerland. She trains Search and Rescue with US&R California Task Force 5.

Urban Search and Rescue
Member of Southern California Schutzhund Club
Experience with HRD training
Starting Nosework training
Obedience (CGC) Training
Experience with working dogs
From Switzerland, familiar with many European and US training theories and ideas
Degree in Computer Science
Started and lead a successful software engineering firm

How to find a trainer and what to look for in a trainer?

There are many things you should look for in a trainer for you and your dog. But before you ask the following questions, keep in mind that your time and well-being at stake. And most of all, your dog's overall well-being is also at stake when looking for a qualified service provider. Take care when making your selection to insure your time and money are well spent. Remember, you want training to be long lasting and appropriate for you and your best friend…your dog. You will also want to develop a relationship with your service provider for when circumstances change…including bringing in a new dog or family member to the home.

Questions to ask a potential service provider (dog trainer):

1.What is your over all experience in the dog training industry?

For a comparison, Falco K9 Academy has over 85 years of experience in the dog training industry. The owner Andy Falco has over 25 years by himself.

2.What experience do you have in training dogs and humans?

For a comparison, the trainers at Falco K9 Academy have been training dogs for Police and other Governmental agencies for over 25 years. They have trained dogs for police and military use throughout the world. We have trained dogs for search and rescue deployments in disaster areas or rescue missions in rural areas and collapsed buildings. We have trained dog teams to work at Disneyland to International Airports to the Mall of America in which they will be working around Millions of people annually. And since 1995 we have been training pet dogs in homes for thousands of happy clients.
Most importantly, the trainers at Falco K9 Academy are effective trainers of HUMANS. We have been keynote speakers in trade shows, conferences and shows all over the world…including Europe and South America.

3.What percentage of training focuses on the dog?

As a comparison, at Falco K9 Academy, nearly 80% of the training focuses on the Human and not the dog. This is important because it is the dog owner/s who need to know how to create the perfect family pet. That is why our tag line is…"Human Training for your Dog." If in the case where your dog is in a board and train system, we make sure you understand how to maintain the training we conducted with your dog after our time is spent with the dog.

4.Do you provide a comparable low price guarantee?

Falco K9 Academy will guarantee our prices meet or beat any other service provider who has our qualifications and experience.

5.What is your guarantee on detection dogs and protection dogs?

At Falco K9 Academy we fully guarantee all of our dogs. If the dog is not effective (which has only happened once in 20 years) we will replace the dog. We always stay in contact with our customers and will make sure you are completely satisfied.

6.Do you provide a money back guarantee?

Falco K9 Academy has provided a money back guarantee since we founded the company. If you do not feel we provided quality service, that will last you during the lifetime of the dog, we will give 100% of your money back.

7.Do you maintain liability insurance?

Falco K9 Academy maintains a liability insurance policy with The Hartford Insurance Company since 1995.

8.What form of training do you use?

All the trainers at Falco K9 Academy are experts in human and dog training period. For us, that means we know how to use all the tools available to accomplish the task at hand. A company or individual who is limited by one or only a couple techniques of training is limited in their flexibility of training a dog and handler who combined have hundreds of variables. In other words, a dog and each individual in the family (pack) can have countless variability's that affect the relationship and understanding of leadership. Trainers who are limited by only using food or only using an electronic collar have a small number of personalities who must already be in sync on some level. Falco K9 Academy is a reward-based system that uses the technique that is appropriate for you and your dog.