Jason Purgason, CPDT-KA - Training Director

Jason Purgason is the Training Director of Highland Canine Training, LLC and has over twenty years of experience in working with dogs and their owners. He is a Certified Pet Dog Trainer and is also a Certified Canine Good Citizen Evaluator and S.T.A.R Puppy Instructor and evaluator for the American Kennel Club. Jason has trained dogs for competition obedience, agility, herding, police patrol, SWAT, narcotics detection, explosives detection, mold detection, human remains detection, urban search and rescue, wilderness search and rescue, water cadaver, trailing and tracking for both Schutzhund, AKC and other competitive events. Jason is the lead instructor for Highland Canine Training's School for Dog Trainers and teaches students how to establish and run their own successful dog training businesses.

Dog Training and Behavior Consulting

Jason Purgason is a certified professional dog trainer and dog behavior expert that specializes in providing clients with practical solutions to their dog's training and behavior problems. Jason is one of an elite group of professional dog trainers nationally certified by the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers through criteria based on humane training practices, a high level of competence, validated experience, and the latest scientific knowledge related to dog training. Veterinarians throughout the Charlotte, Statesville and Lake Norman areas refer their clients to Jason for professional training and behavior consulting. Jason is a well-known public speaker and educator on dog behavior, and regularly gives presentations to local veterinarians and their clinic staff, boarding and grooming, community groups, and to the public.

Jason has been training and rehabilitating dogs for years and has a reputation for providing successful solutions to some of the toughest training and behavioral problems. He performs behavioral screenings of dogs for local shelters and rescue groups, presents lectures to their volunteers and adopters on topics including behavioral analysis, behavior problems, socialization and bite prevention. He is a preferred trainer and behavior consultant for a number of shelters and rescue organizations in the Charlotte and Lake Norman areas of North Carolina. Jason has successfully rehabilitated hundreds of dogs throughout the East Coast with problems such as fear aggression, dominance aggression, phobic behaviors, social anxieties, neurotic behaviors and more. Jason takes unique and innovative approaches to analyzing and rehabilitating these problem behaviors. His methods for rehabilitating such behaviors are determined on a case-by-case basis and Jason feels as though taking a "cookie cutter" approach to training and working with dogs is a recipe for failure.

Jason continues his education and strives to keep up-to-date on the latest methods, techniques and practices in the field of dog training and behavior modification. He continues to take courses, and attend seminars and forums to ensure that he is using the best methods in his practical approach to training and problem solving for dogs and owners.

Working Dog Experience

Jason is a former police canine handler and K9 supervisor. Jason has trained and certified police patrol and detection dogs through a number of national organizations, some of which include:

United States Police Canine Association
Eastern States Working Dog Association
International Police Working Dog Association
National Narcotics Detector Dog Association

Jason is the founder and chief evaluator for the American Police Dog Tactics Association, a national organization that offers training and certification for police canine teams. Jason is also an evaluator for the Office of Homeland Security for the State of Mississippi for their working dog teams. Jason has instructed seminars for Police Canine Handlers at NASA, the Pentagon Police and for many other professional, government and law enforcement teams across the world. Some of these seminars include:

Tactical Building Search Theory & Applications Seminar, 2004.
     York Regional PD, New Freedom, PA.
Advanced Explosives Detection Seminar, 2005
     NASA and Pentagon Police, Greenbelt, MD
Advanced Narcotics & Explosives Detection Seminar, 2006
     NC State and local Law Enforcement, NC
Advanced Narcotics & Explosives Detection Seminar, 2007
     Central Piedmont Community College, Huntersville, NC
Police K-9 & SWAT Applications Seminar, 2007
     Charlote-Mecklenburg PD, Charlotte, NC
Advanced Explosives Detection - Police K-9 & SWAT Applications, 2007
     Eglin Air Force Base, Fort Walton Beach, FL
Advanced Explosives Detection - Police K-9 & SWAT Applications, 2007
     Olive Security Training Center, Nesbit, MS
Basic Search and Rescue Techniques Seminar, 2007
     National Police and Fire, Sao Paulo, SP Brazil
Advanced Search and Rescue Techniques Seminar, 2008
     National Police and Fire, Sao Paulo, SP Brazil
Search and Rescue Fundamentals Seminar, 2008
     Office of Homeland Security, Meridian, MS
Tactical Police K-9 Applications and Decoy Techniques, 2008
     Policial Jundiai. Jundiai, SP Brazil
Advanced Explosives Detection - Police K-9 & SWAT Applications, 2008
     Brazilian Marine Corps. Central Nuclear Technology Center, Ipero, SP Brazil
Police Canine Decoy Seminar, 2009
     State and local Law Enforcement, NC
Police Canine Applications Seminar and Certification, 2009
     American Police Dog Tactics Association, Robbinsville, NC
K9 Unit Management and Supervision Seminar, 2009
     Marietta Police Department, Marietta, GA
Police K9 Handler School & Advanced Detection and Interdiction, 2009
     Policial Seguridad Vial, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Jason has trained and certified hundreds of police canine, detection and search and rescue teams. He has been certified as a general law enforcement instructor and as an expert witness in the application of police canines. At Highland Canine Training, LLC, Jason conducts handler courses, Police K9 and Search and Rescue Trainer's Courses, and seminars for Patrol, Detection and Search and Rescue Teams. He also offers consulting to departments and agencies requiring help establishing new canine units, maintaining effective dog programs or simply increasing effectiveness or productivity.

Dog Training Associations and Memberships

Certified Pet Dog Trainer through Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers
Member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers
American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen Evaluator
Member of the Humane Society of Iredell
Member of the Humane Society of Catawba County

Contact Jason at 704.728.9494 or email him at jpurgason@highlandcanine.com