Welcome to National Tactical Police Dog Association

Our Story

Welcome to NTPDA
The purpose of the NTPDA is to raise the standard for K9 team certifications and consequently raise the level of performance of police K9 teams throughout the US. NTPDA is a different kind of certification organization. First, our certification is truly a tactical team certification, not only evaluating the dog’s performance, but the tactical competence of the team leader – the K9 officer. Our standards and training are focused on performance, competence, and safety. NTPDA certifications are available in the areas of patrol, narcotics, explosives, trailing, and article search. Coming soon will be certifications for SWAT and SAR K9s.
Further, we recognize the important role played by civilian police dog trainers in providing high quality trained dogs to law enforcement agencies all across the country. In keeping with this fact, we invite private police dog trainers to apply for membership in NTPDA. Unlike almost all other certification organizations, we invite private trainers to be full members, and encourage them to present their trained K9s for performance evaluations. While only full time certified law enforcement personnel can certify as a working K9 team, we believe private trainers can use NTPDA as a platform to show the quality of their trained K9s and keep the level of performance in the private sector high.
With the ravages of crime confronting our nation, including violent and property crime, illegal narcotics, and terrorism, NTPDA believes that the best approach to raising the bar of performance in K9 units all across the US is to fully utilize public-private partnerships, and allow private trainers to have a full voice in our organization.
NTPDA invites membership from law enforcement personnel, private police dog trainers, and anyone interested in supporting the mission of NTPDA. We believe that involving everyone who works in our industry will make for a better and stronger exchange of information, and a commitment to raise the bar of performance for K9 units everywhere.
Please browse through our website, and take a look at the certification standards. We welcome your inquiries, and welcome your participation in our organization. An application for membership is available on this website. NTPDA will host certifications, seminars & workshops, and an annual national meeting in conjunction with a national tactical police dog championship.
Jerry Bradshaw
Director
NTPDA