About Good Form K9

Meet Jake Mercer

I came to dog training the long way. Before I ever ran a group obedience class, I spent six years as a military working dog handler with the US Army. I worked patrol dogs and detection dogs in environments where the training either worked or it didn't, and the stakes were real. That background shaped everything about how I approach this work.

When I got out in 2010, I knew I wanted to stay in the dog world. I took a job as a kennel tech, then as an assistant trainer, and eventually launched Good Form K9 Training in 2012. Twelve years and over 400 dogs later, I've worked with everything from 8-week-old Labrador puppies to adult dogs with serious behavioral histories that other trainers had given up on.

The name "Good Form" means something specific to me. It's a concept borrowed from athletics. Good form isn't flashy. It's the fundamentals executed correctly, consistently, over time. That's exactly what separates a trained dog from one that just learned some tricks.

Training Background

My military training was built on operant conditioning long before I could name it. We used high-value reinforcement, precise timing, and systematic proofing. The methods looked different from what you'd see in a pet training class, but the underlying science was the same. When I earned my CPDT-KA certification and started studying the behavioral science more formally, a lot of pieces fell into place.

I've continued my education through seminars with trainers including Ken Ramirez, Susan Garrett, and Dr. Ian Dunbar. I've completed coursework through the Academy for Dog Trainers and attended multiple ClickerExpo conferences. This isn't a field where you stop learning. Animal behavior science keeps developing and the best trainers keep up with it.

I'm also a Fear Free Certified Professional. That certification matters to me because low-stress handling isn't just about being nice to dogs. It directly affects their ability to learn. A dog that's stressed and anxious can't absorb information the same way a dog in a positive emotional state can. Every session here is designed with that in mind.

Training Methods

I work exclusively with positive reinforcement and marker-based training. I don't use punishment-based methods, prong collars, e-collars, or compulsion. This isn't a philosophical position I arrived at easily. It's what 12 years of results-driven work has shown me to be the most effective approach for the vast majority of dogs and situations.

Why Portland Chose Good Form

Portland is a dog city. People here take their dogs everywhere and expect them to handle it. That's a high bar and it's the right one. The dogs I work with aren't competing in obedience trials, mostly. They're going to breweries, hiking in Forest Park, riding MAX, and living in apartments with neighbors. The training has to work in those real environments.

I cap group classes at six dogs deliberately. Other programs take 10, 12, or more. That's fine for the business model, but it's not fine for the training. In a class of 6, I can watch every team and give specific feedback every session. That's the difference between a class that produces reliably trained dogs and one that produces certificates of participation.

I say no a fair amount. If a dog's history or behavioral presentation is outside what I can effectively address, I'll say so and refer you to a veterinary behaviorist. I'd rather be honest about my limitations than take your money and your time when the right answer is a different kind of help.