Training Levels & Pricing
A Fortress K9 dog is not a pet purchase. It is a serious security decision. This page will help you understand the training levels, exact investment, and which option may be the right fit for your family.
The right dog gives your family stability, control, and real-world protection capability. The wrong dog can create risk, confusion, and false confidence. Start here before choosing.
When Your Family’s Safety Is the Problem,
the Right Dog Is Worth It
Most people do not start looking for a protection dog because life feels perfectly secure.
They start looking because something has changed.
Maybe the neighborhood feels different. Maybe travel has become more concerning. Maybe your home, business, or family has more visibility than it used to. Or maybe you have simply realized that cameras record, alarms alert, and locks only slow someone down.
But none of those tools stand beside your wife when you are away. None of them move between your children and a threat. None of them make decisions in real time.
That is the gap a Fortress K9 dog is trained to fill.
A true family protection dog gives you more than a warning system. It gives your family a stable companion that can live peacefully in your home, travel with you, obey under pressure, and respond when a real threat appears.
That kind of dog is not cheap.
But neither is false confidence.
If you are only looking for a pet, this will seem expensive.
If you are looking for real protection, the value becomes clear.
A Fortress K9 dog is worth it because the right dog can change how safely your family lives.
Fortress K9 Training Levels and Pricing
Every Fortress K9 protection dog is trained to be obedient, stable, and safe to live with. The difference between each level is how much real-world protection training, scenario work, and pressure testing the dog has completed.
Start with the level that fits your family, your lifestyle, and the type of threat preparation you want.
Core Protection Dog
$30,000
If you want a stable, obedient dog with foundational protection capability, then a Core Protection Dog is the right decision.
A Core Protection Dog is the entry point into the Fortress K9 protection dog program. This dog is trained for strong obedience, home stability, controlled aggression, bite deployment, and recall from the bite.
Right for:
Owners who want a serious protection-capable dog, but do not need advanced scenario work, public movement training, or pressure-tested real-world fighting skills.
Includes:
Full obedience
House training
Socialization
Watch command
Bite deployment
Recall from bite
5 days of Family Integration Training
Lifetime client support
Most Families Start Here
Family Protection Dog
$50,000
If you want a protection dog trained for the most realistic family security scenarios, then a Family Protection Dog is the right decision.
A Family Protection Dog includes the obedience, stability, and foundational protection work of the Core level, then adds real-world scenario training designed around family defense.
Right for:
Families who want a dog that is stable in normal home life and trained for threats in public, around vehicles, and inside the home.
Includes:
Everything in Core Protection Dog
Muzzle work
Ground-fighting exposure
Collar-control resistance
Attack on handler scenarios
Vehicle attack scenarios
Home invasion scenarios
Gunfire exposure
5 days of Family Integration Training
Lifetime client support
Elite Protection Dogs
$75,000
If you want the highest level of Fortress K9 preparation, then an Elite Protection Dog is the right decision.
An Elite Protection Dog includes everything in the Family Protection Dog level, then adds advanced public, tactical, and dynamic threat-response training.
Right for:
Clients who need the highest level of preparation for travel, public movement, crowds, multiple attackers, gunfire, and demanding security concerns.
Includes:
Everything in Family Protection Dog
Crowd deployment
Multiple attacker work
Deployment under gunfire
Recall under gunfire
Dynamic movement drills
Fast directional commands
Cover and movement integration
5 days of Family Integration Training
Lifetime client support
Need More Time to Plan the Investment?
A Fortress K9 Protection Dog is a serious investment, but the full investment does not always have to be made at once.
Some families need a trained protection dog as soon as possible and have the financial means to move quickly. When that is the case, we can discuss dogs that may be ready on a shorter timeline.
Other families know a protection dog is the right direction, but need more time to plan, prepare, and complete the investment.
For those families, Fortress K9 can structure the purchase around a longer timeline. If you need up to two years to pay off your dog, we can select a dog that will be ready within the timeframe you choose and spread payments across the training period.
The goal is not to rush the decision.
The goal is to match the right dog, the right timeline, and the right family.
Two Practical Paths
Need a dog sooner?
If your family is ready and financially prepared, we can discuss dogs that may be available on a shorter timeline.
Need more time?
If your family needs months or up to two years, we can plan around that timeline and select a dog whose training schedule fits your payment schedule.
Either way, fit comes first.
The right dog matters more than the fastest dog.
Use this chart to quickly compare the main differences between Fortress K9 protection dog levels.
| Feature | Core Protection Dog | Family Protection Dog | Elite Protection Dog |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full obedience | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| House training | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Socialization | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Watch command | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bite deployment | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Recall from bite | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Muzzle work | No | Yes | Yes |
| Ground-fighting exposure | No | Yes | Yes |
| Collar-control resistance | No | Yes | Yes |
| Attack on handler scenarios | No | Yes | Yes |
| Vehicle attack scenarios | No | Yes | Yes |
| Home invasion scenarios | No | Yes | Yes |
| Gunfire exposure | No | Yes | Yes |
| Crowd deployment | No | No | Yes |
| Multiple attacker work | No | No | Yes |
| Deploy/recall under gunfire | No | No | Yes |
| Dynamic movement drills | No | No | Yes |
Included With Every Fortress K9 Protection Dog
Every trained Fortress K9 protection dog includes more than the dog itself. You are also receiving the equipment, instruction, and support needed to help your family integrate the dog correctly.
Included with every trained protection dog:
- 5 days of Family Integration Training
- Lifetime client support
- Modern Icon rigid flat collar
- Herm Sprenger prong collar
- Fortress K9 Multi-Purpose Lead
- Guidance on handling, obedience, home integration, and maintaining control
The goal is not just to send you home with a trained dog. The goal is to make sure your family understands how to live with, handle, and maintain that dog with confidence.
Optional At-Home Family Integration Training
Every trained Fortress K9 protection dog includes 5 days of Family Integration Training at our facility.
For clients who want the dog introduced directly into the home environment where it will live and operate, we also offer at-home Family Integration Training.
At-home training investment:
$10,000
This option allows us to work with your family, your dog, and your property directly. We can walk through your home routines, entrances, vehicles, yard, sleeping areas, and likely security scenarios in the actual environment where the dog will be expected to perform.
We can also introduce the dog to your veterinarian’s office, allowing the dog to experience vet visit routines under your guidance and with Fortress K9 support before you are managing that environment alone.
Best for:
Families who want the strongest possible transition, especially when the home environment, property layout, children, pets, vehicles, or security concerns require more hands-on integration.
Training schedule:
Training is typically conducted from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM each day, or until the dog and client have reached maximum benefit for that day. However, At-Home Training gives you more access to our trainer.
This is not required for every client, but it is the most complete way to integrate a Fortress K9 dog into your real home life from day one.
Additional Training Options
Guard an Object
This training teaches the dog to guard a specific object or area under direction from the handler.
Best for:
Clients who want the dog to help secure items, bags, vehicles, rooms, or designated areas when appropriate.
$5,000
Tracking Training
Tracking training develops the dog’s ability to follow human scent and locate a person or trail under guided conditions.
Best for:
Clients who want additional capability for property, rural settings, lost-person concerns, or advanced working-dog development.
$10,000
Other Fortress K9 Options
Not every client needs a fully trained protection dog. If a protection dog is not the right fit right now, Fortress K9 also offers other paths depending on your goals, timeline, and level of commitment.
Option 1
Companion / Service Dog
$15,000–$30,000
For families or individuals who want a highly trained, stable, obedient dog without full protection training.
Best for:
Clients who want strong obedience, house manners, public stability, and a serious dog that fits into daily life without the responsibility of a trained protection dog.
Option 2
Fortress K9 Puppy
$2,500–$5,500
For buyers who want to start with the right genetics and raise the dog from the beginning.
Basic Puppies are not trained, but they do receive Early Neurological Stimulation during early development.
Advanced Puppies receive Early Neurological Stimulation as well, plus introductory training for crate training and the five basic obedience commands: sit, lay, wait, come, and walk at your side.
Best for:
Owners who understand that a puppy is not a shortcut. It requires structure, consistency, training, and time.
Option 3
In-Person Training
$1,500–$3,000
For owners who already have a suitable dog and want to train directly with Fortress K9.
The most economical path toward a Fortress K9 protection dog is to start with the right puppy, build the foundation yourself, and then come to Fortress K9 for in-person protection training.
For many committed owners, that path looks like this:
Fortress K9 Puppy → K9 Academy obedience foundation → In-Person Training with Fortress K9
This route requires more time, discipline, and consistency from the owner, but it allows you to build from Fortress K9 genetics while developing the dog through our training system over time.
Best for:
Owners who have more time than budget, want to be deeply involved in the dog’s development, and are willing to do the daily work required to build toward protection training.
Not Sure Which Option Fits Your Family?
That is exactly what the consultation is for.
A Fortress K9 dog should fit your family, your home, your lifestyle, your timeline, and your actual security concerns. If you are unsure whether you need a Core Protection Dog, Family Protection Dog, Elite Protection Dog, puppy, companion dog, or in-person training, start with a conversation.
We will help you understand the right path without pushing you toward something that does not make sense.