Hey!

I'm Duke Ferguson, and I teach dog trainers and dog owners like you a system that will increase motivation, enhance attention, and strengthen your relationship so your dog will joyfully respond with heart and soul.

NePoPo® Certified

Duke Ferguson is the owner, CEO and master trainer of Unleashed Potential K9 Academy. At UPK9 Academy, Duke coaches and works with dog trainers who want to excel in their own dog training businesses as well as those who are interested in becoming part of the Unleashed Potential family of trainers.

In the late fall and winter months, Duke travels around the world teaching dog training seminars, and in the summer, he likes to spend his time in beautiful Prince Edward Island with student trainers and clients. During his free time, you'll most likely find him boating and sport fishing on one of PEI's many river systems!

A Boy and His Dog

How it all began...

Duke was born with a passion for the outdoors and animals; dogs and predatory animals being his main interest. He's been close with dogs ever since he was in diapers and knew at a very young age that he wanted to work with animals. When he was only 13, Duke began training dogs for hunting and retrieving.

Training and Certifications

Upon completion of high school, Duke attended college to become a Fish & Wildlife Officer Technician and Conservation Officer.

While attending the Atlantic Police Adacemy's Conservation Enforcement program in PEI, Canada he was placed as a conservation officer in Nova Scotia where he had the privilege to work with the departments K9 Unit. This experience was a determining factor for his desire to work with dogs at all levels.
Duke is a graduate of Animal Behavior College in California where he studied canine behavior.

In 2005, Duke graduated from Canada West Canine Centre in British Columbia, where he studied all levels of obedience, kennel management, temperament testing, behaviour problems, personal protection, attack dog training, police dog training, tracking, and detection training. He's completed two levels of the training offered by this school: Obedience & Kennel Management as well as Certified Master Trainer.

Duke has the belief that 'mastery' is a process that takes dedication, commitment and passion.

Studying Wolves in British Columbia, Canada

Duke's fourth dog training certification took place at the No Limitations School for Dog Trainers; now called Sit means Sit in Colorado and Las Vegas. While there, he became certified in the specialized and humane use of a remote collar.

For the past 30+ years, Duke has studied dog training methods and applications from some of the best dog trainers and schools around the world and continues to do so.

Duke's knowledge, skill and his unique approach in the use of e-collar training systems brought him to Alberta in December of 2015 and again in 2018 to train with the head K9 handlers of our Royal Canadian Mounted Police. It was an amazing experience and he's honoured to be the first ever trainer outside of the force to have this opportunity.

It was a huge honor for Duke to be the first Canadian certified in the use of the K9 BSD (Behaviour Shaping Device) passive alert training for scent detection dogs.

NePoPo® Training

In 2015, Duke attended Bart Bellon's NePoPo® School for dog trainers in Belgium. For three weeks, he studied and trained one-on-one with Bart and Michael Bellon. After passing all tests, Duke became a certified NePoPo® trainer.

Duke is a proud member of the International Association of Canine Professionals (IACP). In 2015, Duke was a guest speaker at their annual conference where he delivered a two hour presentation on his signature dog training topic "The Art of Attention"

Duke has also served as secretary of the the IACP Legislative Committee.

Certified High Performance Coaching

For most of my career, I've been obsessing about how to take people to the next level in their dog training experience. This is literally my daily goal as a certified professional dog trainer. Over the years, I've had the blessing of working with some of the world's best dog trainers, animal trainers, celebrity trainers, police k9 handlers, and top executives. As a trainer and coach, I've noticed that some people are more successful than others. Everyone wants to be successful, but what I've learned is that not everyone has the right mindset, not everyone determines their priorities or defines what's actually meaningful to them and the relationship they desire with their dog. Often, they don't practice enough, and they don't apply their homework. These things are needed to propel growth and have success in dog training, behaviour modification and enhancing the trust and relationship between you and your dog.

I've noticed that people struggle with training their dogs, and they also struggle with mindset and priorities in their daily lives. I've been there too, which is why I invested in Certified High-Performance Coaching. I wanted to improve the balance in my daily life, and in doing so, I totally fell in love with the power of coaching and the science behind it. I wanted to help people even more, so I went on to become a Certified High-Performance coach so that I can combine dog training and coaching to help people not only with their dog's but to be able to coach owners, trainers and handlers at much deeper levels with their own lives and achieve their own true balance.

The definition of high performance is "reaching and sustaining long term success while also maintaining well being and positive relationships."

To reach a goal, people sometimes compromise their health and relationships. With the right life habits and daily practices, you can achieve the results you dream of.

Training the dog is easy when you have the right tools, the right daily mindset and the right training approach, consistent focus and commitment, good timing, clear communication and the appropriate amount of motivation. It's easier than you think, and you can shape an extraordinary relationship and quality of life for you and your dog.

FREE Dog Training Mini Series

Enter your name and email in the box below to receive my 6-part mini video series on dog training techniques!

These videos will teach you how to get your dog to pay attention. You'll also learn how dogs communicate and how to build a proper bond with your dog.