Bart Merrell and Jeff Belnap with their trained dogs in northern Utah

The trainers

Meet Bart Merrell & Jeff Belnap

Bart and Jeff (not Mutt and Jeff) met at Innovative K9 Academy, one of the top K9 training schools in the nation. Both had reactive dogs. Both were determined to solve it. They joined forces because two heads are better than one, and their clients get the benefit.

Certified Dog Trainer & Co-Founder

Bart Merrell

Bart Merrell grew up on a pig farm in south western New Mexico surrounded by animals from his birth. He has worked with dogs, horses and even a few pigs from a very young age. He doesn’t remember not having a dog or a horse when he was a kid. Bart and his wife the weird dog people in the family. They love dogs of all shapes, ages and sizes – they are good with them and understand them. His sister always says that when she dies, if there is reincarnation, she wants to come back as one of his dogs. Bart understands first hand that living with a well-trained dog is much better than living with a dog that is not. He also believes that most dog owners under estimate just what their dog can learn and do. Bart’s goal is to help dog owners enjoy their dogs more and their dogs enjoy more freedom because that is what happens when you have a Top Dog. He believes that balanced based training is the best way to train a dog for the best long lasting success. Bart also believes that knowing and understanding that all dogs are not the same and being able to adjust the training to fit the personality of different dogs is vital when training a dog. That is why he is good at what he does. He bought his first Rottweiler as a puppy when he just finishing up college, since then he has adopted Rotties from shelters and rescues. He is now on rescue # 6th T-Rex. T-Rex was a monster when he first got him. He couldn’t even leave T-Rex alone with his wife because she could not handle him. But now he’s turned into great dog that has really taken to the Top Dog training program and soon will become a TOP DOG!

Certified Dog Trainer & Co-Founder

Jeff Belnap

Jeff has been around animals since he was a kid and a whole lot of them were Dogs. This continued into his adult life. He really admires the working breads and has work with several German Shepherds in the service area. He had Lucy a white German Shepherd that was a Therapy dog at Primary Children’s Hospital. Then Kalua that worked in search and rescue. And now Anabel, she has been trained for searching in rubble for the US First Responders crew but in order to be certified she has to learn to bark alert when she locates someone in the rubble and she just won’t bark. Jeff never really got into high end training until Anabel started showing signs of dog to dog aggression. That is when he really went to work searching for answers to help Anabel. He read books, watched videos and attended seminars on dog body language, aggression and training. He even attended an eight week hands on intensive Dog Trainer school where was able to work with dogs of many different breeds, sizes and personalities. Jeff really likes to make a difference. He plans on using the knowledge that he has gained though helping Anabel to help other owners who have dogs with aggression issues so that dogs have a chance at a great life. Jeff volunteers with the National Ski Patrole, Neighbors Helping Neighbors and teaches CPR training. When he retires from his plumbing job Belnap Plumbing, he want to help rescue and shelter dogs with issues get over those issues and become more adoptable.

Certification

Bart and Jeff are both certified graduates of Innovative K9 Academy — an elite, 8-week hands-on program with 100+ dogs of every size, age, breed and temperament. Both graduated with honors. The method adapts to your dog's learning style, gives you the tools to keep it going, and simply put — it works.

Ready to make your dog a Top Dog?

Book a free evaluation and we'll walk you through the right program for your dog.

Free Evaluation (801) 592-1524