Our founder
Amie O'Day
Thoughtful training begins with understanding the relationship at the heart of it.
Amie founded Model K9 on a simple conviction: meaningful training should strengthen the bond between a dog and the people who share their life. She learned it during a three-year internship under a well-known trainer who trained at Cesar Millan's ranch—an apprenticeship so exacting that she never touched another dog for those years, and learned instead to observe. Temperament, routine, and the small daily moments that shape behavior are where her work begins.
That foundation opened a wide path: dogs for military service members at Fort Hood, preparation for film work, protection and scent detection, and service and comfort dog training. Thousands of dogs later, Amie is known among past clients simply by reputation. She also hosts her own podcast, “The Dogcast,” where conversations with special guests explore everything dog.
Away from the work, Amie makes her own line of leather training leashes—cut, stitched, and finished by hand. Most of her time belongs to her six dogs: two Cavaliers named Ginger and Ethel; Lucy the Golden Retriever, the largest of the household; Jet the Cavapoo; and Pomeranian siblings Jax and Febe. She is drawn to antiques and furniture, and dabbles in interior design.