Meet Tyler Falconer of Falco K9

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tyler Falconer.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Tyler. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I enlisted in the United States Navy upon graduating high school. I was selected to become a Military Working Dog handler upon completion of Anti Terrorism/Force Protection School. I spent four years in the Navy as Military Working Dog handler specializing in K9 patrol and explosive detection. In my time as a MWD Handler I had the honor of working and training alongside elite special forces, US Secret Service, and Police K9 handlers across the country. Upon separation of the Navy I began training dogs for personal protection and obedience for a company called K9 East.

At night I was attending Emergency Medical Technician school and was hired by the Burlington Fire Department as a Fire Fighter/ EMT. In 2016 I started my own K9 Company in South Boston Called Falco K9. I specialize in dog obedience, problem solving, protection, tracking, and scent detection. I help training with Boston Police K9 and their development of younger dogs. I also travel the country assisting K9 companies and police departments. I teach K9 CPR and First Aid in South Boston to residents to help provide better care to their pets/ working dogs. It is my goal to train people to realize and understand the true potential in their dogs.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
No, but anything that is easy is not worth doing. The K9 World is all about paying your dues and earning respect. I tell my clients I’ve cleaned thousands of pounds of dog poop to earn the knowledge that I have. The great thing about training dogs whether it’s a house pet or a working dog is that every dog is different. This industry forces you to think outside of the box to get you to a desired outcome. I am constantly learning and becoming a student of this industry. There were times where I depended on my Military Working Dog, Arco, with my life. Once you truly experience that, you feel the true bond between humans and animals.

It has been a long road starting when I was 18 years old in K9 School. This is the one thing that I can truly say that I’ve put my blood, sweat, and tears into. Even with my Military K9 experience I’ve had to check my ego at the door and keep an open mind to learn new methods. This is what separates great dog trainers and K9 handlers in my opinion. All of the challenges are worth it when I see smiles on clients faces and tails wagging. It’s an extremely rewarding feeling. I’m very lucky to have the family and role models that I have. My work ethic comes from my parents and my brothers. They are all so hard working and that’s always something that I looked up to.

Being a firefighter and a veteran mental health is so important. Training dogs is my therapy. The people of South Boston have shown me what a true sense of community feels like. I’ve had the opportunity to learn and talk to South Boston natives such as Peter Welch, Rich Litto, and Christine Thomas who all taught me valuable lessons through their actions. South Boston is known for its selfless sense of community and taking the shirt off your back for you neighbor when in need. In my opinion that’s the best currency there is and I’ve learned to overcome my obstacles through learning from the original residents of “southie” and my family.

Please tell us about Falco K9 .
I specialize in pet obedience, problem solving, protection, tracking and scent detection. I have been around all sides of the K9 industry. Being just a teenager I kept my ears open and my mouth shut as I was instructed to do by my supervisors. I’ve trained puppies, house pets, rescue dogs, police dogs, military dogs and trained puppies at 8 weeks old and trained them to eventually become police/military working dogs. It doesn’t matter to me what kind of dog I’m training I feel the same connection. Every dog poses a new challenge and I’m always invested in the task. I believe that I have sacrificed a lot to get to where I am at today.

Most people save up for vacations to tropical islands and I save up for my next flight to work with and learn from a new trainer across the country (my girlfriend is a saint). I have placed my life in my military working dogs hands before and I’m alive to tell the story. This is my way of giving back and to teach people to understand the true capabilities of their dogs. I prefer to work with clients one on one so each dog gets my undivided attention for one hour. I never train each dog the same way I go based off of instinct and not the motions.

What separates me from others is that I am always a student to this industry. I know that my way of training a dog is not THE WAY but it’s just A WAY. I spend countless hours and days learning from other trainers in person and reading books. I have a soft spot for the working dog community and care about the well-being and safety of each K9 team. I sacrifice my blood and sweat training working dogs for nothing more than just a hand shake. I also teach K9 CPR and First Aid for my clients. I believe that it is important for pet owners and working dog handlers to know how to render the best care to their K9 Companions.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would do nothing differently. Looking back now there were times when my life could have been much easier, but it was through that adversity that I became a better trainer and person overall from it. Unfortunately some of the men that I came up through the ranks with in the military working dog world lost their lives overseas. If I would do anything differently it would be to spend more time with them and telling them in person how much I truly appreciate what they did for me as role models.

Contact Info:

• Address: 158 I Street
  South Boston MA 02127
• Website: www.falcok9boston.org
• Phone: 617-839-4243
• Email: tafalconer@gmail.com
• Instagram: @falcok9boston
• Facebook: @falcok9boston

Image Credit:
Canines on Duty

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