Welcome to
Starmark Academy

Ever dream of becoming a professional dog trainer?

Starmark Academy for Professional Dog Trainers is a state approved trade school that offers certification in the science of dog training. Whether you have prior experience in dog training or want to learn a new career path, our certified instructors can teach you a variety of proven and innovative dog training techniques.

Where can this career path take you?

At Starmark Academy, you have the benefit of being immersed in a training environment-something that you simply do not have with home study courses.  Here you will receive supervised hands-on learning with immediate feedback from your instructors.  Understanding that not all dogs are alike, we teach multiple methods to equip you to handle a variety of training issues.  You will also have the opportunity to work with rescue dogs, giving you real-world experience with dogs of varying temperaments.  We also teach you how to instruct and work with people, not just dogs, so you will be more confident when working with future clients. Our well-rounded approach thoroughly prepares you for a future career in professional dog training.

Come experience the wonders of:

  • Basic and advanced obedience
  • Behavior modification
  • Agility, personal protection, police K9 training, search and rescue
  • Dog sports
  • Kennel and breeding management
  • Retriever training, assisted therapy, scent detection, and much more!
Get Started

Adopt Me!

Little Miss

Bastrop County Animal Services

Little Miss is a sweet, happy girl who is patiently waiting for a loving family! She is very excited to show her new folks all the things she has learned with us so far! If you are interested in adding this sweet girl to your family, apply to adopt through Bastrop County Animal Services!

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Student Success Stories

My name is Shirley Mesa. I was born and raised in Northern, CA, in the Westwood and Susanville area. I went to school, married, raised my children and now I am watching my grand children grow up here. It is a wonderful place to live. My entire life I have dreamed of being a K9 trainer for working dogs. We have three German Shepherds at this moment, Yesca, who is 2 years, Steel who is 1 year, and Axel who is 6 months. We love our babies! I have went all over California working our German Shepherds. I learned to handle our shepherd Mace in Protection and Security at the K-9 Clinic in Watsonsonville, Ca. The knowledge I gained there set a solid foundation for me. I also gained valuable handling techniques for our shepherds at the Nadelhaus Kennels in Chico, Ca. Every bit of knowledge that I could absorb helped me get closer to my goal. I became a Canine Training Specialist at the Starmark Academy for Professional Dog Trainers in Hutto, Texas. I give so much respect to the Instructors, employees, and my classmates at Starmark. I went there to gain an education and not only did I gain unbelievable knowledge, I gained a new family. That is why Mike and I decided to bring the experience back to Susanville and the surrounding areas. I want people to be able to have a nice, clean, knowledgeable training center to bring their dogs to. To learn to sit, stay, heel, walk on loose leash, proper leash handling and not pull you down the street every time you go for a walk, go to place and not bolt out the front door every time it is opened, recall, train agility, group classes, puppy classes, remote collar conditioning, home manners, behavioral issues and so much more. We want training to be fun, but our main goal is to leave with a well trained obedient dog/puppy.
I truly love dogs, all dogs, big and small. I am so excited about this new venture. One of the best rewards about dog training is the owner seeing the dog/puppy for the first time after training, and they cannot believe its the same dog. Watching the transformation is a reward in itself.. I am proud to be the Owner/Canine Training Specialist of Mesahaus Dog Training Facility!

–Shirley Mesa