Videos of Equipment!

Signature K9 Deployment Kennel



Signature K9 Light Weight Harness

Signature K9 Upcoming Events!

It’s 2009 and we are continuing to move forward. Signature K9 just completed an appearance at the Invictus Law Dog Seminar in Las Vegas. We saw some old friends and met some new ones. Coming up we have several more events scheduled for the 2009 calendar year where you as a consumer can come take a look at us and what we are all about, in a venue close to you:

March 29 - April 3, USPCA PD1 Field Trials Valdosta, GA, Region 1 & Region 22

May 10 - 15 Fort Leonard Wood, MO TRADOC Working Dog Competition

April 14 - 16 US Army, Ft. Belvoir, Patrol Dog Seminar with Tarheel Canine Training, Inc.

April 20 - 23 April, H.I.T.S. Louisville, KY

If you or your organization would like to have us attend a working dog event, please let us know. No event is too small; however, get in early to avoid scheduling conflicts!! Please contact Dave Colborn, our sales manager at d.colborn@signaturek9.com.

New! New! SignatureK9 Harness!

Good news to K9 folks everywhere. Signature K9 is announcing the release of two new harnesses; the Original Load Bearing and the Ultimate Load Bearing Harnesses. Designed for the rigorous uses of the US military, these harnesses have been tried and tested in environments throughout the US and around the world. Designed to be load bearing harnesses for work or training, they’re made of top quality materials available in the United States. These products are hand-crafted by folks at sewing machines less than 100 feet away. These are folks I know and folks that you can trust to get it right, that’s our guarantee. Available colors: black, coyote, ranger green, and ACU.

Introduction to Signature K9

As dog handlers and trainers, we believe it is our obligation and duty to provide quality products and superior Customer Service to you, our US Military and Law Enforcement Personnel. We take this task very seriously and are committed to helping you find the proper gear to make you and your working dog more effective and safe while performing your duties. Our commitment is to provide you with the best working dog equipment available today and to continue to work on new product development to bring you the most innovative equipment in the future.

Here at Signature K9 we do our best to provide our customers with the best possible equipment for handlers and their canines. We offer a variety of equipment from tactical gear for the K9 and Handler, to sport and training gear, as well as gear and equipment for the pet owner. Right now we are working on updating our website to better serve you, and currently new items are being added and stored. Check out our New Items tab for items that have just been added to, or call us if there is an item you are interested in but that you don't see on our website. We carry manufacturers such as Kalispel, CamelBak, Battlelab, Herm Sprenger, Coastal, as well as our own line of Signature K9 equipment and Signature Tactical Gear.

You can contact us at :

Phone : 1-866-820-3647
International Customers : 1-540-904-5282
Online : www.signaturek9.com

Or come visit us at :

345 Luck Ave SW
Roanoke VA 24016

Who We Are :

Matt Akenhead

Matt Akenhead began his passion for dogs early in life. He won his first AKC obedience title in 1980. He has since attended Ohio State University, and has been certified as a professional dog trainer with expertise in: Search and Rescue, Police Dog Training, Tracking, Behavior & Problem Solving, Detection, and Training Assistance for the Handicapped. To round out his on-the-line experience, he competed as a mid distance sled dog racer for 4 years. He has been a professional trainer since 1996. He has owned and operated Boarding Kennels and full service Training Centers.

An ardent and committed trainer, Matt has taken his professional passion to the field. Competing in seven national championships, with four different dogs, from 2001 through 2005, Matt has placed in the top five dogs on four different occasions. He has won 40 titles with 8 different dogs in three different venues, including Service Dogs of America to Schutzhund.

Matt was one of the first four working dog judges to be certified by the United Kennel Club (UKC). He is also the youngest judge to be certified in that division. His professional memberships include: WDA, DVG, USA, and ADA training organizations. As Training Director for the Keystone-Buckeye Training Club, Matt worked with both Schutzhund competitors and Police dog handlers. Four members of this club were successful as national competitors in working dog sports.

Continuous education and mentor relationships with some of the best trainers and decoys in North America and Europe have sharpened Matt’s knowledge and experience. He is a frequent contributor at canine behavior seminars, and has given Decoy seminars for police training groups. He is also a certified Decoy for working dog sports. In his capacity as trainer, Matt has participated in acquisition, training and certification of police dogs.

Dave Colborn

Dave has been training and handling working dogs for the United States Army and civilian contract companies since completing the DoD Working Dog School in 1995. He has had several assignments in the US and overseas as a patrol dog handler, narcotic detector dog handler, explosive detector dog handler, trainer, and kennel master. He has trained and certified seven different Military Working Dogs to Department of the Army standards.

Most recently he has been working as the sales manager of Signature K9, LLC.

He has employed dogs as a handler, and dog teams as a supervisor, in demanding situations involving all facets of police, prison and military K9 work. He was instrumental in the planning and distribution of K9 assets in the Afghanistan/Middle Eastern theatre in 2002, while working as an explosive detector dog handler and kennel master concurrently. Dave has been involved in the training of hundreds of working dog teams in preparation for their Department of the Army certification Dave has provided explosive detector support to high profile dignitaries such as the President and Vice President of the United States, Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff, U.S. Secretaries of State, military officials, and foreign dignitaries with no incidents. He completed work in Iraq as a civilian contract EDD Handler providing service to the US State Department. His assignments providing EDD coverage and security took him all over Iraq, including Ramadi, Mosul, Basrah, and Baghdad. During his work at Tarheel Canine, he trained green dogs and handlers, preparing them for successful certification and more importantly utilization. A great number of teams had finds within days of going to work after his teaching. His dedication to excellence and desire to learn has led him to train with many different local police departments and federal agencies.

Matt Cox

If you’ve given us a call in the past couple of years, odds are pretty good that you’re already familiar with Matt. Joining SignatureK9 in June of 2006 as an equipment maker and as computer support, he quickly learned the business and the members of the Canine Community. Taking over the roles of customer service and warehouse operations in January of 2007, Matt has played an important role in us becoming the efficient, service oriented, and proudest manufacturer in the business.

Matt’s background lies outside the dog world. Before joining our team and moving from Michigan to Virginia, he gained valuable experience in several different fields that now benefit us all. 4 years in wholesale warehouse operations, six years in retail sales, mix in becoming a licensed financial adviser (now reformed!) and having a run at his own real estate business and you’ve got the complete picture.

Despite our best efforts to get him to sleep at the warehouse, he also currently works part time nights and weekends for a furniture store. We sure hope they know what they’ve got!

Tammy Gordon

Tammy started working with Signature K9 in October 2007. Before that she was going to school at Central Virginia Community College for a paralegal degree. She graduated in May of 2007 and worked for an attorney until September 2007.

At Signature K9 Tammy is a valuable member of the team. She is an office manager and also works as a seamstress. She can often times be found in the warehouse lightening the mood during a hard day.

Tammy has a passion for dogs as well. She has three Chihuahuas of her own at home and can often times be found showing off pictures of her dogs or relating stories about them. Her love of her own dogs translates into her work here at Signature.

Instead of pursuing a career in the legal field at this time in her life she is quite comfortable here in a more relaxed environment. She also enjoys the knowledge and experience that is shared between the employees every day at the warehouse.

Angel White

Angel started with Signature K9 in February of 2008. Prior to working here she worked as a manager at Bojangles in Salem, VA. She enjoyed her job there, but was looking for a change of pace and she found her way to SigK9.

She’s had many interesting experiences at Signature K9 and she has had the opportunity to learn something new each day. She enjoys working with her hands and being able to make new pieces of equipment. Prior to working at Signature she was also afraid of dogs, but constant exposure has helped her to face her fears and become more comfortable around them.

She feels that it is interesting working here because we are just a random group of people with various interests and personalities, and we are able to work and blend well together. In her mind, it’s a great team.

Catherine Helfgott

Cate is the most recent addition to the Signature K9 team. Before coming to Signature K9 she was a student at Virginia Tech studying Animal Science with an Equine Emphasis, Biology, and Leadership Studies. In December 2008 she graduated with a BS in Agricultural Science and a commission in the Virginia Army National Guard. She is now a 2LT with a Medical Unit and is serving as a Platoon Leader.

Cate adopted her first dog in 2006 and dogs quickly became one of her passions. She now has two shepherds that she is training in protection sport, obedience and herding. She has also has had some experience handling dogs in the conformation ring. She teaches and assists pet dog obedience classes in Roanoke, VA.

Her short experiences have given her a solid working knowledge of the gear necessary for the working dog or sport handler. Her experiences have also given her a lot of varied experience in different methods of dog training.

One of her favorite parts about working at Signature K9 is the opportunity to work with and speak to a variety of experienced K9 handlers and trainers, and to continue to learn more about working dogs and training.

~Signature K9