About America’s K-9 Caring Angels Dog Training

What they do

America's K-9 Caring Angels runs a wider range than most local trainers, and it splits cleanly into two halves.

The everyday half is Basic Obedience, Behavior Modification and Off-Leash Control. Basic Obedience teaches "Come, Sit, Down, Heel, Place, Off, and Break", and begins building off-leash reliability as the dog progresses. Behavior Modification addresses "reactivity, aggression, fear, anxiety, separation anxiety, hyper-alertness, excessive barking, leash pulling, jumping, and other unwanted behaviors". Off-Leash Control proofs the dog's response around real-world distractions. A Board and Train program delivers the work as an immersive stay, with progress shared through a private WhatsApp group of photos and videos.

The specialized half is where this business is genuinely unusual for the region. Therapy Dog Training prepares dog-and-handler teams for hospitals, schools, counseling programs and assisted living communities, and the site states the business is "recognized by the American Kennel Club (AKC) as a national training and certifying therapy dog organization". Facility Therapy Dog work prepares dogs for fire departments, police departments, schools and counseling centers, and the site says its trainers have developed such dogs in Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, California, New York and Washington. Psychiatric Service Dog Training prepares dogs for handlers living with conditions such as PTSD, anxiety disorders and autism spectrum conditions, covering task work and public access behavior. There is also an emotional support animal program focused on manners and stability rather than task work.

Who runs it

Ted Madsen and Sonny Madsen are both listed as owner master trainers with over fifteen years of experience each. Ted's stated specialties are behavior modification, off-leash control and advanced training for emotional support and psychiatric service dogs; Sonny is described as the original driving force behind the organization and the developer of its specialized programs. The staff page also lists four further trainers and an office manager, with individual backgrounds — one came from Sit Means Sit, another grew up in a family kennel training scent hounds and has handled ex-police and military K9s.

The nonprofit relationship

This is the for-profit arm. K-9 Caring Angels Therapy and Service Dogs is a separate 501(c)(3) that places psychiatric service dogs with veterans, and the two are explicitly described as separate entities. If you are a veteran seeking a funded dog, the nonprofit is the door; if you are a community organization or a private client, this business is.

What to ask

Ask about prices, program lengths and which tools or corrections are used. The stated service area covers Alexandria, Fredericksburg, Manassas, Culpeper and the surrounding Northern Virginia and DMV areas; the facility itself is at 10401 Green Rd., Bldg. 1, Bealeton.