Instructors
Starmark Academy Training Directors and Instructors have been successful in many aspects of dog training: companion obedience, competitive obedience, schutzhund, agility, police K9, retriever training, search and rescue, and assistance dogs. Academy Instructors have instructed others at many levels of dog training and competition. Academy Directors and Instructors are active trainers and competitors and can be seen training young prospects and seasoned champions daily.
Keith Benson
Keith is a certified professional dog trainer and animal behavior specialist with over 15 years of experience. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with continuing education in Animal Behavior. He is the President/COO of Starmark Animal Behavior Center, Inc, which is one of the largest, most comprehensive training and behavior centers for dogs in the world. As President and Academy Director for Starmark’s school for Professional Dog Trainers, Keith oversees the school’s international curriculum and growth. The school attracts students from around the world seeking to learn the art and science behind a career as a professional dog trainer. Using client and behavioral research from these two corporations Keith helped found Starmark Pet Products, Inc., which designs award-winning training and behavior tools that are distributed in over 20 countries around the world. In addition to his executive role in these companies, Keith frequently provides media commentary and consulting for companies throughout the pet industry.
William Garrido
William is lead instructor for Starmark Academy for Professional Dog Trainers, Inc. William has assisted in the training of many police, personal protection and explosives detection dogs. For 18 months as an instructor for several canine teams, William was responsible for the qualification and validation of these teams in the Eastern and Western region of Afghanistan. William has also helped many people and their dogs achieve their goals. William is a graduate of the Canine Training and Behavior specialist program at Starmark. He will instruct students in all areas of training while at Starmark Academy for Professional Dog Trainers, Inc.
Jason Sigler
Jason has a long history performing as an instructor in one capacity or another. He has been teaching since 1995 in a primarily hands on and demonstrative craft. In 1998 he began teaching in a classroom setting in various topics. By 2008 he began speaking at seminars for large crowds. Jason discovered his passion for training dogs in 2008 when he was told by a pet store franchise trainer that his Shiba-Inu, Anzu was impossible to train and that it would be a waste of time to even try. Not being one to accept his dog being impossible to train he began reading books and meeting professional trainers. Finally, after leaving active duty service in 2013, Jason decided that if he couldn’t find a professional trainer to take on his Shiba, he would obtain the skills himself and enrolled into the 12 week program. Upon graduating Jason moved to Alabama and began a training service that focused on practical obedience, and educating pet dog owners on relationship and communication development with their dogs.
