Forte k9 Academy at rainy ranch
Transforming dogs, empowering owners.
Forte k9 Academy at rainy ranch
Transforming dogs, empowering owners.
Welcome to Forte K9 Academy
What we do
At Forte K9 Academy, we train dogs of all breeds, from family pets to working dogs. Our goal is to build well-rounded, confident dogs skilled in obedience and specialized tasks. We tailor training to each dog’s needs, helping them reach their full potential as loyal companions, trusted protectors, and hardworking partners.
We also specialize in ensuring you receive the right dog for your home protection needs through testing, selecting, training, and hand delivering to your home anywhere in the United States.
How we got our name
When we started our business, we wanted it to be a family driven business, focusing on client needs and to give dogs a second chance at life. We chose our name, Forte K9 Academy, after sorting through many, many ideas we put forward as a team. We wanted to include parts of both of our families in the name. Our marketing director, Katie (Todd's daughter), came up with the name, Forte K9 Academy and designed our logo. Forte translates to "strong" in Italian. Todds family is mostly Italian, and this was a way to honor his heritage.
As you can see at the top of our web page, the name also shows "At Rainys Ranch." This is to honor Leah's late mother Lorraine, whose nickname was "Rainy." Lorraine was tragically taken from Leah way too early while she stopped on the side of the road to assist someone who was having a medical emergency. Rainy lost her life while helping a total stranger.
Leah and her mom had always shared a love for dog training and including "At Rainys Ranch" is a way to continue her legacy in the world of dog training and selflessly helping others. Our business location, when fully set up for all of our dog training will bear a sign that reads "Forte K9 Academy at Rainys Ranch" to honor Lorraine.
Meet Todd and Leah
Todd Belitz
Todd Belitz
Todd Belitz
Todd has almost 21 years of law enforcement experience and was a police K9 handler for eight years. He has served as the Vice President of the WSPCA (Washington State Police Canine Association) and is currently a Master K9 Trainer recognized by Washington State. Todd has trained his own police K9's, has overseen and trained numerous other police K9's, and was the lead instructor for new K9 handlers attending basic handler school. He also has experience training a variety of other dog disciplines (hunting dogs and pets). Todd has the ability to solve dog behavior problems ranging from obedience to aggression. He is also experienced in security and home protection assessment.
Leah Ott
Todd Belitz
Todd Belitz
Leah has 17 years of experience as a police officer and is the current K9 Sergeant for her police department. In 2021, Leah attended the Master Trainer course at Highland K9 in North Carolina where she spent over 960 hours in school learning all aspects of dog training. This course included a combination of classroom lecture and hands on learning by training dogs for a variety of skills. She has experience training basic/advanced obedience, behavior modification, service dogs, detection, protection, search and rescue, and police K9 training. She specializes in training pet dogs (basic and advanced obedience), service dogs (specialized tasks), behavior modification, and puppies.
