IWDTF Founder Member
A profile of operational experience, professional discipline, and commitment to real-world working dog standards.
Keith Whitworth
Armament K9
IWDTF Founder Member
As the owner of Armament K9, Keith Whitworth brings a lifetime of hands-on experience, discipline, and real-world application to the field of canine security and protection. As a retired K9 handler, his foundation was built not in sport or theory, but in practical, high-stakes environments where performance, reliability, and control are non-negotiable.
Professional Standards & Membership
Keith is a proud member of the International Association of Canine Professionals (IACP), committed to maintaining the highest standards in canine training, ethics, and handler education.
Operational Focus
Armament K9 produces highly trained dogs capable of off-leash obedience, controlled aggression, environmental stability, and precision response under pressure — developed for real-world deployment.
Handler Development
Programs extend beyond the dog, ensuring handlers are trained through structured instruction and real-world scenario preparation to build dependable protection teams.
Innovation
Integration of canine-mounted camera systems and ultrasonic sensors enhances operational awareness and modern security capability.
Founder Statement
Building dependable protection teams that people can trust with their lives defines the mission of Armament K9.
Contact Details
Phone: 1-941-557-9960
Email: Armamentk9@gmail.com
Address:
1135 Osceola Blvd
Englewood, FL 34233
IWDTF Founder Member | United Kingdom
ROB AINSLEY-RAFFEL
Darkline K9
Professional Summary
Rob Ainsley-Raffel is a working dog trainer specialising in scentwork, mantrailing, and real-world training. His work is grounded in practical experience developed over a lifetime immersed in dogs, from early exposure to guide dog training through to handling high-drive working breeds in demanding and unconventional environments.
Blind from childhood, he has developed a handling style built on feel, timing, and precise communication through the line. This has led to a training approach that prioritises clarity, trust, and functional independence in the dog, rather than reliance on visual cues or rehearsed patterns.
His approach is shaped by a lifetime of working against assumptions, and a consistent focus on what can be proven in practice.
Operational Experience
His background includes working across a wide range of dogs and disciplines, including:
- Terrier work and practical field handling
- Training and racing sighthounds
- Rehabilitation and development of complex behavioural cases
- Advanced environmental exposure, including controlled height work and abseil training
This breadth of experience underpins a training system focused on producing dogs that remain stable, clear-headed, and effective in unfamiliar or high-pressure conditions.
Training Approach
His work centres on developing dogs that can solve problems independently while remaining within a clear operational structure.
Key principles include:
- Allowing the dog to work and make decisions without over-handling
- Maintaining clarity and consistency in communication
- Building trust through pressure-tested training rather than mindless repetition
- Avoiding dependency on routine, equipment, or predictable scenarios
Handler Development
Rob places equal emphasis on the development of the handler.
His instruction focuses on:
- Reading the dog through line tension, behaviour, and change of state
- Timing and clarity in handling decisions
- Maintaining control without interfering with the dog’s task
He is currently readying a two-day Blindfold Handler workshop, designed to place handlers into a non-visual working context and develop their ability to read, trust, and communicate with the dog at a deeper level. Demand for these workshops has been consistently high.
Standards and Direction
His current work includes developing unique workshops to teach sighted handlers how to read their dog without visual cues; developing FPV camera systems for handler and dog, including working with remote drones; introducing bitework to novice handlers; and teaching the basics of mantrailing, with a focus on producing stable, thinking dog/handler teams that are robust and reliable.
Through Darkline K9, he is also working toward a long-term breeding programme focused on producing environmentally sound, physically robust, and operationally reliable dogs suitable for working roles, including police and military applications.
Founder Statement
“Always question assumptions.”
Contact Details
Business: Darkline K9
Name: Rob Ainsley-Raffel
Mobile / WhatsApp: +44 7533 598 824
Email: hq@darklinek9.com
Website: www.darklinek9.com
Location: Hexham, Northumberland, England, UK