FOUNDER

Aric is a second generation dog trainer, literally born into the industry. It has been laughed about more than once at a family reunion that his first word spoken was “STAY” and not, “Mom” or “Dad”! Growing up, the Harris family ran a large boarding and training facility in Kentucky. Keeping up with horses and dogs, Aric was constantly immersed in veterinary care and practices, as well as training seminars and workshops. The family kept a busy schedule; titling dogs in AKC and Schutzhund Trials in the central and eastern regions. Aric began formal training on agitation and helper work at age 14,  earning his first Helper Book (decoy certification) at age 16 through USCA. Since then, Aric has been full throttle in the working dog industry. From developing and selling personalized family protection dogs to developing sport and competition dogs for AKC, USCA, GSDCA, WDA and PSA. He has been at every angle; decoying, coaching, judging, handling, and perhaps most importantly being a mentor to countless others along the way.  Keeping a strong relationship with his own family, Aric is often seen coaching his children at seminars or on the competition field somewhere. Being a believer in collaboration and internationally inclined, it isn’t uncommon to see him training with colleagues in Europe or North Africa. Most recently, he has been a guest instructor for Police K9 Magazine and K9 Cop Magazine for their International Police K-9 Conferences held on both the East and West coast of the United States.

VICE PRESIDENT

Emily was born in Kentucky and raised on a small, family cattle farm. Emily attended every agricultural program available to her throughout her school years, including being a four year member of the Future Farmers of America. In her final year of FFA, she interned at Protection Dog Sales, where she met Aric Harris, and started her passion for working dogs. During her internship there, her animal husbandry skills continued to hone in on veterinary medicine and commercial boarding procedures, as well as her education in behavioral science and general training. Aric and Emily were married in 2010 and founded The Iron Canine together in 2021 where Emily is acting Vice President of the company. On top of her animal welfare background, Emily is an active competitor in Schutzand, WDA, and is a CGC evaluator through AKC. She has hosted multiple trials and has been trial secretary for even more. Emily has the reputation for being a dependable member of our team and is known as the “team mom.” She is quick to troubleshoot, fix problems, and help clients with their needs. 

LOGISTICS & OPERATIONS MANAGER

Rachel started her journey with The Iron Canine as an in-kennel training client with her first ever German Shepherd, Titan. She was unaware of the capabilities of what a working dogs potential could be. As she watched the progression of her own dog, she became increasingly infatuated with training and trialing. Rachel and Titan have gone on to compete in multiple WDA titles and took second place in their division at the 2023 Nationals. 

She has since become our staff nurse, an apprentice trainer, and is also our Logistics and Operations Manager. Rachel brings a fun and zany energy to our training team and always eager to help acclimate new training clients to training procedures. Rachel is also a proven competitor to handle client dogs in trials across the country.