Daniel Villarreal’s exit from the U.S. Army came in 2006 and he knew the next mission ahead.

He wanted to train dogs for law enforcement and detection work and to help fellow veterans who need service dogs. Villarreal had received an introduction to the world of dogs and how they are trained before enlisting in the Army. He was eager to do that work full time in his post-military life while drawing upon the experiences gained during his years of service. 

“Building a business from the ground up is like going on a mission,” said Villarreal, who earned the rank of sergeant during his Army tenure. “You learn the leadership skills and drive needed to succeed. And you learn how to build from your failures.”

The One Percenters

Fajo leaps from Villarreal’s pickup truck and is ready to go – and work.

The black German Shepherd is high energy and uber intelligent. He relishes having a job to do. Fajo is one of those dogs utilized by Villarreal’s Pharr-based Valley K9 Detection Services in going to schools to find drugs, guns and tobacco. This dog, Villarreal says, is “a one percenter.” Fajo is among those elite dogs who have the drive and necessary talents to do detection work.

“Just one out of 10 will have that drive,” he said of scouting puppies and determining which ones have the potential to be detection or service dogs. “Once we determine that (potential), we build from there.”

Villarreal had plenty to build in his post-military life. He served in the Army for six years, joining at the age of 24 after completing a police academy at then-UT Brownsville. All of his military years were spent as a military policeman and his duties took him all over the world. The Afghan and Iraqi war veteran returned to the Rio Grande Valley in 2006 with a plan to get a college education and start a K9 business.

His military years did not include any time spent working with dogs since that work was restricted to those who had re-enlisted. Villarreal did get exposure to the K9 world during his police academy years prior to joining the Army and his interest in that type of work never abated during his military years.

“I was hooked,” Villarreal said of when he first got exposed to K9 dog training work. “Dogs became my passion.”

‘We’re Always Learning’

The beginning of Villarreal’s K9 business dates back to the late aughts when he was also going about earning a degree in criminal justice from UTPA.

Fifteen years later, his K9 business is in part focused on law enforcement clients. It includes providing and training dogs for police departments as well as training law enforcement personnel. Villarreal also contracts with school districts to use his dogs to search campuses for prohibited substances and objects. A third service is one where Valley K9 provides service dogs for veterans who are afflicted with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Labrador retrievers and golden retrievers are top choices for service dogs while German Shepherds and Belgian Malinois are highly valued for their capabilities for police work. The Malinois are a particular favorite in Villarreal’s dog training world due to their high intelligence, athleticism, agility and work ethic. It’s a breed that resembles the German Shepherd in appearance but has a sleeker athletic build.

Villarreal favors German Shepherds for school inspection work because they are more social dogs as compared to Malinois, who are strictly focused on work when there’s job to do. In any case, when training handlers, his sage advice is, “the dog does 85 percent of the work, you do the rest.”

Taking a page from his military life, Villarreal talks about the need to continue acquiring knowledge in working to complete new goals – and missions.

“There’s no such thing as a master trainer,” he said when dismissing the use of such a term. “We’re always learning and evolving.”