Oscar Martinez

Oscar is the founder and owner of OTOA K9. He originated from the deserts of Reno, Nevada. At the young age of 18 he enlisted into active duty with the US Army. This journey introduced him to an inclination for attention to detail, the importance of building strong rapport with the team around him, training for the operations at hand, and eventually a passion for dogs.

During his 13-month deployment to Afghanistan he began to interact with the unruly dogs that would periodically make their way into his combat outpost. Overtime, he began to bond with these 4-legged wanderers and eventually care for them as if they were part of his own team. They were stuck in this together after all. When things got tough, he would ensure these dogs were looked after and received the leadership needed to get them through to the next day. This wasn’t without it’s challenges though. Often the miscommunication between human and dog would lead to unnerving close calls, some hitting very close to home. These high-octane situations paired with the unique bond shared between Oscar and his newfound brothers-in-arms sparked a determination to understand the dog’s mental and emotional states of mind. “How do I get this dog to move out of the line of fire?” and “How can I convey to the dog this specific sound isn’t a danger to us?” were questions that only the right operational context could answer. With the right motivation, communication, patience, willingness to adapt, and thorough preparation, these dogs would eventually learn to effectively navigate the disarray that would ensue at the most inconvenient of times.

After his honorable discharge from service he would move on to attend Musician’s Institute in Los Angeles, California. This venture opened him up to the intricacies of observing, listening, complimenting, harmonizing, and rearranging patterns to achieve a much more cohesive end result. His new understanding of musical nuance (timing, sequencing, practice, and application) paired with the absolute discipline cultivated during his service ultimately lead him to applying this knowledge with dogs.

He attended a prestigious school for dog training where he learned competitive obedience, narcotics & cadaver detection, personal protection, pet obedience, therapy/service dog work, and behavior modification. After his schooling he joined a high-end pet facility where he helped countless owners reach breakthroughs with their pets. Here he dealt with a vast intake of neglected and abandoned rescue dogs and assisted in integrating them into new homes along with helping the new owners maintain consistency afterward. The hands-on experience gained through rehabilitating troubled dogs and teaching owners set the foundation for what would become the O.T.O.A. process.

His unwavering dedication, strong ability to problem solve, and think outside of the box has been used to help hundreds of owners and their dogs achieve results they never thought were possible.