http://FreshCoastK9.com/, https://www.bonfire.com/store/fresh-coast-k9-llc/

Fresh Coast K9, LLC, 2628 Garfield Road N Unit 36, Traverse City, MI (2025)

04/02/2025

Back in action after Spring Break with Maizy and Little Boy, and finally able to make it to the park!

We got Little Boy learning to just "be", even with the off-leash yapper thingy, chasing its ball. Also working on his recall in the real world to see where his head is at with command.

Maizy rocked it out and helped out this morning with another dog (not pictured) who is working through some issues. She was very cool, calm and collected during the sessions and it was really good for all!

Then we have some snippets of Ahren, who made some massive strides in his odor protocol in the last week. We also worked on his off lead recall while on break, pushing the limits out to 100yds in the woods. Long way to go still, but his detection and tracking are progessing nicely.

🌊🏖🐕‍🦺🐕🚔🔥👏🌞

03/18/2025

Welcome new BootCampers, Maizy and Little Boy!!
Lots to digest over the coming days and weeks but we are happy and honored to be helping both these pups.

With Maizy, we start with simple leash communication. You can see in clip one she pulls really hard several times. Then we switched collar systems mid session. Massive difference just by finding the correct communication tool. She has some good foundations overall, but really needs to work on recall, walking and distractions.

Little Boy has lived more life than a dog his age should have to do. Because of that, he is rather unsound in environmentals. It took a bit for him to open up at first, but we were able to make some strides by the end of the day. Getting him to navigate life and not be so concerned will be a process, but his owner is committed!

So while none of us wore green today and deserve a small pinch, we enjoyed getting to know each other and started a new path on St. Patty's Day!🐕🍀

🌊🏖🐕‍🦺🐕🍀

03/15/2025

Few randoms for our Full Send Friday...

We've had a pretty full schedule schedule latey which has been awesome. But the downside is we forget to snag out content every so often. Luckily, Fergus and the A-Team have plenty of clips laying around.

This week we have met some new pups and started them off on a better foot. We've worked on some resource guarding issues, general obedience, worked on some on and off lead recalls and helped the police dogs prepare for certification day.

This week we've been from TC to Ludington, to Cedar and next week will be a run out to Kalkaska and Mancelona. Fresh Coast K9 does travel to help people and train their dogs. While we have our working space, we do travel across the state and beyond if needed. Reach out to us from near or far and lets see what we can do!

🌊🏖🐶🐕🐕‍🦺🚔

03/07/2025

Arek and the cat, playing a Full Send Friday game of hide n seek...SMH

One never quite knows how the canine-feline relationship may go. Lucky for us, B is a spicy kittens who won't tolerate BS from her K9 compadres. She will even instigate and has done so from Day 1.

For many dogs, cats are slinkie, "prey" like items that are not only a novelty, but a quest. When we took Babydawg in, we were told he was good with cats and clearly he has been. That's not to say he won't give her a little chase here and there. But she will ambush him on his way back through in good fun. We are very grateful that all our pups treat her decent and we don't have to micro-manage the two species like many do.

You will never "delete" a dog's genetics. You can shape it, suppress it, manage it, work it, but dogs have what they have for life. Understanding and accepting things like "prey drive" within the animal can help facilitate a healthier way of living with it when it comes in higher doses. Some dogs are fighter jets, others are blimps. Take what you have and do what works for each one...cuz they are all different!

🌊🏖🐶🐕🐱

03/05/2025

They can see clearly...somehow...🤷‍♂️😆

Hung out with the Bouvier Bros this afternoon and had a check-in to see how life is going. Talked thru some scenarios and training items on their owners "to-do" list. Even started some task oriented behaviors, which could someday come in handy for their owner. Mr. Laddie is getting big quick and will likely pass up Mac any day 😬

Then we have been working on various odor development with Mr. A. His hunting has developed decently in the last few weeks, but we don't want him reliant on the ball for help, based on who he is as a dog and some habits. So, we tried pipes...and he took to it!!! ...if you know , you know...😜

🌊🏖🐶🔥🤘

02/28/2025

Full Send Harley? Ramen? Great, now we want noodles...🤤

Harley made some good strides out and about downtown and of course, we had to stop by to check out the thigns...

Getting your dog out into the world is massively important, but realize this...not EVERYTHING is for THEM! They don't need to meet and greet everyone or every dog (thats a human thing that makes us feel good). They don't need to sniff every bush or tree or hydrant along the way (esp if its a purposeful walk). What they need to do is learn to be neutral, which helps reduces arousal levels that may be linked to reactivity (good or bad).

We are very grateful to have places like where we can work on these elements with our dogs that we know will be helpful. If you haven't been in there yet, there's no better time to Full Send yourself over there and check it out!

Great job in BootCamp Harley! We will see you soon for the go-home portion where the REAL work begins!!

Fck9, out!
🌊🏖🐶🐕🔥

02/27/2025

Some snaps from Working Dog Wednesday...

Some nice environmental work with some grips, paired with some 'food for thought' on handler decision making.

Also ran the "A-Team" on some odor work. The clips are from Babydawg, who is the FCK9 test-pilot dog. We use him to try out some different things or techniques sometimes because we can. If we screw up somehow it doesn't matter. Its always good to have different tools in the toolbox and you might not be able to try things with your own dog. Also messed around with starting the imprinting process for A-man #2. His hunting is decent but now its time to add more!

For the detection nerds in the room, do you notice anything? No, seriously, anything? Good, bad or otherwise. Leave a note in the comments and let's discuss it! For reference tho, he is not "finished" or complete in his odor training.

Any guesses as to why he was so interested in the cooler?!😜

Detection, nosework, sniffer-doodles, whatever you want to call it, is full of science, theories and practical applications we like to nerd out on. Probably because we have only touched the surface of how powerful a dogs noise is and the nuiances are fascinating. Working a dog to use their nose can sometimes be the best thing for them too. They have to work and use their gift to get something in return.

If you're interested in pet or working dog scentwork, hit us up! We can teach basic to advanced levels, with a real-world and operational experience and perspective! As it says: "we know a thing or two, because we've seen a thing or two"!

🌊🏖🐶🐕

🤓

02/25/2025

Big Tuesday for the BC Ladies!!

Worked longer skills and distractions with Ms. Harley and did some "real world" stuffs with Mizz Lucy and . Both did well and are improving day by day. But sometimes its hard being a dog...

And wait, is that a "flexi" leash?! 😬 "FOR SHAME!!"

We've had some conversations with some folks lately about them and they have their place.
NO, we don't take dogs to the vet with one. NO, we don't use one in large crowds at full extension.
NO, we don't use them at a dog park.
NO, wet wouldn't use one for dog introductions.

Like any piece of equipment, it can be used properly or improperly. So just because you don't use one doesn't mean you are right or wrong. If you do use one, be smart about it and don't use it in situations you aren't prepared. Need help? Ask!

🌊🏖🐶🐕😜

02/24/2025

Rocking reps on Monday...

Massive day for Lucy, getting her stairs confidence and maintaining some awesome place. Part way thru you'll see the sun poke in on the right hand side, because the wind blew the door partly open. It was a great distraction for her and she crushed maintain position!!

Vizsla Harley also had a good day, working on leash walking and recalls outside in the sunshine. The weather is a tease for the moment, its bound turn again before real spring. But we are taking all that advantage of it!

🌊🏖🐶🐕🌞

02/22/2025

Sending our Friday with the BootCamp Ladies...

Newflash everybody, THIS is the reality of dog training: rep, after rep, after rep...rinse and repeat. You can find countless vids and clips of dogs doing cool 🫢hit just by barely typing "dog" in a search bar. There are millions of flashy things to grab your attention and show you what dogs can do. But most of it isn't reality.

What is not as popular are these clips...Lucy navigatating obstacles and gaining confidence, plus learning place. Harley, working on recall and place with some focus activity. But THIS is what most people need to work on. Simple skills to improve their dog's lives as well as their owners sanity. This is what dog trainers should be doing to actually help owners and dogs improve to live better lives.

Moving on, we were glad to see the sun today!!! It allowed us to get Harley outside to work on that recall in a more realistic setting. Many people teach recall with the dog in a stationary position (sit, down). But thats not very realistic and forms the wrong context to the command and actions. By doing it when the dog is mobile, it mimics a more real scenario when you need it. Not many dogs we know would sit, then recall when they are chasing the rabbit...

Good job today ladies!
🌊🏖🐕🐶🔥💪

02/15/2025

Fergus, Full Sending his Friday with some ball hunt fun!!! He doesn't normally come to work, but thought it would be a good change of pace for all.

As part Spaniel, he has a knack for looking for things and chasing. This is his first time on the wall...not shabby when you know how to manipulate exisiting skills and genetics 🫢🫣😜He's a good little mutt dog and we don't always give him enough credit.

We also saw Gambit again and worked on some leash and positioning skills. He's got a great little personality and work ethic and the cutest little "Rottie Lean" already!!

🌊🏖🐕🐶🔥

02/11/2025

Motivation Monday...

Not that anyone cares about watching a heeling clip for Babydawg's session, but we're working on his off leash obedience abilities here. We've done the luring, done some leash work, now we are overlaying low level e-collar on top. Using -R (negative reinforcement, for the psych class 101 folks out there) with the E to "speak" to him, without speaking to him. It's just an extension of a leash really...just without the physical connective bit.

Couple things to note...he's not suppressed, not shutdown, not traumatized by anything we are doing. We are simply communicating what we want, JUST AS IF HE HAD A LEASH ON! (Weird, right?!)A little low level here, a little more over there, all to teach him where to be or what to do. Just like a mosquito buzzing in your ear makes you change your behavior, this does the same. We have also spent time building the relationship first thru other means, so this all can make sense to him and be effective.

Some trainers refer to E use in the context of a "gas pedal or a brake". Either getting faster responses or slamming the brake to stop behavior. While this is a good analogy, we will go a step further and say, we also use it to "stay within the orange cones" (a comedic reference to the annoying construction barrels commonly found in our Midwest locale). Especially applicable to a heeling command. We don't need you to go fast or slow exactly, we need you to stay put in your lane going forward. Keep doing what you're doing and if you veer off, you'll bump a cone or two. It won't make you crash, but it will make you keep 2 hands on the wheel.

While we don't exclusively train dogs only with E collar, we use them and apply them effectively and appropriately as applicable. This often allows us to achieve off leash freedoms that might not otherwise be possible. Mind you, it still takes copious amounts of repetition to make behavior reliable...you know, like everything in dog training!

We also gave him a brush out and created a fuzz ball that looked like a sheep tornado. There was more than we anticipated in there and the vaccum didnt like it!

🌊🏖🐕🐶

02/07/2025

Full Sent our Friday with a Rottie pup!! His mom already has him on a great path and he's got better obedience than some police dogs...🤷‍♂️...we said what we said 😝

Also, the "chicken nugget" ( ) got fuzz plucked out some today. Why is it so satisfying?!

🌊🏖🐕🐶😝🤷‍♂️🤘

02/03/2025

Some random Monday randomness...

Got a hilarious screenshot of Koda the Huskie, doing what Huskies do!! Lets face it, breed characteristics often go hand in hand with genetics. Humans once bred sled dogs to, well pull sleds, duh!?! Providing your dog with an outlet that fulfuills their breed is often the best way to give enrichment to your dog. Whether its hunting for a ball, a bird, a person, or pulling a small laughing human on his sled, dogs (and their subsequent behavior) can get the most out of those genes floating around inside them by finding proper outlets.

Speaking of hunting...K9 Bricko out there doing some rockstar work again!!! We have been fortunate over the years to work with and help this team grow from rookie status to seasoned veteran. K9 Bricko and his handler are committed to being the best they can be and we see the differences they have made.

The last photo was from when we had down for some fun work, during our new K9 class last year. Bricko's handler saw this hiding spot as a great opportunity to build some skills and pictures that a police dog may encounter and need to sort out. If any dog around here was going to find this guy hiding under the floor, it was you guys!!

As someone (not us) once said: "you can never train TOO much for a job that can kill you".

Well done K9 Bricko!

🌊🏖🐶🐕💪🔥🚔

01/31/2025

Full Send-sation Friday! How bout the wedge grip tho?! Full, firm and calm..not bad for a newb!🔥

The A-man is now in our "pet-to-police dog" program here at FCK9! Due to life circumstances, and instead of trying to re-home or shelter a working line shepherd, his owner has signed him over to FCK9. For that we commend them. Too many dogs end up places they don't truly belong. Because of genetic potential, we felt it worthy to give him a chance at becoming something special. We are now 2 weeks into training and there has been progress every day!

We have a strong background training "green" police dogs. But even those ones usually come with some 'factory settings', provided since birth. This is something a little different. This is truly building and shaping raw, inexperienced talent, that hasn't had a foundational basis. There will be ups and downs, but thats dog training in general. While there is no gaurantee at this moment that he will make it thru our police dog program, all the signs are pointing in the right direction. We will occasionally post his progress and see how his life transpires!

We also got Mr. Theo out again today. Its not perfect or pretty, but we'll take it. Slow and steady, wins the race. Good work bud!!

🌊🏖🐶🐕🐕‍🦺💪

01/30/2025

Every dog has something to teach you...

This is Mr. Theo, a livestock guardian breed. Hes a gentle soul who is here for BootCamp. Day 1 and 2 last week were great at the shop. Good reps, engagement and moving thru our process well. Then Day 3 came...
He fell flatter than a pancake flipped on a griddle. Barely took any reinforcements, looked like his world had been crushed to bits. Even put himself in a kennel timeout of his own accord. What went wrong man?!

Puzzled, we sought guidance elsewhere. Why? Because we haven't seen it all. Because outside eyes see things our own cannot sometimes. Because each dog is different and sometimes the cookie cutter doesn't match the dough.

Sure, we could've continued at the shop, trying to eek out what reps he would give us. But for what? To take peoples money? That doesn't help Theo. But there are others out there who would take it in a second and pretend it was the dogs fault or even the owners. That's not who Fresh Coast K9 is tho. It is a trainers job to make adjustments and do whats right by the dog.

By admitting we got stuck, we were able to help Theo way better on day 5. Help his learning process advance so that he can achieve real results. Dogs are not zeros and ones, tho many can only see them as that. Be comfortable being umcomfortable. If you don't know, you don't know and nobody is perfect. Chances are the dog is trying to teach or show YOU something anyway. You need to stop and listen. Never stop learning.

The question should always be "am I doing right by the dog?". If the true answer is 'no' and its become a numbers game, then you're in this for the wrong reasons...end rant.

Good job today Theo!

🌊🏖🐶🐕🤔🤷‍♂️

01/17/2025

Someone Full Sended into dreamland on his last day...😴😴😴🐶

Stan-man did such a great job in BootCamp and he's such a sweet soul too. Being motivated helps his cause and his owners know they need create some value in places. But things make more sense to him now and we will keep tabs on his progress down the road!!!

Enjoy the ride Stanley!!!

🌊🏖🐕🐶😴

Fresh Coast K9, LLC

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