Fresh Coast K9, LLC

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Fresh Coast K9, LLC

Professional Training for Pets and Working Dogs

12/29/2025

The "Rhino", in her natural habitat...❄️☃️

As we all hunker down during this storm, its important to be sensible about your pets during severe weather too. Some things to consider....

Are they breed specific for the weather? Do you have xtra water for them if the power goes out? Do you have enough food (or spare food) in case travel is not possible? Do you have things that occupy their mind during prolonged events? Can you keep them warm if needed?

Living in areas that have impactful weather should make you think about it before it happens. We all love our pets to the 'enth degree', yet sometimes they get taken for granted. Assumptions are they will just "get to the choppa", but will they? Is there even room?

Have an emergency plan for the pets too. Doing something is better than nothing!

Stay safe and warm. Don't forget about the fur-babies!🐶🥶❄️

hashtag.pet.safety
hashtag.keep.pets.safe.too
hashtag.G.I.Joe quotes
hashtag.Arnold.quotes.for.pets

12/26/2025

Merry Christmas to those near and far, and all their humans too!🎅🐶❄️🎄🎁

Babydawg loved his toothy shark toy, cuz sometimes it matches his personality. Now, keeping it away from the Rhino-saurus is another matter...🙄😬

Enjoy the holiday and treasure the time you have with loved ones!🐕‍🦺🐶🐕🐱

🌊🏖🐶🐕🎅🎄🎁❄️❄️

12/18/2025

A little Throwback Thursday and that one time K9 Action Jaxon got to ride free in the police car...😁 he was always referred to as "the friendliest police dog in the world". But don't let that nickname fool you, he was rock solid. We miss working with him and his handler, now long time retired.

We got Ms. Darla out in the world some more and had some good opportunities to work life skills. For those using the tone/vibrate avoidance system, tails are a great place to get real life practice and generalization done! Sniffing poo: tone-> stim. sniff garbage: tone->stim. Fixation on prey squirrels: tone-> stim etc...its not about the stimuli, its about behavior related to it and giving the dog a chance to win at the game. Don't forget to throw in some recalls like Ms. Darla can too!

🌊🏖🐕‍🦺🐶💪❄️

12/16/2025

Tenacious Darla and the Leash of Destiny!

It wouldn't be a Boot Camp if there wasn't some flexi lead usage..🤷‍♂️😝 but seriously folks, it is a great tool to use and to practice your recalls! If you have never tried to handle a 30ft line, thats soaking wet (cuz ya bought the cotton one), then we suggest you go try it and report back. Doable? Yes. Provides realism of being off lead? Ya, sort of. Worth freezin your digits off? Whole lotta nope!

Sure, we'll give you the usual disclaimer of:
- we dont use em in crowds
- we dont use em around other on or off lead dogs (unless controlled circumstances)
- we dont take the dog into places (vet office) on them
- we DO use the lock to control the distance if needed
- yes, just like any other piece of gear, it has s time and a place
- haters gonna hate

Ms. Darla did very well out there today and the squirrels did not let us down! We were able to see the areas that need to be better addressed, but all in all, it was a good start. We also stopped by the usual dog hangout, but missed , as we were kinda early. Maybe next time...

🌊🏖🐕‍🦺🐶💪💪❄️☃️

12/12/2025

Darla's, Full Send Friday!!

Big day for Ms. Darla, as we moved upped to distraction level: Babydawg. She's still learning how to navigate the pressures of life, but getting better. Going from "learning" to "generalized" can be a well worn path to travel. Some dogs do it quickly, while others need their own pace.

Darla did well handling Babydawg's presence, and we even pushed her limits with some things. It got trickier however, because of the work crew outside. You can see her looking back towards the door at each new noise they made. But, and most importantly, she didn't lose her cool with it either. It wasn't planned for but it made for a good work-thru and she did well.

We also appreciate Babydawgs demeanor and participation and he was compensated fairly for his efforts. We gave Darla some homework and anticipate her weekend report on Monday!

🌊🏖🐕‍🦺🐶💪

12/11/2025

Back to some Working Dog Wednesday!!

There aren't many trap door hides we haven't done by this point, but they still gotta search high and low! For the cops in the room, there was also a good discussion on the tactics side, of 'would you deploy down the into the hole in the floor'?

There was a time where the naivety and over confidence would have said, "sure, we'll do that", but not today. The thing is, yes, one could throw their dog down into the Pit of Dispair to get the the 6 fingered man. But at what cost or tactical advantage? 🤔 For a situation like this, it better be worth it.

The point is, dogs are locating tools first. There's an old saying that "ya can't bite em if ya can't find em", and that still holds true. In this scenario the dog locates first and then is capped and backed up so the hatch can be opened by "backup" and the dog sees this picture. The bite in this drill is solely to reward the dog for the find. Its not about deploying into the abyss. That is for your robots, drones, chem gas etc. Crawlspaces, basements and attics present uniqie challenges for cops in general but often they are also natural containment zones. Choose wisely...

🌊🏖🚔🐕‍🦺💪👨‍🏫

Oh, and Babydawg playing some tug before his detection run...

12/09/2025

Working on the start of tone recall with Ms. Darla!! Its sometimes a special dance...

🌊🏖🐶🐶💪

12/05/2025

Darla has Full Sent her Friday!

Our requirement for "place" is all 4 paws on the cot...ish 🤷‍♂️ and she was close! 🤣

Then we have (IMO) a good clip showing some specific things while working the "down" command.
1) spatial pressure... with slight shift in our body movement to communicate "too close, back up". By shifting slightly and pushing just ever so softly into her, she learns to back up or change tactics. Stop being pushy.
2) timing...when using a dedicated marker system be sure the dog is doing EXACTLY what you want when you mark. It keeps things nice and clear.
3) impulse and decision making...she wants the reward as fast as possible, but only gets it when she THINKS about how to get it. We have moved off luring her cuz shes past that. You can see the gears turning as shes sorting out what body position gets her paid. Thinking dogs have to slow down!

Last clip is from some place duration, adding noisy distraction. Many dogs struggle with human or environmental sounds and it causes a variety of responses from runing away, to urination, to barking and or biting. Why? Because often it becomes a conditioned response to stress. Bark enough at the people, they go away, dog thinks they've solved their problem and they "feel" better. It gets practiced over and over again, thus reinforced.

This is a simple banging 2 bowls together to make stupid noise video. But, its helping Darla focus on the task of place and showing her when she sticks with it, the weird guy stops banging around and she gets paid. Just like with a marker, the timing is important. When the dog handles it correctly (stay on place, known command), the stress of noise stops, reward.

Oh and one last thing...this dumb noise is stress. The vaccum is stress. You yelling at the dog for whatever is stress. The dog having to wait for food is stress. Life is stressful! If we can teach humans, who are capable of rational and cognitive thought how to handle stress, then why can't we teach more dogs too?! 🤔

Full Sent that Friday a little...🔥
🌊🏖🐶🐕‍🦺💪👨‍🏫

12/04/2025

Welcome Ms. Darla to Boot Camp!!

We're back at it after the turkey trip and police dog business in the south. Ms. Darla is a lovely young girl who is going to be working on all the things, but she has a lovely disposition (cuz she's a golden) and eager to work!

Her first week is progressing nicely and making some great strides in building behaviors. This will lead her into other avenues and we can then work with her under the real distraction conditions soon. Follow along with Ms. Darla and lets see where she goes!

🌊🏖🐶🐕‍🦺❄️☃️

11/27/2025

Happy Turkey Day to all the pups out there! Hope your turkey is cooked, the potatoes are mashed and the pie is finished by kickoff!

🌊⛱️🐶🦃

11/22/2025

Ope, just going to sneak right past ya there and look at some doggos...Some familiar faces and some new ones, but the dogs are still solid! 🐶

IYKYK
New K9 coming to a place near you!

Thanks it was a fun but tough choice day!

🌊🏖🚔🐕‍🦺🐶🔥

.a.mal-a-doodle

11/19/2025

Throwback Tuesday...

That one time it was REALLY windy, but Fergus still had his photo shoot scheduled! 🤣

He's such a good sport. One of the best dogs we've owned, IMO. He has his moments, but all dogs do. Oh, but he was terrible as a puppy. Lol

🌊🏖🐶🐶🌬

Address

Traverse City, MI

Telephone

+12312338671

Website

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

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