K9 Connection, LLC

10/22/2026

Fun outing with my fave boy, Kaiser! 🥰❤️

Socialization never stops! 😉 Keep things interesting and change the scenery from time to time.
Also, provide plenty of exercise, especially for working dogs.

K9 Connection, LLC

10/18/2026

10/16/2026

Horry County Search and Rescue

10/12/2026

Lazy Monday.
Luna🥰 Vampire dog

10/06/2026

Does your dog get overwhelmed when guests arrive❓️ If so, pay attention to those first few minutes.

A person leaning over, reaching out, talking excitedly or making eye contact can be too much social pressure, causing your dog to exhibit behaviors such as jumping, nipping or barking.

This is where a solid place cue can make a difference. When guests arrive, send your dog to place. This is where he will learn to self regulate. Ask guests to ignore the dog completely, including eye contact. Let everyone settle first, then release your dog, calmly, only when he is in a neutral state.

You just gave your dog time to self regulate before asking him to handle a greeting.

Remind your guests to only interact calmy with your dog.

🚫Don’t wait until company is at the door to teach PLACE. Build this behavior little by little. Practice makes Pawfect!

✳️Training is a marathon...not a sprint.

10/04/2026

Horry County Search and Rescue

Me and K9 Ida
had a blast!

Consider supporting HSCAR, an all-volunteer, non-profit organization. I am proud to be part of this amazing Team!
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🎃🍂 THANK YOU for an amazing Halloween Howl Fall Festival! 🍂🎃

Horry County Search and Rescue's very first Halloween Howl was a HOWLING success, and we couldn't have done it without the incredible people who showed up for us! 🐾

🎤 A huge thank you to our talented entertainers, Bailey Marie Griggs and The Mariah Faith, for their outstanding performances. You brought the energy and had everyone singing along!

🎙️ Big shoutout to Mario, The Activity Guy and Scott from Coastal Carolina Productions for emceeing our event and keeping the fun rolling all day long.

🛍️ To all of our wonderful vendors, thank you for being part of our inaugural festival. You truly made it all possible!

🎁 And a heartfelt thank you to the local businesses who supported us with generous silent auction baskets, and gift cards. Your kindness directly supports our mission of helping our community when it matters most.

To everyone who came out, dressed up, shopped, bid, and celebrated with us, THANK YOU! We're already looking forward to next year! 🧡🖤

🎃🍂 THANK YOU for an amazing Halloween Howl Fall Festival! 🍂🎃

10/01/2026

🙄So, your dog doesn't listen to you?????

It's not the dog's fault.

🟩Here are a some reasons why this may be happening:

🚫 LACK OF ENGAGEMENT

The very first thing I teach my dogs, and my clients' dogs, is ENGAGEMENT.

Engagement means your dog responds to his name, and often offers unsolicited focus on YOU! Your dog finds value in being with YOU and pleasing YOU!

Simply put, you can't teach your dog if she is not paying attention to you!

🚫 YOU NAME THE BEHAVIOR BEFORE GETTING THE BEHAVIOR, RELIABLY.

Make sure to lure your dog into the desired position multiple times, reliably, before naming that behavior.
If you're throwing out words or "cues" that your dog has never heard before, don't expect them to understand.
It's like somebody asking something of you in a foreign language, that you don't understand!

AGAIN, Why name the behavior if you can't get that behavior??

🚫 YOU REPEAT COMMANDS OVER AND OVER!

Every time you repeat a cue you are just diluting its meaning, and you are also teaching the dog to ignore you. Blah, blah, blah!

🚫 YOU DON'T FOLLOW THROUGH.

If you ask for a cue and you're confident your dog understands but blows you off, make sure you get what you ask for. Try using targeting (physical cue) leash pressure or spatial pressure to accomplish the behavior. Follow through!

🚫LACK OF CONSISTENCY

The handler must be consistent. Everyone in the household must be on the same page also when communicating with the dog. It's up to the humans to teach the dog what their expectations are. If one person allows the dog on the furniture and another doesn't, don't punish the dog.
Slap the human! Lol😆

🚫 FAILURE TO GENERALIZE

Dogs don't generalize like people do. This means that we must train in various environments and gradually increase duration, distance and distraction levels.
Set your pup up for success and don't ask for more than your dog can give.

✅️Make training fun and enjoyable for your dog.

‼️DOG TRAINING (HUMAN TRAINING) IS A MARATHON, NOT A SPRINT ‼️

K9 Connection, LLC
JoJo Terestre
571 212 8915
North Myrtle Beach
Certified Trainer/Owner
Service Dog Trainer
Behavior Modification Specialist
AKC CGC Evaluator
Thin Line Service Dogs Trainer
Horry County Search and Rescue K9 Handler
Shelter Volunteer


Pictured:
Thin Line Service Dogs
TLSD Bretagne 🥰❤️💖
Providing Veterans and First Responders well- trained Service Dogs, at no cost to the recipient!

10/01/2026

Horry County Animal Care Center

09/25/2026

Do you do this?🤔

When you are teaching your dog a new behavior, do you say the word first❓️

🚫Stop expecting your dog to understand our language.
Communicate with them in a way that they understand.

❗️Why name the behavior, if your dog is unable to give you the behavior ⁉️

I compare this to a person asking me to do something, speaking in a language I don't understand! Show me first, so I can understand what you want.

🤔So, what do you do instead? Remember...nose first.

Lure the dog into the desired position. For example, if you want your dog to learn the "DOWN" cue, have a treat in your hand, while SLOWLY luring your dog into the desired position. I like to hold the food lure between my fingers while pointing/targeting her to where I want her to go. As soon as the dog's elbows are on the floor, mark with "yes" and then release the reward.

Make sure to do this multiple times. When you get the behavior reliably, then you can add the name to it. ( "down," then lure into position, mark with "yes" release reward).

Over time, you can fade out the lure and just say "down" or, use your hand signal. 😀

Dogs learn hand signals, (or ^physical cues^) much easier than verbal cues. After all, they communicate with one another by reading body language.

Nose, eyes, ears. That is the order they receive the world in. Teach in that order today and watch how much faster your dog learns. 😉

K9 Connection, LLC