Southport Magazine

by Ruby Cline

After Wilmington native Mike Chambers finished his time in the Marine Corps, he returned to the area and began his career in private security, just as he’d planned. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in Security Management and quickly found success. After a while, he felt an urge to follow a new calling – he had the idea of becoming a K9 handler. His true calling was right around the corner, just not exactly as he’d pictured it.

As Chambers began doing research into the world of K9, with the goal of becoming a handler, he discovered American K9 Interdiction (AK9I) in Virginia. They offered a trainer’s program which allowed students to go through a 13-week course with the K9 of their choosing, hand-picked by each student at the beginning of the program. Upon completion of the program, students graduate along with their newly trained K9s. 

That particular program caught Chamber’s eye in more than one way, but especially when he learned it was a fast track for law enforcement. That, however, wasn’t exactly how it went. “I fell in love with the process of building a bond with the animals and seeing it come to fruition during training,” Chambers explained. “I immediately became hooked and knew I could do a lot more for the law enforcement community by utilizing my skills to develop highly trained K9s to watch over our law enforcement officers, as well as help them do their job.”

About two years ago, Chambers was able to see his dream come to fruition in the form of Cape Fear K9, the training facility he opened in Boiling Springs Lakes. While they are, indeed, a K9 training facility as their name implies, they’re primarily a pet training facility for the local community. “People can expect to find a team that has dedicated their lives to helping them and their dogs be successful,” Chambers said. “We understand every dog is unique and every situation is different. Our goal is to provide the best option to our clients no matter what their goals may be.” 

The facility offers a wide range of services that include private lessons, classes, workshops, as well as board and train programs. More specialized courses, such as American Kennel Club (AKC) scent classes and protection training also are offered to those who are interested. 

When it comes to working with the dogs, Chambers emphasizes how crucial relationships are when it comes to dog training, particularly as it relates to addressing dog behavior. “There are a lot of myths and outdated information about dogs, and we have learned so much as a community in the past couple of decades,” he said. “Having a diverse background with lots of experience and a wide array of challenges has aided me as a trainer. We believe in using the minimum amount of stress/discomfort in our training. We believe in a 3-prong approach: Training, Management and Education. Sometimes we [as people] think anything can be trained and, mostly, that is true; however, there is always a need for management protocols and owner education.”

When asked about what people need to keep in mind when looking into training, and dogs in general, Chambers explained, “We as human beings are conditioned to be reactionary creatures. In addition, we have a much higher sense of emotions and thoughts. These two things can often lead to unwanted complications that may arise within their household. Over 90 percent of the clients we see come because of ‘something’ that’s happened. We often don’t realize how these actions can affect [the feelings of] our dogs until it is too late. We love dogs, and yet we humanize them rather than loving them for what they are. We are here to help bridge that gap and build that understanding so that everyone is happy.”

The thorough understanding of canines and their behavior has served Chambers tremendously well when training dogs. Everything they do at Cape Fear K9 is rooted in understanding the behavior of dogs and utilizing relationships to overcome obstacles as well as build deeper bonds with them. They stand true to their mission statement: Training based on principles of fairness, understanding and accountability. 

Chamber’s best advice: “It’s important to put in the time to train your dog in order to get more of the behaviors you want; however, consistency and quality repetitions are much more important.”