Over three decades of marriage and nine golden retrievers, Debbie and Bob Gallo had never hired a dog trainer.
They’d always been a golden retriever family, and they handled their own training needs on their suburban property. When they moved to Philadelphia and were ready for another golden, Debbie wanted a small female. They decided to apply to a golden retriever rescue when their eight-year-old golden passed away in October of 2018. “Some people go with different breeds,” Debbie said. “We’ve always had goldens. We just love them.”
But the rescue had restrictions that didn’t work with Philadelphia living. “I kept getting rejected because they wanted me to have two dogs, and I didn’t want to have two dogs in the city,” Debbie explained. “Every time I went to get a dog, they would say he needs to have a mentor dog. I would say, ‘I don’t have a mentor dog, that’s why I’m looking to get one.’ Then they wanted me to get two.”
Frustrated with the adoption process, they found a reputable breeder in Maryland. “The breeder was so fabulous,” Debbie explained. “She was playing classical music for the dogs and she was doing this whole sensory thing from day seven on. She only had one litter a year. There was no interbreeding going on.”
Debbie found herself in the middle of two polar experiences. “I was going from one extreme of trying to adopt to a woman that was so intense that I was getting updates on what was happening even before the mother delivered,” Debbie said. “It was two extremes that I was having.”
And while Debbie had her heart set on a girl, the breeder asked her how she felt about a boy–the momma’s boy with a sweet soul they named Franklin. “We went and he really was adorable,” Debbie said. “I didn’t get a small girl. I got the biggest boy. He’s a great boy. He gets exuberant, that’s what happened.”
Franklin got large very quickly–weighing in at 85 pounds and not even a year old. “He’s wonderful,” Debbie said. “I was doing great training with him, he was very well behaved, but he was pulling me on the leash, and he’s big. And he’s jumping, and there’s a lot of people he wants to see in the city and he’s pulling and jumping.”
Debbie found Philly Unleashed online, attracted to the website and the methods and levels used with training. They started private lessons with trainer Collin. “He came a couple of times and he was great,” Debbie shared. “There was an instant change in one hour, what he taught my husband and me, and we’ve had goldens our whole lives. In one hour, it was amazing, even just the tricks he was teaching. The one-on-one sessions are just incredible.”
They added in trainer Kat for behavior walks. “She reinforces everything Colin taught him,” Debbie explained. “It’s been great. It’s been amazing.”
Franklin even visited the farm when Debbie and Bob went on vacation. “And of course the farm has been great,” she said. “I think the group has been great. I’ve recommended them to three of my neighbors already.”
And the changes in Franklin have made all the difference. “I can tell that he listens,” Debbie said. “He’s much more well behaved because we’re training him. He’s not dragging me down the street.”
He’s still a very large puppy with a big personality. “We’ve had nine gold retrievers,” Debbie shared. “This one has the biggest personality.”
And training has made all the difference. While Bob was skeptical at the beginning, they’ve both seen the changes in Franklin. “Even my husband’s like, this is unbelievable,” Debbie said. “I can’t say how great he is. Just because of the little things we’re training. We have a 90-year-old neighbor he almost took down. Now he’s not jumping on people anymore. Because we trained him not to.”
