The photo on Instagram was ten puppies, born to a dog recently transported from Georgia. Jenna Hannan knew right away she wanted one. “I looked at the picture and went up to my boyfriend and said, ‘One of these puppies is our dog. We’re getting one,’” Jenna shared.
She and Graham brought home Arlo when he was eight weeks old. DNA results shared he is quite the mutt with pitbull, fox hound, lab, boxer, beagle, and chow. Jenna had always wanted a lab-mit mix, especially for her first dog, knowing that the result was a very sweet, smart pup. “He was what we were looking for,” Jenna said. “We fully jumped on the pandemic puppy trend. I was working from home and thought, ‘Why not? What better time? I was very excited to have so much time to dedicate to him.”
She knew they needed to start training with him, and she found socialization puppy classes first through another company before joining Philly Unleashed for Level 1 after searching for fear-free, positive reinforcement training. As an occupational therapist, Jenna was looking for a strong bond with her dog, using positive methods. “I was so happy to find Philly Unleashed,” Jenna said. “You can tell the trainers genuinely care about each dog they are working with. Dogs that are still learning skills are met with support, not discipline. I want Arlo to feel safe with me, and building our relationship through training with love and treats feels like the best way. We have worked with Alicia in both the House Manners and Canine Good Citizen/Therapy Dog Prep class and have found her to be an absolutely amazing trainer who always makes classes fun and incredibly informative.”
They found group classes helpful not just for learning but for helping Arlo focus on Jenna as well. “Arlo is a very smart and sweet dog who is very food motivated and always ready to learn. He is also very social and loves to play with other dogs, which initially made group classes more challenging.” Jenna shared. “The group classes were so useful not only for building his basic obedience skills, but also for helping Arlo focus on me around other dogs while remaining calm.”
Arlo is turning one year old soon and Jenna has found that training has been essential over the past year. “I feel like training has been the basis of our relationship,” Jenna explained. “Not necessarily the obedience skills, but more the bond that we’ve grown through the training process. Through plenty of games, training sessions, and treats, Arlo knows that he can come to me for love, support, and food. Working on positive reinforcement training has been great to develop his problem solving and confidence. We are lucky that Arlo is such a food motivated dog, because it makes him eager to work on new skills since he knows he will get yummy food. Taking the time each day to focus on training ultimately means that we’re taking time to focus on Arlo, and that is where our strong bond is built.”
But of course, he’s always ready to offer cuddles as well. “He’s such a sweetheart,” Jenna said. “While Arlo is ready to work hard in a training session, he’s also always ready to love on you. One of the cutest cues that we’ve taught him is ‘settle down’ where he will sit right next to you and lay his head on your lap. It’s great for when you need a puppy cuddle.”
Jenna hopes to train him as a therapy dog and bring him to work with her. “I would love to incorporate him into my therapy practice, and feel that he could be a real asset to a therapy team for both children and adults,” Jenna shared. “Arlo has a great temperament to be a therapy dog; he is always ready to work for treats and loves to give kisses to anyone who will let him. There is something very motivating about working with a dog, and I think that clients will respond well to him. Who doesn’t want to pet and play with a sweet dog?”
Her advice to others is to find a training group. “The support from actual certified dog trainers has been so invaluable in our training,” Jenna said. “Not only is the information and advice that the trainers give incredibly useful, but being around other owners going through the same things is helpful as well. Being able to commiserate with someone who is also going through a ‘land shark’ phase with their puppy definitely helped me through some of the tough puppy phases. I feel lucky to have found such a wonderful training organization to work with, and would encourage other new dog owners to find positive reinforcement trainers to help advance their dog’s skills through loving training methods.”
