Kelly Fowler had never owned a dog or had one as a kid. When she was ready for a dog of her own, it took only a few days from spotting Grey on Saved Me rescue’s website to getting him home.
As an adult, her dog experience was limited to an old roommate’s pitbull, Bulleit. He’d been best friends with her cat, Mo. “When Bulleit moved out, Mo seemed pretty bored with himself as an only child,” Kelly explained. “I’ve always wanted a dog. I’ve always loved animals. When it came down to the quarantine lifestyle, I thought it would be good to have someone to walk on a daily basis and have someone around the house to have fun with.”
Training was an immediate priority. “I knew nothing about owning a dog,” Kelly explained. “ I think it was training me more than the dog, but also, I was living a lifestyle where I enjoy traveling, maybe not in quarantine but one day, and I want the dog to go with me everywhere. I know that takes proper training in different scenarios to be able to handle that. I also have a cat, so I wanted to be able to train the dog not to terrorize the cat as well.”
He was called “Wizard” when he first arrived. Kelly renamed him Doc, but soon realized it didn’t fit. “I can’t tell you how many names we threw out at first, but we landed on Grey for no particular reason,” Kelly explained.
Believed to be two years old, Grey is a Catahoula mix with a bunch of spots. Kelly found Philly Unleashed through an Internet search. “I could tell from the interaction with the dogs how much training they got not only at Farmcamp, but in the classes as well,” Kelly said. “It seemed like a good structure.”
Before the week was up, Kelly had scheduled her first lesson with Cassi.
“It’s been great,” Kelly shared. “I felt like it was more training me. I can remember my first session. … She told me, ‘When you adopt a dog, they change in three days, three weeks, three months.’ I remember thinking, ‘What do you mean by that? How is he going to change?’ He was so chill.”
Cassi explained that he was going to start to relax and present new, different behaviors every week. When Kelly started seeing the changes, she was able to share with Cassi, who told her it was all normal. “At first, he was very chill,” Kelly explained. “All he did was sleep. As he came out of his shell, he became a very energetic, goofy pup. Learning to manage to that within a small Philly house was very important.”
Grey has been through quite a bit of training with Philly Unleashed, including Farmcamp. “I took him to Farmcamp, so there were a number of trainers who worked with him that week, but I don’t know what I would have done without Cassi,” Kelly said. “I wanted to throw that in there.”
They also figured out that he was probably a bit younger than the two years the rescue had believed. “We think is more one and a halfish,” Kelly said. “He’s got a lot of puppy in him.”
Four months later, they’ve found a good routine, which includes Kelly’s roommate, Heather. “It has helped our day-to-day as well as his,” Kelly shared. “First, he was frustrated because he didn’t know what we were asking him to do, but since we’ve worked on communication, he understands.”
Grey has also learned how to make requests. “He’s a big fan of ‘down,’” Kelly shared. “His favorite thing in the world is belly rubs, so he’s taken to ‘down’ pretty quickly. When he lays down, he turns over for a belly rub.”
Kelly’s advice to other dog owners is to take the time needed. “I would say, don’t be so hard on yourself or the dog,” Kelly said. “You’re both learning together. It definitely takes time and an adjustment period.”
