Walky Walk

First of all, don’t be confused by all the endorsements from Boston. It turns out the owner of Walky Walk, Tom, recently moved from Boston to the Main Line so Unilocal didn’t make any mistakes recommending him. And now it’s my turn to recommend him, too!
Tom showed up at my house to meet my two newly rescued dogs. Actually, I had him there for the newly rescued puppy. As puppies are, she was a handful and as I hadn’t had a dog in over 20 years, I needed help more than the dogs did! The other dog was a 5 year old who seemed very well behaved so I figured I’d start with the smaller dog.
Tom gave me great advice. He seemed to understand my dogs, both their needs and how to meet them. I had Tom back to my house on more than one occasion to teach me how to teach my dogs. I learned things about my dogs which I would have never known. (Mostly regarding the way they think and how to interact with them in a way that gets them to do what I need them to do.)
I would highly recommend Tom. He is very polite with both the dogs and humans. He is prompt, professional and knowledgeable. And it turns out, out of his big heart, he didn’t just focus on my puppy but gave me lots of insight into our big 5 year old dog who, we believe, had been abused in the past.
We have seen big changes in our dogs and are grateful for the work Tom has done with us. More than worth the price!

I decided to hire Tom Roderick about a month ago out of desperation. I have a 4 year old lab named Shelby that I adopted a year ago. I have never been able to walk her on a leash. She would constantly pull me and go out of her mind every time a dog approached. It was so bad that other dog owners would go out of their way to avoid us. I tried a pinch collar, gentle leader, harnesses, you name it. Nothing worked. I honestly thought my dog would be the one that was untrainable.
Boy, was I wrong! Shelby and I had 12 sessions with Tom. We started walking Shelby on the leash in my backyard and worked our way out into the road, and finally to various parks in the area.
Today was our last session. We walked confidently on the Radnor Trail, meeting many dogs along the way. I was able to keep Shelby on a loose leash… truly remarkable! It was an absolute joy working with Tom. Shelby loved him. He is extremely intuitive and a real natural when it comes to dogs. He has many years experience working with all types of dogs and it shows. I highly recommend him.

I can’t say enough good things about Tom! With my last rescue dog, I literally hired six trainers to work with my dog who had problems with on leash reactivity. We even sent her to doggy boot camp for 5 weeks with no luck. After adopting Gus and realizing he needed some help with basic commands… as well as the occasional aggressive streak, I went to Unilocal.Walky Walk got such great reviews and the video testimonials on their site were so amazing, i decided to set up a consultation.
Gus immediately took to Tom and after learning more about the options, decided to board Gus with Tom for a month. I visited three times during the month and was so impressed with his progress each time. Once training was over, Tom did three lessons to train ME how to train Gus at my home and neighborhood. I’m STILL shocked and impressed at the results.
Gus now has great recall, heels both on and off leash and has stopped jumping on people and furniture. And, he hasn’t gotten aggressive with any dogs on our recent walks!
Gus loves seeing Tom… it’s obvious they had a great bond. If you need a trainer, believe me, Tom is your guy. Honestly cannot recommend him enough… and coming from me who has practically worked with every trainer in Boston, this review is should mean something.

Short version: Tom is a great trainer & really nice guy and I can’t recommend him highly enough. He helped my wife and I turn our great dane puppy into a gentleman and taught us how to be great dog trainers along the way. We can’t thank Tom enough for all of his time & help.
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Before we found Tom, we had a 60lb great dane puppy that, despite our best efforts, was quickly becoming a doggy-​terrorist — no street or park in Brookline was safe. Every walk was stressful (pulling, bad manners, barking, etc) and, with the growing that our boy was doing, it was only getting worse.
We decided it was time for help, but we didn’t want someone that would train (or «fix») our dog… we wanted someone that would train us — Remy is the first of many four-​legged pals that we expect to have, so we wanted to learn how to ‘do it right’.
After a quick search on Unilocal,Tom stood out. In our first meeting he sat down with us and took the time to listen, then to walk us through his training philosophy and the different training options available. We were impressed.
We started working with Tom three nights per week, and started seeing results within 10 days. After wrapping up Tom’s on-​leash training program (4 weeks) and were the proud owners of a dog that heeled (no pulling), had good manners with people & dogs on the street, and that listened to us — he was so well behaved, in fact, that I started bringing Remy to work 3 days a week… and I haven’t stopped since.
After finishing the on-​leash program, we decided to continue working with Tom — we’re now in the final 2 weeks of the off-​leash program and a good friend — the kind of dog that once seemed like a pipe dream — is now sitting next to me in the living room. Thanks to Tom.

Tom is absolutely amazing! Not only did our puppy Roux love working with him, we did too! We have worked with other trainers and haven’t had such great luck, but after reading all of the 5-​star reviews of Walky Walk we decided to give it a try. Tom was patient, flexible and always upbeat.
I think one of the things we love about Tom was how genuinely he really LOVES dogs and loves what he does. It’s nice working with someone who enjoys doing what they do (in rain, snow or shine!). Our puppy enjoyed her time with Tom so much we actually started to worry that she liked him more than us :)
We were sad to see our training time end, but were so thrilled with the results. Roux is a different dog and we are even considering doing the off leash program now because we had such a wonderful experience.
Thanks Tom!

I am amazed and delighted about the changes in my dog since we have started training with Tom! I have a very large (100 lbs.) German Shep/​Swissy mix who has always had a great personality, but really did her own thing. She had some leash aggression, she pulled while being walked on leash, she had some severe car anxiety and she barked at friends when they came into the house.
I had visited with at least 2 other trainers but just didn’t feel they were right for Ellie and me. Tom has been the perfect fit!
His training program is built on reinforcing fundamental principles. He first teaches the dog the correct way to behave and does lots of praising; this was so important to me as an owner.
My dog used to pull me down the street and walk wherever she liked, but this morning we walked off leash all around the South End. We crossed large, busy streets and she stayed by my side the entire time. I was obviously hesitant to take her off leash in busy areas but when I saw how obedient she was, I quickly gained confidence and removed her leash. She was soooooo great!
The change in my dog has really been remarkable! I cannot thank Tom and Walky Walk enough.

Tom at Walky Walk has created a miracle in just four weeks!
Oliver, my recently adopted 4yo Boston Terrier, is a wonderful loving boy except he barked aggressively at other dogs when on leash. Tom started the training program by focusing on basic outdoor obedience to build his confidence and teach us both to understand what an in control dog should act like. With some additional focused dog socialization leash training Oliver is now a wonderful on leash walker! He so much more relaxed, in tune with my behavior and knows exactly what his ‘job’ is!
I can’t thank Tom enough!!!

My wife Melissa and I decided to take the plunge and get a German Shorthaired Pointer. We realized this was a high energy dog but had no concept of what that actually meant until Mia (our GSP) taught us a few lessons.
It was then that we needed to get her some training and we found Tom and his company, WalkyWalk. Tom was nothing short of exceptional with Mia. He worked with her to teach all of the basic commands and created an outstanding foundation for future learning. He worked on her manners (which are now excellent) as well. She’s now fully off leash and we couldn’t be happier!
Furthermore, Mia is a field dog and the foundation that Tom put into place made it so easy for me to build upon the knowledge that he instilled in Mia (and in my wife and myself!). We whistle and whoa trained Mia in a couple of weeks thanks to Tom’s guidance! She’s a smart dog and we’re grateful that we found Tom and WalkyWalk to help us understand each other and work together to achieve common training and behavioral goals. Tom is an outstanding trainer and I look forward to using him again in the future. Great Job and Thank you so much!!!

We started with a lovable but completely out of control dog. Tom turned her into a well behaved member of the family. He came through with everything he promised and stuck with it until his mission was complete. Tom gets the job done. We couldn’t recommend him more highly.

I can easily say that Tom of Walky Walk has gone above and beyond the expectations we had for him when signing up for his off leash training program for our 1 year old dog Chappy. Before Tom, Chappy was decently behaved, but he would drag and pull us everywhere we walked, not sit when we came to a stop or obey any other basic commands. Weve been working with Tom for about 8 weeks, we admit Chappy is a bit sensitive and this poses a challenge in getting him properly trained within the 8 week course schedule Tom has set up, but no worries because Tom realized this shortcoming and without hesitation he decided to slow the training and tack on a few extra weeks to the program at no charge as not to rush Chappys progress. He now heels when he walks with us and sits and stays at the curb. Our walks are actually fun now and we look forward to moving on to the off leash recall which I have no doubt Tom will deliver on as well. People that knew Chappy before have commented on how remarkable of a change theyve seen in his behavior and we couldnt agree more.
I would recommend Tom to anyone who wants to enjoy a walk with their dog and not dread taking them out in public. It has become very clear to us that Tom has no intentions of leaving our dog until he is satisfied that he has delivered on what he promised us and I think that is very rare in this line of business.

When we started our training with WalkyWalk we were very pessimistic, since we had already gone though a dog trainer with no success. After 8 weeks, we literally had the best dog in Back Bay.
Our 3 year yearl old schnauzer, Charlie, had major aggression issues. He would bark, growl and lunge at other dogs, never stopping. It got so bad that we avoided everywhere– parks, outdoor restaurants, beaches, even streets that usually had dogs on them. We would cross the street if we saw another dog. Our dog even got bit by another dog because of his aggressive actions.
We frequently go to Pawsh and they were having a meet-​and-​greet with a local dog trainer for free. After speaking with the trainer at WalkyWalk we set up and consultation and he guaranteed results.
After training with us and the dog for 8 weeks, Charlie was a changed dog. He loves seeing other dogs now, he walks offleash everywhere we go, including the busiest streets in the city. He stops at every crosswalk and stays at our side unless we tell him no to. Everywhere we go people stop us to compliment what a great dog he is. I even had a woman tell me that if all kids were as well behaved as Charlie, the world would be a better place.
I would tell ANYONE, ANYONE to go to WalkyWalk. It has literally changed our lives, and made our dog much safter and happier.
You can check out Charlie at the WalkyWalk website under About Us.

You Back Bay dog owners reading this review may recognize my Mini Schnauzer. He is so well trained that I have people comment on how great he is every single time I take him for a walk. People are especially blown away because I walk him around all of Boston OFF LEASH.
Prior to training with Walky Walk, my Schnauzer was extremely dog aggressive. Each time he saw a dog, he would go crazy by barking, growling and nipping. I couldn’t take him anywhere. Other dog owners in the neighborhood would recognize him as that crazy Mini Schnauzer and cross the street to avoid us. It was really stressful and embarrassing. Then Walky Walk held a seminar at my local dog store (Pawsh, which is very awesome) and I met the trainer. He said that not only can he fix my dog’s aggressive behavior, but that he can train him to walk off leash.
I thought he was crazy. I honestly didn’t think it would work because I previously spent a lot of money on another trainer that couldn’t help my dog. He said that he guarantees his work, so I decided to go through with it. Looking back, it was one of the best things I ever did. It literally changed my life. I went from having a dog that so was badly behaved that I couldn’t take him anywhere, to having the kind of dog I always wanted… a dog that is well behaved and that I can take everywhere and be a part of my life.
So not only are his dog aggression issues resolved, I can now walk my dog all over Boston (or anywhere, for that matter) OFF LEASH. He will not leave my side unless I tell him that it is ok. Its very awesome to have a dog that listens to you NO MATTER WHAT. Whether I tell him to sit, come, lie down, heel, etc. he does it right on the spot. Now people recognize my dog in a good way! I even have the occasional person who tells me that they’ve heard about my Schnauzer from someone else.
Don’t hesitate. Whether your dog has behavioral issues or if you just want a well trained dog, I highly recommend you contact Walky Walk. If you want to see for yourself, go to
and hover the mouse pointer over «About Us» and click on «Who We Work With.» Check out the video of Roxy, another dog that Walky Walk helped. Soon there will be a video of my Mini Schnauzer.

The mini schnauzer mentioned in another review is my grand-​dog and he is a totally different animal now that he has been trained. He was an embarrassment to walk before Tom worked with him. Now he is a pleasure! His personality stayed the same, but now he obeys and behaves like a well-​trained dog. I would recommend Walky Walk training to any dog owner!

Seriously the best trainer I’ve used. I have a lovely little pit that was experiencing some aggression problems towards other dogs and while its not something that will ever go away clearly, Tom taught us how to manage it effectively.
Just see the video of Roxy, Billy and I that is on his site. The video tells you everything you need to know.
I recommend him to anyone.