Our story

Raising Hel K9 started with the idea that a dog and its owner should be able to go almost anywhere and do anything together. We want to help you raise a dog you’re proud of!

Gina Gaetano (founder, owner) started Raising Hel K9 in early 2022. Raising Hel K9 is named after her 4 year old Belgian Malinois, Hel. Hel has been the most difficult dog Gina has raised and she definitely lives up to her name! Gina has been working with dogs professionally for over 10 years. She has worked with and for some of the best dog trainers on the planet. She grew up in upstate New York in a small town. After graduating from high school she moved to Massachusetts for a career in the film industry. After about 2 years working professionally in the film industry and getting her first personal dog (Lucy beagle) she knew she was destined to work in the dog world.

Gina worked as a doggie daycare attendant and assistant trainer at Doggie Fun and Fitness in Massachusetts for a number of years. She was able to attend training seminars and expand her knowledge on dog training while working there. In early 2015 Gina found an opportunity to attend an Education at Sea seminar taught by Heather Beck. They traveled to the Cozumel Humane Society and a dog rescue in Belize to work with dogs in need. Later that year Gina moved across the country to Utah to work for Heather Beck at K9 Lifeline to expand her knowledge about dogs.

While working at K9 Lifeline, Gina saw a protection dog demonstration and became interested in the dog sport world. She found herself at Innovative K9 Academy and joined Utah Protection Sports club. Gina became obsessed with learning more about protection dogs and immersed herself in learning about Mondioring. During her time at Innovative K9 she helped with raising a number of litters of puppies for Loups du Lac Belgian Malinois.

Gina got her first sport dog, Bjorn des Loups du Lac at the end of 2017. Gina and Bjorn have competed at the highest level of the dog sport called Mondioring. In 2021 they competed at the USMRA National Championship where they competed against the top dogs in the USA and placed 2nd. Later that year they were selected to compete at the FCI Mondioring World Championship in Romania where they competed against the best dogs in the world. They placed 6th out of over 50 dogs at the highest level.

In November 2023 Gina and her husband added another addition to their pack! They had their first human baby and decided to move across country again, this time to Georgia. Gina and her husband bought a 6 acre property to start building their doggie oasis like they have always dreamed!

With all the experience and opportunities Gina has had over the years, she has become well versed in many different styles of training. This gives Gina the opportunity to create a balanced and structured training method that’s good for all dogs. You could say Gina found her niche. But that’s not the end of the road for Gina. Raising Hel K9 being her first business, she is destined to meet new dogs, new people, and new experiences that every client will benefit from.

Let us help you raise a dog you can be proud of!