Rocky the Rescue Rottweiler
Rocky is a very lucky dog! This may seem like a cruel thing to say given the fact that
he was a rescue dog whose life was cut short by a painful disease, but the quality of life he shared under the care of his true owners, the one's who took the responsibility of changing his life, was worth 10 times the reward of just owning an exceptional dog. Rocky was rescued at the age of 18 months by Christopher and Lisa Hall.
The Halls took a gamble adopting Rocky given that he was entering maturity with two strikes already against him. One, being that Rocky was a Rottweiler. Rottweilers are enormously powerful and muscular, they are also one of the most protective and determined breeds having been bred in Germany for guarding cattle. Although the popularity of this breed has since recovered, it was close to extinction in the early 19th century - likely in part due to the irresponsible mishandling that gave the breed a reputation for viciousness.
Even today, the Rottweiler often appear at the top of many lists for most reported dog bites, which has most unfortunately created a ripple effect for those owners who want to enjoy their well-behaved Rottweilers in public places without the threat of suspicious, glaring stares.Rocky's second strike was his age, in that by 18 months behaviour is beginning to form into long-terms habits.
Many dogs, regardless of their breed history, size or otherwise, may start to show signs of object or food guarding, or unfavourable reactions towards unfamiliar people or animals due to improper socialisation by the time they reach this age in their development. And, the Halls had no real way of knowing what Rocky's life was really like prior to their fateful first meeting.Christopher Hall, who so kindly wrote to us following Rocky's passing, stated that when they welcomed Rocky to their home, he would do his own thing and nothing of which was asked or expected of him.He went on to say that even taking Rocky on a walk was a very embarrassing experience for them. We were very fortunate that the Halls found our services through a search on the Internet, and decided to make an appointment to visit our facility and meet our team.
Following this preliminary visit, Royvon Dog Training Schools was honoured to be given the opportunity to demonstrate that regardless of Rocky's breed, age or history, obedience training not only enabled Christopher and Lisa to achieve and maintain control, it also relieved Rocky from the stress that he had accumulated as a result of all the inconsistent mixed-messages generated from a family that could not handle him. For most dogs, being well trained does equate to a more enjoyable quality of life, because you are eliminating the confusion of what the expectations are from the family unit. When a dog feels safe in their environment, they are content to follow their owner's leadership.
The process is easier for some than others, but the objective is forever the same. We are so happy to report that Christopher has shared with us that the demonstration of Rocky's new skills was so amazing, it brought tears to their eyes.It is also our responsibility to include that the transition from our training environment to Rocky's home environment had plenty of highs, but just as many lows, but with the Halls committed, consistent efforts, they will tell you that they had a dog "second to none". Sadly, less than two years later, Rocky left us to a disease called Craniomandibula Osteopathy.
"The whole family was devastated but through the help of Royvon in training both us & Rocky this time will never be forgotten as he was happier in himself and a joy to own. The work that Darren and his team do make owning a dog even more rewarding." - Christopher Hall
It goes without saying that Royvon dedicates our first newsletter Training Success Story to the Hall family and Rocky.
We all miss you Rock.
Craniomandibula Osteopathy: Craniomandibula Osteopathy is a non-neoplastic, proliferative bone disorder of growing dogs that affects the mandible and tympanic bullae. In non-medical terms this mean there is excessive bone development occurring along the mandible (jaw) and the temporal (head) region. Affected dogs have difficulties chewing and swallowing and may drool as a result. Atrophy (shrinking) of the muscles over the head and jaw areas can occur. Rocky's case is pretty extreme in that is typically afflicts Terrier breeds and is most often not as severe as Rocky's case. For more information, please refer to the following links from which the description of this disease has been provided.
Craniomandibular
Osteopathy (CMO) - med0071
dcranio
Craniomandibular Osteopathy
