Life With Rocky
The day I took on Rocky I had no idea he would be such a character. I found him in the shelter, where the dogs were standing passively in the cages. Except Rocky. He was bouncing all over that cage, his great tongue lolling to the side. Then he sat back and looked on excitedly as I moved in to have a closer look. He was bigger than I took him to be in the shelter, and that makes the doggy door a bit snug and he eats quite a lot. I like a large dog, to have a pal, not a lap sitter. The information card described him as a Shepherd-Lab mix, 2 1/2 years old. Brindle and black. He was already named Rocky. Today, he is four. Still named Rocky.
Rocky was a poor car rider, cowering on the floor on the way home. But
he responded very well to a leash. He adapted right away to the doggy door. His behavior suggested he had spent most of his time out of doors in the past. Which may explain his bad manners in the kitchen. I walked in on him standing over a half eaten bag of cookies. I read him the riot act and locked him out for a time. His kitchen manners improved, though they will never get excellent. I know he took a stick of butter off the cabinet and ate it, wrapper and all. Just cannot prove it. Mostly, he respects the counter tops, now.
We got him chew toys. At first, it was rubber squeaky chickens. He loved to bite them to hear the squawking squeals and loved to violently shake them. Then one day he learned how to remove the squeaker. He was on about the fifth chicken when he discovered how easy it is. After that, a chicken lasted about fifteen minutes. So we found him a hard blue bone shape chew toy. With a squeaker, which he soon removed. But he loves that one so much that when one wears out we gladly buy an identical blue bone. He carries it everywhere and has to put it in his bowl when he eats. He often places it on my lap or puts it on my bed certain times. We wrestle over possession of it. He has an exceptionally strong bite and teeth that are dangerous with a strong body to back them up. If he did not love people as he does he could make short work of them. The other day we were riding home from seeing the vet when he started barking at the truck behind us. He sounded so fierce that had I been a stranger I would have gotten afraid for my well being, sitting that close to him.
When a dog escapes through the fence it is likely to do one of two things. Wander amiably about the neighborhood with other loose dogs or take off running. One dog I had would run all day long if she knew I was after her. One day, I crouched by the side of the street and called her. She immediately came to me and I walked her home. I never had to chase her again. Rocky joins up with neighborhood dogs just to be sociable. He never runs away from me. About a year back, he went across the street and seemed to be looking for the owner of a house on the corner. I caught up to him and slipped a choke leash on him. He balked when I sought to lead him to the gate. He fought me so hard that I almost strangled him. The moment he was back home I slipped off the leash and he wagged his tail and came to me for a friendly pet.
He refuses to eat unless my wife and I both are with him. Food will sit for hours if one of us is away from home. He is a barker. The instant he sees the missing one arrive, he lets out a series of barks. Once we are all together he barks at the cabinet with the dishwasher in it, lunging and circling. He eats a few bites, resumes the barking routine, eats, repeats.
His barking habits are complex. He has a bark for me when I break out the dog food and a different one for each occasion. Activating electric appliances triggers barking fits. Particularly the air conditioner. He runs in tight circles, snapping in the direction of my hand, and once it is operating has to check all the vents to be certain the cool air is moving.
When I try to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee and maybe watch some TV he comes to me for belly rubs. Despite the fact he has been neutered he often tries to hump my leg.
I did not realize he was overeating until the vet told me he had to lose about ten pounds. So, I feed him dry food meant to keep the weight down, give him very small snacks and let him have about six ounces of wet dog food, because I consider it cruel to make him eat only hard dry stuff. I would bite me if I made me do that.
Rocky is a hunter by nature. He has always wanted a squirrel for his very own. He would bite and love it and mangle it and carry it everywhere. So far they are too quick for him. He has however, compiled a lengthy list of victims. Three possums. Several moles. Numerous big tree roaches. Lizards. Rats. One day a mockingbird attacked him. This is something that has terrorized every dog I have owned, until I got Rocky. He instantly killed the bird. He caught a copperhead snake which he repeatedly reached for with his mouth only to receive a couple of fangs in the side of his nose every time. He refused to give up until I stepped in and knocked off the snake's head. A dose of children's Benadryl was all it took to restore his swollen nose to normal. The next copperhead he found he kept under guard but waited for me to kill it. Recently, my neighbor discovered a cat living under her mobile home. She chased it with a stick and the unfortunate animal escaped through the fence right before Rocky, who had been watching the whole incident. The poor animal tried to ward him off but he killed it. I don't feel proud knowing how these animals died, but we bonded before he did any of this. I keep him at home and most animals he could encounter are gone. So his kill count ought to go to near zero.
Rocky loves people. It has taken lots of effort to socialize him. He used to jump against a stranger's back or be all over them if they sat down. He is much better now. Last visitors we had, he actually stayed on the porch until they left.
What can I say about Rocky? Like every dog I have owned as an adult he sleeps on the floor by my bed. He, as did they, sleeps so soundly it is not likely he would know if burglars were in the front part of the house. They have all expected me to protect them. Which I would gladly do.
