After a Reactive Episode

Rocket’s behaviors have improved dramatically since the beginning of his story. He will be six years old this month and the changes that he has been through have been extreme.

Looking back at photos from his first days with us, we are reminded that this pup’s story began with a pretty bleak chapter. Rescue dog takes on a whole new meaning with a dog like Rocket. You may recall from our earliest blogs that the stench of feces and urine that had permeated into his skin was overwhelming. Even worse, were the scars and missing fur.

We spent weeks trying to figure out what he had lived through. We can only imagine that much of it was not pleasant. Then we spent months trying to tame his wild side. He had so much energy and a jubilant spirit; I called him Cray-Cray Happy Pants. With a determination and drive to give Rocket a good life, we worked with his vet to heal his physical ailments and dedicated a lot of time to training. Eventually, life with Rocket was good and things were going great for our family which included two adults and Frank, our Basset/Boxer mix. Yes, life was good…for about three years.

It was at about three years of age that Rocket began to show signs of aggression and reactive behaviors. He began posturing and bullying, mainly directed toward Frank. Hiking and socializing with other dogs became very challenging and then came the day that he bit me. I’ve shared many blogs about this period in Rocket’s life, so I won’t go into further detail here, but feel free to refer to previous blogs if you need to catch up with his story.

Rocket’s last episode of aggression occurred on Christmas day. He was overly stimulated and begging for treats from “grandpa” when he turned on Frank. We got through the day, although Frank’s ear suffered an injury. After that, more training and the realization that Rocket does best in a one dog family. This was not possible for us, with Rocket now nearly six and Frank eleven. Frank wasn’t going anywhere, and after this episode was treated like royalty while Rocket suffered the consequences of his actions. For the next two months, it was like living two lives in one home. One life was with Frank upstairs and the other with Rocket downstairs, as we split our time between the two dogs. Sadly, Frank developed an enlarged heart and passed within weeks of his diagnoses during this difficult time.

While we mourned the loss of Frank, life for Rocket returned to normal. Although Rocket seemed a bit lost without Frank because truly, they were buddies when there was no perceived competition.

I have often thought it would be good to share Rocket’s behaviors when they are at their worst, but that is very difficult to do as my first priority is always to control these situations as they occur. Today’s photos do, however, show Rocket right after such an episode over a fight for a ball with his litter mate last summer. No injuries during that scuffle, but you can see how Rocket reacts. For several minutes and sometimes hours, depending on the severity of the offense, Rocket is physically shaken. He keeps his head down and prefers to avoid eye contact with anyone, he shakes uncontrollably and really struggles to come out of the aftermath of his behaviors.

Once recovered, Rocket returns to his loveable self. It’s not an ideal life, but his is a life worth saving, and his story is definitely worth sharing for those of you who have experienced a dog like Rocket, and for those who have witnessed this behavior and cannot understand it. If you’ve experienced a difficult situation, please share your story with us.