I’ve shared a lot about Rocket and his energy and his willingness to learn and to please. What I haven’t shared up to this point, is Rocket’s darker side. In previous posts, I write about how well Rocket walks both on and off his lead. You’ve read about how he watches and responds to our commands. You’ve also read about Rocket’s ornery side, like when he uses his rump to push Frank aside, or when he grabs a sock to be chased. What I want to share with you today is about one of Rocket’s behaviors. Having learned about Rocket’s breed (or breed mix), it’s not surprising that Rocket tends to be “on guard” during most of his waking hours. While 99% of the time, this behavior serves only to satisfy his inquisitive nature, it is the 1% of the time that concerns me.
It is that one percent, those rare occasions, when I, myself, become “on guard” that causes me stress and worry. Typically, this happens when someone comes to the house. Once Rocket sees who it is, he reverts back to his lovable, happy self. Once he has warned us that someone is dropping off a package, or that we have company, once he is sure that this unannounced visitor (at least to him) poses no threat, he settles right down. Fortunately, we have solid walls and windows in our home, so if we are not there, Rocket’s method of attack is simply barking and a little lunging at the windows. Rocket’s behavior in these first few years is such that we feel confident that he poses no real danger to ourselves or to our guests. I am a firm believer that animals should not be trusted 100% of the time. Our other dog, Frankenstein, is as gentle as they come. He has never shown aggression to anybody or anything, ever. Still, I would not trust him 100% of the time. He is a dog, unable to communicate in our language. If a baby were to crawl on him and pull his fur, might he snap at the baby to stop the pain or to warn that he is being hurt? Frankenstein probably would not, but it’s not a risk that I’m willing to take. I would think that most of us who have been around animals have, at one time or another, come across a pet or animal that has shown displeasure, and maybe we did not read the warning signs or we misread the situation.
At any rate, to this point in Rocket’s life, the only real stress and worry that he has caused us is during those times when he is guarding our home. On one occasion, he ran up to my mother because he did not realize that she was standing in the corner of the room. Unfortunately, when he ran to her while barking, he nipped her finger. Once he realized that it was “Grandma” he immediately started wagging his tail and was happy to see her. This was a huge red flag for us. We knew then that we would have to be very careful when company arrived. The only other concern we had at this time, was while hiking with Rocket. Rocket is very cautious of other dogs and will growl and lunge at them. His focus is difficult to break in these situations. It is the reason we invested so much time, effort, and money in finding a suitable harness for Rocket. The one that works best is a vest with three snaps and a handle that we use to lift his front feet off the ground. This enables us to turn him away from the approaching dog. To be fair, Rocket has had his share of aggressive dogs attacking him during our walks in town. The harness proved to be a valuable tool in removing him from those situations, too!
Yes, our little Rocket, our Cray-Cray Happy Pants, our Scooby, our Little Guy, is not perfect. Now, at three years of age, we have accepted Rocket as one of our family, flaws and all. After all, none of us are perfect in this family. The rest of us just don’t bite!