ROCKY is a 5 year old sable male, about 25lbs. His ideal weight would be about 22 or 23 lbs, he is a little bit overweight. He is still what we consider ‘SPECIAL NEEDS’ but he has made TREMENDOUS progress since he came to rescue.
ROCKY came to rescue last summer and was first fostered by a vet. It was clear that he needed medication for his extreme anxiety issues. This foster worked with a behaviorist vet to get the combination of medications that worked best for ROCKY. This has made a huge difference in his anxiety levels and he is so much more comfortable. His adopter will need to work with a behaviorist vet from time to time to adjust his medications as needed, but he is doing great on the combination he has now. 
He is a funny, silly boy and loves to play with toys. He will bring them to you and happily play fetch. He has quite a bit of training on him, knows sit, stay, ‘high five’, down and many more tricks. He will pull on a leash when he is worried but when you stop and stand still, he will sit. The leash walking is a work in progress, as far as the pulling. He’s in a hurry to get where he needs to go. He loves to snuggle on the sofa with you, or sleep in bed with you a night. He really is quite a love. 
He is an active dog and will need an active home, preferably with another confident dog to help him with his anxiety issues. The more exercise he gets, the calmer he is. He will also need a confident owner as he does feed off the anxiety levels of his people. This was one of the reasons he was surrendered to rescue; his original owner loved him very much but they just were not a good match.
ROCKY has what we call ‘stranger danger’, and it is more pronounced in the home. He is anxious and fearful and will charge the new person before running and hiding. He will need to be crated in another room, before strangers come to the door so that he doesn’t escalate.  This behavior can be trained out of a dog but it takes consistency, dedication, and time. This training will need to continue in his adoptive home, and we are happy to offer support.
His new foster mom has been working with him in public places, having strangers ask him to show off some of his tricks for treats, which he will very happily and often enthusiastically do. And once someone treats him, he does remember that person and then offers them a ‘high five’ without prompting the next time he sees them. He’s doing really great. So basically we are teaching him that strangers= good things (snacks, praise, pets). Eventually we will be working towards meet and greets in his neighborhood, then in the street near the house, then in the yard, and eventually in the house. It does take time to ‘reprogram’ dogs who have had an undesirable behavior for a long time. 
He is good with other dogs and is still trying to figure out how to play with others, but that is a work in progress. He joins in on the yard zoomies, and does his part for keeping squirrels up the trees where they belong. 
If you think ROCKY would be a good addition to your home, please send in an application for him. He has so much to offer the right adoptive home. 
An application can be found on our website: Adoption application.