Rocky Junior's Dog Training Service

16/08/2024

OMG, look at 7 month old Boss! He looks exactly like a younger Rocky Junior, except for the white feet.

People for Animal Care & Kindness needs a foster home for Boss while he is receiving medical care.

Email [email protected] if you can help. Thank you!

16/08/2024

Jenny says good night!

My girl is tuckered out after an exciting day of playing with Dad, as well as her favorite kids, Josslyn and Natalya (Peanut).

http://rockyjrdogtraining.com

15/08/2024

Today my heart was touched in a very special way that moved me profoundly.

Just days after Rocky Junior died I went to meet with Christina of Tacoma and a dog she had rescued, Itero. In my state of despair and intense grief I was not ready to work, but the case was referred to me by People for Animal Care & Kindness and was urgent.

Christina could not afford a harness for Itero, so I donated Rocky Junior's JoyRide harness. It was very hard to do, but also the right thing to do.

Itero was living in a forested area of Tacoma, just off SR-16. This guy went viral and dozens of people were trying to rescue him. Itero was out there, all alone, with no food, no water, no shelter and no love, and he was in a state of extreme emotional shutdown.

No one could rescue him. He would ramble off to hide.

Christina had been tracking Itero's case and decided to give it a try when she saw a sighting report one day. She had never rescued a dog in her life, but managed to gain Itero's trust.

Christina took Itero home, and soon realized no one had a foster home available.

After meeting her and giving her Rocky Junior's harness, I gave Christina instructions on how to help Itero decompress and start to regain some of his confidence, as well as keep him safe.

Then Christina ruptured her Achilles tendon and everything went on hold.

Today Christina was ready to start training. Itero had been terrified of me when we first met, but today was just shy. After a lot of funny, high pitched, entertaining interaction, Itero decided to trust me and walked over to me. He even laid his head down on my foot and went to sleep! It's this type of interaction that helps greatly, since you are meeting the dog on its cognitive level.

It's speaking dog.

It was a miraculous moment and very much unexpected. Itero big improvement: ✓

During the lesson Christina said she had something for me and brought out a box. It contained a beautiful shadow box with Rocky Junior's harness inside!

I was so overwhelmed, and so thankful. Having Rocky Junior's harness back, especially in a beautiful shadow box, is priceless. I plan to find someone to sew Rocky's name into his harness, and add a picture or two at the top.

Christina said she'd bought a new JoyRide harness for Itero, and since she realized how much I loved and miss Rocky Junior she wanted to do something special for me. How special it is! ♥️

I'm sorry I couldn't get a better photo, without glare. I will try again later. Yay for Christina, Itero, Rocky Junior and me. It's a great day!

http://rockyjrdogtraining.com

14/08/2024

Awesome! 🐕‍🦺

911 dispatchers are exposed to daily stress and trauma, the dispatch center in Astoria is easing the strain on employees and on animal shelters by fostering local dogs looking for a forever home.

14/08/2024

Jenny models her JoyRide harness and gets her modeling fee, of course!

When Jenny arrived here from Houston on June 23rd she only weighed 9.9 pounds. Today Jenny weighed in at 26.5 pounds, nearly tripling her weight.

The harness I bought her is for 20-40 pound dogs, so for quite awhile it was too big. Now that Jenny's growing so much it fits perfectly!

Jenni also got a new collar today, as she outgrew the original. Attached is an ID tag, plus she was microchipped today. Only the best for my girl 🐕‍🦺

The vet who saw Jenny today said she thought my girl would be 40-50 pounds fully grown. I think that's probably accurate and I will be totally fine with it if Jenny does wind up that size.

http://rockyjrdogtraining.com

14/08/2024

Jenny arrives home after her big day at the vet and PetSmart. She's such a happy girl. Everywhere we go Jenny wants to make friends with every dog and person she sees. I ♥️ her.

13/08/2024

It looks like our odyssey to complete Jenny's vaccines is over! We had an appointment at Orting Vet at 11am today, but road closures led to 20 extra minutes of commuting. I called Orting vet and was told "the computer won't let us check you in if you are over 10 minutes late. 🙄

*** EDIT: Banfield inside the Puyallup PetSmart REALLY took care of us! Jenny got the last vaccine she needed to be fully vaccinated.

I thought she was microchipped by the rescue. No chip, so we took care of that - plus Jenny got an ear cleaning and nail trimming.

She had a great time meeting dogs and people at the store, and met the ladies at doggy day camp, where Miss Jenny will soon make her debut!

13/08/2024

Lord, do I ever hate backyard breeders 😡

Kudos to Pierce County for saving all these poor dogs.

13/08/2024

I am putting away laundry before bed. I wasn't surprised at all to see Jenny resting very near me. In just the last two days she has made leaps and bounds in her training and behavior.

I am SO proud of Jenny, and I know Rocky Junior would be as well ♥️

13/08/2024

Rescue superstar Lisa Fiorito recently fell and broke her shoulder and arm. Lisa can't cook for herself and her disabled son.

Please consider donating to Lisa's Meal Train to help them stay fed. Thank you!

Here's what you've signed up for. Please view instructions for information about delivery time, drop-off location, preferences, special instructions, and more.

12/08/2024

Guard dog on duty!

12/08/2024

Happy Birthday to Buddy, who turns 3 today! My Baby cat died on 12-21-21 after a brief illness. Rocky Junior and I were devastated.

3 days later we rescued Buddy, who was outside in 21° weather, cold and terrified. Some said Baby sent Buddy to us. I just know his timing was perfect, as we really needed him.

12/08/2024

Jenny on her early evening walk tonight. Isn't she just beautiful?

Tonight the 11 year old daughter of Rocky's long time sitter, told me she can't take care of Jenny any longer. I was shocked. The only explanation was "she's just too much for me."

I am not happy, but can understand. I just wish they had spoken with me and had given a little notice. I'll get it worked out.

On Tuesday Jenny gets her last puppy vaccine, and on Thursday she will be eligible for doggy day camp, where Rocky Junior spent a good part of his life.

But wow, have the prices gone up! $26 for a half day, and $30 for a full day. Jenny will have to go Wednesday through Friday. Our neighbor Patty will take care of Jenny on weekends.

This is going to be a major burden on me as I work on marketing and attempt to grow my business all over again.

http://rockyjrdogtraining.com

12/08/2024

Those ears! Like when Rocky Junior was a puppy, Jenny's ears sometimes get caught in a pinned position. How cute is that?

I'm glad I didn't work today. I am still sore all over and tired. It's been so long since I've had a hypoglycemic episode that I'd forgotten what recovery was like.

http://rockyjrdogtraining.com

11/08/2024

Jenny and I are taking the rest of the weekend off. After Friday's hypoglycemic episode that earned me an ambulance ride and 6 hours in the ER I feel exhausted, sore and tired, like I've been beaten up.

We will get back to work on Wednesday. Jenny receives her last puppy vaccine on the 13th. I'll have to review my finances to ensure we can afford it.

I'll see all my clients this coming week!

http://rockyjrdogtraining.com

10/08/2024

UPDATE in comments.

Today at 3pm I was leaving for a lesson with a new client. As I got in my car I suddenly felt light headed, dazed and confused. I didn't seem to know how to start the car. It was very frightening.

I could see two neighbors outside calling out to me, but I couldn't understand what they were saying. I carefully walked back into my apartment to check my blood sugar. 66.

Hypoglycemia, which is very dangerous. I went into the kitchen to make some oatmeal and saw firefighters and paramedics. Tanisha had called 911 for me.

They wanted to check all my vitals. Blood sugar was 70 and my blood pressure was high. The paramedic was not sure, but said I could have an arrhythmia of the heart. Needless to say, I went to the hospital in the ambulance.

Within two hours in the ER my blood pressure and blood sugar were back to normal. No arrhythmia was detected. I was feeling good, but very tired. The doctor told me to eat more carbs (potatoes and pancakes) to prevent further episodes of hypoglycemia.

I have been trying to avoid too many carbs as I'm trying to lose weight, but I guess it's more important to stay alive, right? I have tomorrow off and will spend the day inside with Jenny, Crusty Junior and Buddy.

09/08/2024

Jenny and her almost German Shepherd ears.

08/08/2024

Happy World Cat Day, from Crusty Junior, Buddy cat and Jenny puppy, even though she's not a cat!

http://rockyjrdogtraining.com

08/08/2024

We're baaaaaaaaaaack!

Thanks to two generous and timely, unsolicited donations I was able to purchase another year of WIX hosting, which gives me plenty of time to find a new host. Things are still a little tight, if anyone is prone to a little support. If not, I think we can probably make do.

I still have some major issues to conquer, especially Google, but I feel so great having our site back up!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

http://RockyJrDogTraining.com

08/08/2024

Thanks to some wonderful supporters our site is back online! https://www.facebook.com/share/p/EVSozuZd52TpKZUM/?mibextid=oFDknk

Go to http://rockyjrdogtraining.com to view our site and book your training.

Recently we had to drop our web site and begin looking for other hosting opportunities. For now, please email [email protected] or call 253-312-8382. All of our training is private, one on one and we come to you. Jenny and I are looking forward to helping you with all your training and behavioral needs in Tacoma, Puyallup and Pierce County. Here are currrent prices for our positive, force free training that will change your life:

4 lessons: $500
9 lessons: $895
20 lessons: $1600

07/08/2024

UPDATE: Thanks to two very generous supporters our web site is back up. Thank you all so very much!

Today marks a sad day in the history of my business. I no longer have a web site, primarily due to financial problems due to slow business and marketing issues that I haven't solved.

WIX has always hosted my web site, but recently they nearly tripled their yearly fees, which I could not afford. Today my site was disconnected due to non payment. It's gone.

I also paused my Google ad, as it didn't make sense to pay for traffic to a web site that is no longer there.

I do have two sales leads I have been trying to close, but anymore leads will have to come through Facebook. If my followers and supporters could share some of the new posts I will do in the next few days, I would appreciate it very much, as Facebook is my only chance at income now.

I'm down to my last $100, but I'm not giving up.

07/08/2024

OMG, Jenny weighs 28 pounds now! Her legs and body are visibly growing. I think she will be a big girl!

When it's dark outside and Jenny is looking out the back sliding glass door she will bark furiously at any activity. When walking after dark, sometimes she'll bark furiously, but only on occasion. She does not bark during daylight hours.

Rocky Junior used to do the same, except he only barked like that when he was on back door duty. Jenny is a guard dog, I guess 🤔

Yesterday I heard Jenny's Big Dog Bark. It was shocking to hear. When seeing friends and during the day I only hear Jenny's high pitched puppy yip.

I wonder how long until the big dog bark takes over full time?

http://rockyjrdogtraining.com

07/08/2024

This photo of Rocky Junior and me popped up in my Google memories today. It's from 2017, I believe. I don't even recall taking the photo, but I truly ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️ it.

We do have openings available now, so please visit our web site if you need some help.

http://rockyjrdogtraining.com

06/08/2024

A nice memory from October 10, 2023. Natalya loved Rocky and he loved her.

03/08/2024

Happy 2nd birthday to Crusty Junior!

03/08/2024

Jake was a special story and a tremendous success. I still think of him every day.

03/08/2024

If you're religious I'm asking for your prayers tonight; if not, good thoughts, please.

My neighbor Tanisha, who is 33, is very seriously ill. She was Rocky's babysitter for the last 3 years of his life, often with her youngest girl, Natalya, helping her Mom.

Tanisha and Natalya were with me when Rocky died on May 16th. They were just as grief stricken as I was.

Tanisha has been hospitalized for nearly two weeks, with no end in sight. Initially admitted for ulcerative colitis, Doctors soon found major concerns in the form of cysts and growths in several areas of her body.

She's such a good person, the kind of human this just shouldn't happen to. I am so very worried.

03/08/2024

In today's strange but true news: After two months of fleeing in terror from THAT DOG, Crusty Junior is finally becoming friends with Jenny!

02/08/2024

It's nice that a county in North Carolina is holding an abusive "dog trainer" accountable for his behavior. I just wish our state would do so. We have many abusive trainers in the Puget Sound region.

Multiple charges. Two counties. One man.We have the arrest warrants of 32-year-old Matthew Neal revealing how he’s accused of treating 11 dogs.Authorities say t