When we left off this series, Rocko was getting settled into his new home. He was skinny and scared but improving.
For the first few weeks we had a spare bedroom where Rocko would sleep at night. He was a puppy and did like to chew things up when he got bored. I went to work every day, his people-brother went to school, and things were going along fine until I got sick.
I had strep throat combined with an allergic reaction to my medicine. Since our routine was already disrupted I stopped putting Rocko in his room at night and started letting him sleep in my room. He never had much interest in getting on the bed except when it was storming, my later efforts to get him to warm a spot for my feet were a failure, but he did like being on the floor next to the bed.
I was home in bed for a week and was really sick. When I tried to sleep my throat would close and I would sit up in bed gasping. Rocko was right there, jumping up and licking me on the face until he was sure I was ok.
The only way to describe what happened during that week is that the balance of power in our household changed. Rocko went from being protected by me to being my protector.
By the time I recovered, Rocko had changed drastically. Now instead of hiding behind my legs when someone came in he would stand in front of me barking. The change was so extreme a friend asked if it was even the same dog.
No one could get in the house or anywhere near me. I’ve seen the same behavior since then on Animal Planet, when a badly abused dog finally finds a home where it is loved its job becomes to protect that home. Rocko’s people-brother could come and go but if his friends came over Rocko had to be put up. The only other person he let walk into the house was MeMa. Even though he only knew her from the first days when we found him and she only visited two or three times a year, he never batted an eye when she came in the door. Go figure.
In hindsight I should have had this trained out of him but I have to be completely honest - having Rocko as a protector made me feel really really safe. Nothing was going to happen to me as long as Rocko was around.
Rocko, September 9, 2011
He has mellowed out as he’s gotten older. Whoever says dogs can’t reason is absolutely wrong. Rocko understands that if someone comes over he has to go into the bedroom and does so willingly once I’ve told him it’s OK, but he also knows that if someone is going to be here on a regular basis he can stay out if he behaves. He will sit on his end of the couch and ignore you, you can’t make eye contact or talk directly to him, but he will allow you to live.
And that’s saying something for a mean old dog!