13/07/2026
⭐ Progress report - Rosco ⭐
As many of you know, we specialise in building confidence and de-escalating nervous, hyperactive, reactive and aggressive behaviour in dogs... And Rosco came to us a while back with all of these attributes.
We've been working with Rosco since 2022 and continue to support him to this day.
Rosco is a rescue dog from abroad and came to the UK with complex behavioural problems. His owners didn't realise what a challenge they had taken on until he was within their home, but they have been 100% committed to keeping Rosco and doing everything they can to improve his psychological and physical wellbeing; and have treated him like a member of the family since he walked through the door.
Rosco came to the UK as a young adult (estimated around 3 years old) with a number of behavioural concerns regarding wildlife, other dogs and people... Of which has been linked to possible previous training intentions (potentially a trained hunting dog) and PTSD likely from the stress of travelling between countries, quarantine etc and previous handling styles.
Rosco has an extremely high prey drive and fight response, of which we believe has been trained or encouraged during his youth.
Working and supporting Rosco and his owners has always been a delight, if sometimes a challenging experience for all. However, it goes to show what you (and a dog) can achieve when they are not given up on.
All Rosco's training experiences have used positive reinforcement based methods and the things he's had to learn include...
• Trust training
• Physical handling
• Collar, harness and lead training
• Longline training
• Recall
• Muzzle training - Rosco is an outwards reacter
• Emotional Tolerance
• Habituation to sudden stimulation
• Participating in daily experiences - e.g. supermarkets, town markets, public transport
• Counterconditioning to certain stimulation i.e. wildlife, dogs etc.
• Being around new people
• Allowing people within his home environment
• Learning household rules and property boundaries
• Learning that nothing terrible will happen if he makes a mistake
• Learning secondary canine communication methods - sniffing for scent, urinating to scent
• Impulse control & patience
• To change handler and stay somewhere new.
• Go on holiday
..The list goes on!
What have his owners learnt during this time?
• Real time canine behavioural analysis
• Applied behavioural support training methods
• Emergency physical restraint - Rosco is a very strong and powerful dog and being able to handle sudden outbursts safely is extremely important for everyone's, including Rosco!
• Aversive training tools are never necessary to combat aggressive behaviour - there is behavioural evidence to suggest that Rosco may have been previously exposed to shock and or prong collars in the past
• Aim to leave a training experience on a positive note
• Allow the dog time to think and give them options to how they behave in a scenario
• To set realistic behavioural goals for Rosco to smash
• Mental enrichment or training sessions are often more tiring than physical exercise
• How diet and a healthy body condition plays a vital role in behaviour
• Consistency is key to success
• Importance of 'Free time' in a secure setting
• That hard work pays off!
Throughout this experience Rosco has developed many new skills and healthy coping mechanisms to enjoy his new pet life in the UK...and we are immensely proud of his progress.
His owners are now able to take him in to public safely and with the knowledge of how to encourage good behavioural choices, and what to do if he makes a wrong decision.
Why have there been no photos until now?
Rosco's training sessions have required an 'on-the-ball' approach and we simply haven't been able to drop concentration to take time for a photo op until recently. (Thank you to Rosco's owners for sharing some of their photos)
However, now that we can... You'll see his ongoing progress as often as we can ☺️
We will be continuing our work and forever building on Rosco's experiences; and be a lifelong behavioural support service for Rosco.
Well done Rosco 💪🐾
