Who Is Rosie?

Rosie’s early aggression on full display…this was from a fellow trainer’s perspective.

Rosie was not always an angel. In fact, she had a bite record and had killed the neighbor’s dog. She was on death row with Louisville Metro Animal Services (they were calling her “A120087”). She was a year old and over 100lbs.

I called to ask about her two hours after they admitted her. They told me she was “fighting dogs” and that I’d need to see her the following day because she was taking up too much room. They couldn’t keep dogs in her neighboring pens because of her aggression. If I couldn’t see her in 24 hours she’d be put down. I was vacationing in Florida at the time, but assured LMAS I’d take her the following day. Hours later I was on a plane home. When I saw her the next day, she was one of the few dogs that WASN’T barking and whining, crying to be taken home. Instead, she was silent in the shadows in the back of her pen, with no dogs in the pens on either side of her. I really only saw her size and her eyes. I told them that I did, in fact, want her. I just couldn’t take her that night, I needed to get my house in order. They didn’t get her out because she was too much for them to handle, but they agreed to send her to the “Adoption House” – a half-way house of sorts. A place they could send her so they could put captured and surrendered dogs in the pens she was occupying.

The next day at the Adoption House, they did a “meet and greet” with a Rottweiler (ill-advised). When they walked her and the Rotty face to face (also ill-advised), she didn’t growl, bark, or lunge, but she was hyper-focused. When they got within a foot of one-another, the Rottweiler glanced left and right quickly: he knew there was something wrong. Rosie then lunged and ripped into his face. The Rotty screamed, the workers screamed, I winced. They tried to knock the wind out of her to get her to release her grip, but she didn’t care and she didn’t stop. Blood dripped on the floor. A worker put his hand in her mouth to pry it open and slit his hand in the process. It took a worker coming across the facility and spraying Rosie with puppy-mace before she let go.

She was a genuine “bad dog”.

After 6 months her obedience was to the level that it is in the pictures and videos you see throughout this site. After 9 months she could be safely allowed to meet dogs and was beginning to play politely. The transformation wasn’t easy, but it was absolutely worth it. 6 years later and she’s been a mentor dog for thousands of others. Now she LOVES to play with dogs. She loves to be pet by strangers. She’s a social butterfly and a sweetheart.

She was belligerent, headstrong, manipulative, aggressive, and tough. She was the epitome of the “worst case dog”. She convinced me that if that dog could become this dog, any dog can become their owner’s perfect dog. It only takes the right methods and mindset combined with dedication and determination.

Rosie was my constant companion, my “demo dog”, my business partner, and my best friend for 9 years.

She has since crossed the rainbow bridge. Her spirit and legacy live on in everything we do.

Now the Rosie Dane team consists of several trainers covering the needs of private puppy clients, to aggressive B&T behavior modification, and everything in between. Tyler, Lindsay, Kaitlyn, and Megan have dedicated focus to different areas, with overlap throughout.