Rocco

Rocco joined Mattie's Place May 8th, when he arrived at an emergency hospital very sick. He tested positive for parvovirus and his owner did not have any funds to help him medically, so he was surrendered to the rescue.<br/><br/>Parvo is a disease that mainly affects dogs' stomachs and small intestines. The virus starts destroying the barrier of the dog's gut by attacking healthy cells and blocking the absorption of essential nutrients.<br/><br/>He was born January 7, 2026. At 4 months old he should have received 3 rounds of vaccines including rabies plus deworming started at 6 months old and been on monthly parasite prevention. Rocco had no vet history of any vaccines or deworming or prevention of any kind.<br/><br/>This is why Rocco almost lost his life to parvovirus.<br/><br/>Rocco was discharged from emergency care May 12th, when his parvovirus symptoms were fully resolved and joined his pet-free foster family where he remains in quarantine until adoption - which he'll be ready for adoption the weekend of June 6/7th. Because canine parvovirus is highly contagious, dogs suspected or confirmed to be infected need to be isolated from other dogs to minimize spread of infection. <br/><br/>He is fully recovered and should have no further complications or issues from surviving parvovirus. <br/><br/>His foster family are true heroes to Rocky as it's a huge undertaking to welcome a parvovirus puppy into your home during their contagious stages <br/><br/>Puppies remain contagious for 14 - 21 days after clinical symptoms have fully resolved, which is why we are keeping Rocco in quarantine with his foster family until June 6/7th.<br/><br/>Rocco will begin his vaccine protocols the week of May 24th and will receive 2 further booster rounds in June and July and his neuter in August 2026, all at the cost of Mattie's Place, with our rescue veterinarian in Unionville.<br/><br/>Rocco is just a puppy that has missed out on all the informative training he should have already started but didn't with his previous owner. He can be mouthy and will also jump up on people, so basically just a rude puppy that really needs to work with a breed experienced adopter and professional trainer. He would do great with another larger breed adult dog in the home to guide Rocco and also help him with his play style.<br/><br/>Rocco is confident and courageous and does have a lot of naughty puppy behaviour, but he shows zero signs of aggression. <br/><br/>Rocco is a Rottweiler, so he's a working breed boy that needs a job to do, or believe he has a daily job to do. He'll be an excellent "worker" in herding or tracking activities, and/or obedience skill training. There is no limit to the canine activities that Rocco can learn to do. He's such a smart boy. The breed is also quite athletic, and needs the opportunity to exercise and go on adventures on a daily basis. <br/><br/>Full grown, Rocco should be about 27 inches tall at the shoulders and weigh about 80 pounds . As of May 12th (4 months old) he was 30 pounds. <br/><br/>Rocco will not be suited in a home with children under 13 years due to his size and puppy mouthing. Can he be with visiting children? Absolutely. He's a very sweet boy. He's just a lot of puppy right now and I don't think mixing him in with young children is the right decision to make.<br/><br/>Rocco is a really great puppy. With a breed experienced family, willing to put the training into Rocco, he'll be an amazing and loyal lifetime companion. <br/><br/>He is not cat tested.<br/><br/><br/>FROM THE FOSTER:<br/><br/>Rocco is very fearless. The first day that we brought him home he didn’t seem scared of his new environment at all and wanted to sniff and investigate every corner of the house. Rocco is a velcro dog and will try to follow you everywhere in the house. <br/><br/>Rocco loves to play and has a lot of energy but he can play rough when he is playing so he needs to have a way to expend that energy, otherwise he may misdirect that energy towards people (like bumping and jumping up on us and mouthing our clothes). That being said, Rocco is not destructive and is very well behaved when he is calm in the house. He hasn’t tried to bite any of the furniture or the baseboards at all. Rocco is also quite comfortable with the crate and he will actually voluntarily go in and sleep there when he’s tired late in the evening.<br/><br/>We’re still working on his house training. He still pees in the house but he’s been doing better, only having an accident in the house once or twice a day at most. We’ve started to notice that he will hover near the back door when he needs to pee. <br/><br/>When people and dogs walk by in the trail behind our house, he is not reactive at all. He doesn’t bark or run at them, he will simply just look. He does rumble and bark if there’s a noise he hasn’t heard before but otherwise he’s a quiet fellow. Over Victoria day weekend when there were fireworks, he was not at all scared by the noise. <br/><br/>Rocco is also quite intelligent and quick to pick up some new tricks with motivation from some treats. Treats are also a good way to shift his focus back towards us during his zoomies. <br/><br/>Because he’s been isolating with us, we don’t know how he would do when meeting other people and dogs out on the street. We’ve also tried to do some leash training and he will mouth and yank on the leash, so that’s something he needs to work on. <br/><br/>We know that puppies like to interact with their mouths but when Rocco is out in the yard, he will try to eat leaves, dirt, shrubs, and sticks.<br/><br/>With consistent training, we know that Rocco will grow up to be the gentle giant that Rottweilers are known to be. Despite what he’s been through, he is a little fighter and just needs a family to understand that he has some quirks to work on due to his circumstances. <br/><br/>----------------------------------------<br/><br/>$875 ADOPTION FEE INCLUDES: spay/neuter, deworming, flea/tick prevention, vaccinations, dentals if needed or any added surgical needed surgical care, food, nose to tail health exam, toys, leash|collar, winter coat (seasonal), poop bags, dishes and 30 days of Trupanion pet insurance with immediate coverage on adoption day for any illness or injury not pre-existing.<br/><br/>----------------------------------------<br/><br/>To note: the above description is relevant to this dog in it's current & previous setting. Home changes & adopter personalities can bring out different behaviours not previously seen.<br/><br/>----------------------------------------<br/><br/>Mattie's Place does not deem any dog in our care hypoallergenic, allergy-free or non-allergenic. Unless you are willing to take daily medication to manage dog allergies, please do not apply to adopt because I can't risk a dog being returned due to allergic reactions.

Rocco joined Mattie's Place May 8th, when he arrived at an emergency hospital very sick. He tested positive for parvovirus and his owner did not have any funds to help him medically, so he was surrendered to the rescue.

Parvo is a disease that mainly affects dogs' stomachs and small intestines. The virus starts destroying the barrier of the dog's gut by attacking healthy cells and blocking the absorption of essential nutrients.

He was born January 7, 2026. At 4 months old he should have received 3 rounds of vaccines including rabies plus deworming started at 6 months old and been on monthly parasite prevention. Rocco had no vet history of any vaccines or deworming or prevention of any kind.

This is why Rocco almost lost his life to parvovirus.

Rocco was discharged from emergency care May 12th, when his parvovirus symptoms were fully resolved and joined his pet-free foster family where he remains in quarantine until adoption - which he'll be ready for adoption the weekend of June 6/7th.

Rocco joined Mattie's Place May 8th, when he arrived at an emergency hospital very sick. He tested positive for parvovirus and his owner did not have any funds to help him medically, so he was surrendered to the rescue.

Parvo is a disease that mainly affects dogs' stomachs and small intestines. The virus starts destroying the barrier of the dog's gut by attacking healthy cells and blocking the absorption of essential nutrients.

He was born January 7, 2026. At 4 months old he should have received 3 rounds of vaccines including rabies plus deworming started at 6 months old and been on monthly parasite prevention. Rocco had no vet history of any vaccines or deworming or prevention of any kind.

This is why Rocco almost lost his life to parvovirus.

Rocco was discharged from emergency care May 12th, when his parvovirus symptoms were fully resolved and joined his pet-free foster family where he remains in quarantine until adoption - which he'll be ready for adoption the weekend of June 6/7th. Because canine parvovirus is highly contagious, dogs suspected or confirmed to be infected need to be isolated from other dogs to minimize spread of infection.

He is fully recovered and should have no further complications or issues from surviving parvovirus.

His foster family are true heroes to Rocky as it's a huge undertaking to welcome a parvovirus puppy into your home duri