Rossi at Search & Rescue practicing Hotloads, getting in and
out of a helicopter
Rossi doing doggy tricks trained by Yvonne Chohan
Rossi (Caragan's Hitmans Sonata CGC) is from the Hitman X Trina breeding and
currently resides in Castro Valley, Ca with parents David and Yvonne Chohan.
Rossi is a very special dog and has been up to many things. When we first
got Rossi I was just expecting to do some dog shows and have a great family
dog. Well she gave me what I asked and more.
First, I would like to say a lot of dog people would describe Rossi’s
temperament as being “soft”. If you raised your voice or corrected her, it
hurt her feelings. It by no means crushed her but you could see it had an
effect on her. Because of this I went looking for a dog trainer that could
teach and show me to bring out the best in this shy pup. Many dog trainers
told me (without meeting her but after hearing that she is an APBT) that I
need to establish dominance. I was told, I needed to have immediate control
of her and that my cute harness needed to be exchanged for a choke chain so
I can maintain this control. I politely told them ok and walked out the door
not to come back. I was very lucky to find Braveheart Dog Training in San
Leandro, Ca and Vicki Ronchette. With her help, guidance, and support I have
been able to turn this “soft dog” into a “get it done dog”. What we were
able to is create a bond of trust, so if I ask Rossi “can you do this?” and
now she replies “with you I can.”
Because of our relationship, I was able to turn this show-dog house-pet into
a "sky is the limit dog". Rossi obtained her CGC a week after here first
birthday on a whim. We have completed the Companion Dog Patrol with the
California East Bay Parks District and we volunteer our time to walk the
parks in our area. She is a 4H dog competing in County Dog field days,
County fairs, and State fairs in showmanship and obedience with my 12 year
old daughter Hannah. She is now one year into training in hopes of becoming
a mission area search and rescue dog with California Rescue Dog
Associations. And with all these amazing feats we have ONLY used positive
reinforcement methods to train and meet all our goals, and grown closer as
teammates.
As for the future again the sky is limit once her UKC show Champion is
completed it will be ADBA Champion. Then super dog here we come, keep
checking back because were not going anywhere!