Positive rottie press - Rottweiler trained to help children

[Rene Allegrini]

Good dog, Dahlia : City owner trains rottweiler to compete, help children
By SAMANTHA VOLZ svolz@sungazette.com


Five-year-old rottweiler Dahlia has been making a difference in Lycoming County for most of her life.

Ellen Moser, Dahlia’s owner, said that she took ownership of the rottweiler when it was seven weeks old. She had lost her last rottweiler to cancer.

“I found an excellent breeder in Virginia,” she said of how she came to get Dahlia.

The breeder required that the dog earn an obedience title by the time she reached 25 months old, Moser said, so the training began.

“Obedience is kind of boring for dogs,” Moser, a city resident, said. “Agility is a break. It’s fun for them.”

Moser said that agility is easier if the dog has a good obedience foundation, which Dahlia had.

Since her training began, Dahlia has won numerous titles for agility and for her service to the community through the American Kennel Club, including Canine Good Citizen, Therapy Dog International and Temperament Tested, among others, according to Jo Ann Moser, Ellen’s sister.

Since their first meeting about five years ago, Dahlia and Ellen have begun helping children in Lycoming County and across the nation. Dahlia now is a registered therapy dog and participates in reading programs in the area.

The rottweiler has worked at the James V. Brown Library; in the Puppy Pals program at Myers Elementary School, Muncy; and in elementary school programs in Hughesville, Williamsport and South Williamsport, Moser said. She even made a trip to Arizona to visit a hospice unit.

“The kids love her,” Moser said of Dahlia. “They think she’s great.”

Dahlia will run in an agility trial Saturday and Sunday at the Penn State’s Ag Progress Days grounds in Rocksprings.

The event is sponsored by the Mt. Nittany Dog Training Club.

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