Marezeedo - a few thoughts...
You don't say what type of rose this is; do you know?
The photo is not very clear but it certainly looks like insect damage so I am not sure why you would apply an animal repellant -especially since you say the garden is fenced-in so I assume you are unlikely to be hosting herds of hungry deer. Maybe I am missing something.
Roses are prey to lots of pests and stressed plants more so...and keeping a rose in a relatively small pot in less than ideal conditions is going to stress it. Roses can be successfully grown in containers but the bigger the container the better.
Will your rose recover? It certainly has the ability to do so - the damage you're showing need not be fatal. But it goes back to whether you can offer conditions in which it will grow.
Please do not use pesticides and chemicals needlessly, often they provide no benefit, can be environmentally questionable and a waste of your money. Here, I'd start by addressing the growing conditions by providing a container with adequate room for vigorous roots, cutting off the damaged stems and encouraging the plant to grow healthily it will then have a better chance of warding off some of the pests that will invariably come.
I've grown to accept a bit of damage to my roses, less than perfect foliage, an occasional infestation of aphids (followed by ladybirds if I'm lucky), and the dreaded Japanese beetles that I remove by hand and send to their demise in a soapy-water filled bucket. As long as I still have plenty of fragrant blossoms I can overlook the problems.
Good luck.
