Ruby pup

Ruby is a gorgeous girl, she has a reasonable amount of energy and she loves to play, chew and run around – she’s even taught herself how to use the ladder to get on the trampoline with the kids!

Ruby is currently living with a one-year-old male dog and they get along very well. When they’re not on the trampoline or playing tug-of-war with a toy, they can generally be found snuggled up next to each other somewhere. Ruby also shares her home with two children, aged 9 and 11.
Ruby would be very happy to have another canine friend in her new home, but we don’t think she’d be too upset having all the attention – and food – to herself as well!

If she was going to live with another dog, it would need be one of similar size or breed who can keep up with her boisterous play. She likes to be the boss so would perhaps be better living with a male dog rather than another female. She would also be happy to have some little humans to play and snuggle with, but given her energy levels at the moment, we would recommend her new friends are aged at least eight or over.

Food is a big motivator for Ruby, which definitely helps with training! She has been working on learning nice manners when it comes to food, but will need continued training in this area. We have worked on her impulse control and she now knows not to gobble up a treat when it is put on the floor – she waits for the command to eat it (with obvious excitement…it takes all her willpower not to jump on it), however, we can now even take a few steps away, out of her sight, before giving her the command to eat the treat – she has come a long way!

Ruby hasn’t displayed any signs of aggression with food – we can put our hands in her bowl or take food away without any issues. She will try to steal other dogs’ food though, so we have been feeding Ruby in her crate so that our own dog can eat his dinner in peace – and at his own pace!

Due to the recent heat and smoky atmosphere there hasn’t been a lot of opportunity to practice walking nicely on the lead. Now the air is much better we’ve started doing frequent short walks to try to get her used to not getting too excited when the lead comes out and to start working towards loose lead walking.

Ruby is crate-trained and happily sleeps in her crate at night time. She does occasionally wake and whine in the very early hours of the morning, but we simply tell her to shush and go back to sleep, and she does! She will let you know when she’s awake and ready to get up. She’s also done very well with toilet training. Aside from a couple of mistakes in her first couple of weeks with us there haven’t been any other incidents.

Ruby is not friends with the vacuum cleaner, and will yell at it as soon as it’s switched on. However, she will happily sit in her crate with a treat while the vacuum is out and about. She’s not totally averse to household chores though…she does a very thorough pre-rinse cycle on the dishwasher! (We are working on getting her out of this habit though!)