Tag: ruby

This week Ruby has been to the vet clinic (for vaccinations as I don’t have any record of when/if she has ever had these done) and she met her physio.

The vet visit went better than expected. She walked into the consult room voluntarily and she was able to eat while she was in there. She didn’t mind her intranasal or intramuscular vaccines, but she did not like it when the vet straddled her and tried to stretch her rear legs out. However, when I took her back on Friday for a little “happy visit” she looked a little less happy about the place, so we’ll have to do some more of those to help her learn to like the vet.

On the other hand, she loved every minute of her initial physiotherapy assessment, and spent most of it upside down demanding belly rubs. I’d noticed that she is a bit more muscly in one thigh than the other, but this is apparently nothing to worry about and she has a clean bill of health.

Different Every Day

This week I picked one of the very few skills that Ruby has – jumping up on a raised dog bed on cue – and presented it to her in a different way every day:

• Monday – with her hippo sitting next to it. Very tempting but dinner won out!
• Tuesday – with me sitting on the ground next to it. She was thoroughly bamboozled for 90 seconds and I had to help her, but after that she had it sussed.

Continue reading “The Ruby Project Week 3: Learning to Learn”

Ruby discovered something underneath a side table that was super exciting to stalk. When I investigated I discovered … A GRUNTY HIPPO!!! I gave it to Able a couple of years ago, but he never saw the point in it and I’d forgotten he ever had it.

Ruby is delighted with her hippo. She very rarely puts her mouth on it, but it’s super fun to poke it with her paw and make it grunt. And of course it’s also good to stare at…

Ruby loves her hippo so much that she has been ferociously resource guarding it from Able, who didn’t give two shits about the hippo when it was his, and still doesn’t now. Fortunately her hippo-specific personal space has been shrinking throughout the week as Able continues to pay no attention whatsoever to her treasure.

It’s All About Rewards

I like to train with positive reinforcement. That isn’t possible if I don’t have things that I can reward my dog with. This week we’ve experimented with lots of rewards including:

Continue reading “The Ruby Project, Week 2: Hippo Hysterics”

It’s been 8 days since Ruby came to live with me and Able. This is my second time adopting an adult dog, and I think it takes a bit longer to build a relationship. My Christmas break has not been full of sunshine and strawberries, either in the literal sense or in terms of Ruby fitting into the household … but as the cheese ad says, good things take time!

Exploring the World

Ruby is much more confidnet than Rik was when she came off the farm. I was expecting that she would need careful introduction to the big wide world of being a townie dog, but she hasn’t been bothered by anything she’s seen or heard, from the dishwasher to supermarket trolleys, the fire siren to a screaming baby in a pram.

She has met four unfamiliar dogs – a huntaway, a border collie cross, and two mini schnauzers. She’s also seen a bulldog from the other side of the fence and she did not seem too bothered by that. Poor Rik had a complete meltdown the first time she saw an unfamiliar dog (a pug, something that looked quite unlike anything she would have seen on the farm) and jumped onto the roof of the car! I am trying to manage interactions with other dogs very carefully to prevent bad experiences in her first few weeks at home, but so far she seems to be quite the social butterfly.

Bird Brains

Ruby is very, very, very interested in birds.

Continue reading “The Ruby Project Week 1: Birds on the Brain”

Tonight I went for a drive and picked up a wee present for myself and Able…

Meet Ruby. She’s about 2.5 or 3 years old. She’s been through a couple of farm homes but hasn’t done very well on sheep or cattle so now she’s going to try being a townie agility dog. She is quite a squirmy grovelly wee worm and I’m sure she is looking forward to meeting you all soon!