ruby Archives - Five Fault Club

The Ruby Project, Week 8: Fun with Foundations

Ruby and I have now done three weeks of our foundation agility class and we started our domestic Good Basics class this week too. We’d had a pretty quiet week apart from that as I’ve not been feeling well.

I’ve also been a bit slack about keeping her occupied with food toys, and have had to confiscate a few items of contraband as a result.

Assorted treasure in Ruby’s lair – a sock, Able’s crackle ball, a roll of poo bags that had been in the same pocket as some yummy treats, and miscellaneous bits of fluff from a stuffed toy she pinched off the top shelf of the bookshelf.

Ruby also got to enjoy her first few 1-2 minute off-lead micro-walks this week, during one of our walks at Knottingley. Unfortunately it’s been quite hot so most of our walks are near twilight, when there is too great a chance of hedgehog-hunting antics to risk a repeat just yet.

Agility Fun

We have some good moments in foundation class but also a lot of not-so-good moments. I am struggling to get her to consistently chase and pick up any of her balls club. She will happily play fetch at the dog park (yup, I’ve become one of those people!) but there are so many more interesting things at club that the ball doesn’t rate a mention.

We had our first introduction to weave poles this week (one set of two poles) and she very quickly picked up the idea of going between the poles to get a treat that I’d throw ahead. A couple of stations later I was trying to get her to wrap a cone – something she’s learned with several different props at home – and every time I released her she’d wander up to the cone and wander right on past…

In between classes I am rationing myself to one session of training with agility equipment at home per week. We have plenty of other skills to work on so while I love doing “real agility”, it isn’t the main focus right now.

The Ruby Project, Week 6: Agility Antics

This weekend Ruby went to her first ever agility show. Her favourite part was the belly rubs. And the nest of sparrow chicks under the verandah. And meeting new four-legged friends – except for 14-week-old Zeffer Walker, who tried to hump her, twice.

She did spend some time actually watching agility – but not a lot, because she found it quite exciting and I don’t want her to get in the habit of tuning me out so she can watch agility TV. She also got her official measure done, thanks to some help from Reece and Sallie, and she stood pretty much perfectly! I knew she was going to be 500 but she has come in a bit taller than expected at 510mm.

She still looks very little next to Able…

It’s Yer Choice

This week Ruby joined in our club’s new foundation agility class intake. She is not really ready for this, but there was one spot left in the class and I figured we could at least do the first few weeks.

The Ruby Project, Week 5: Measuring Up

Ruby is now loose in the house all day, except for popping into her crate when I’m feeding or training Able. She’s had literally zero accidents inside the house (there are advantages to starting with an adult dog!) and there haven’t been any major scenes of destruction. She does like to collect up dog-approved things she finds lying around – cow hooves, balls, empty Kongs – and amass a hoard of them on the back deck, her favourite sunbathing spot.

Ruby enjoying some midday sun, not long after I’d confiscated her collection of treasures.

A New Approach to Measuring

Ruby was, like many dogs, quite worried about the measuring stick when she first saw it. I’ve played around with a few things to build her confidence to have it looming over her and touching her:

The Ruby Project, Week 4: Building a Balance

This week Ruby met her first ever pushy squeaky toy. She enjoyed pulling the stuffing out (holes pre-made for her by Able). She liked it when it squeaked, unlike poor Rik who ran off and hid behind the loo the first time she heard a squeaky toy. Most of all, she was very determined but ultimately unsuccessful in plucking all the fur off.

Yes, that’s a jump in the background. It’s in my living room (temporarily) because I LIVE in my living room … and most of my life revolves around agility.

Out and About

Now that we have the vaccination situation sorted out, Ruby has a big wide world to explore. Some outings this week:

The Ruby Project Week 3: Learning to Learn

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.

Ruby meets Lucy the physiotherapist/belly rubber.

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.

The Ruby Project, Week 2: Hippo Hysterics

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 staring lovingly at her new hippo bestie.

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:

The Ruby Project Week 1: Birds on the Brain

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!

Ruby was on my wee training dogwalk within 2 minutes of coming home, and seems to prefer it to walking on the boring old grass.

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.

The Ruby Project

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!