Welcome to the November edition of ZENFUL Dog of the Month featuring a very special and hard-working dog—Ruby!
Ruby continues to train with her family and with Kendra to keep reaching new goals. She is a tough, playful girl with just a touch of a princess attitude—that she is loved for!
Ruby
Age: 5
Meet Ruby’s Family:
Deb (Ruby’s mom): “Ruby is my shadow, she has to be everywhere I am. She is my heart dog. She picked me when she was a puppy—always running over to sit in my lap. Our relationship is about love and loyalty. She’s my Princess.”
Pepper (Ruby’s annoyed older brother): Pepper and Ruby have a love/hate relationship. “Peps” is a senior dog, so when Ruby is having playtime he retreats to his crate. When they are getting along (99% of the time), they are like Pinky and the Brain. Peps gets Ruby going and then sits back to let her handle things.
Caesar (Deb’s cat): Caesar mostly tolerates Ruby and only loves her when she opens the door to the treat cupboard. They like to watch the birds together.
Kiki (Deb’s cat): These two are buddies, they play together. They agree that snuggling in bed with mom is the best way to end the day.
More of Ruby’s Favourite People:
Karl (from Ruby’s kennel for daycare and for when Deb travels) loves to play with Ruby.
Paul (Deb’s neighbour) is always doing something interesting in his shed.
Shanon (Deb’s friend) has sticky kids who feed Ruby yummy things and run with her.
Jen (Deb’s cousin) always has interesting places for doggo adventures and allows a million doggie kisses.
Kendra (Ruby’s awesome dog trainer) teaches Ruby fun things and always has treats.
Ruby's Personality: Deb describes Ruby as a “big love bug.” She is loyal, resourceful, sweet and smart with a streak of stubbornness. Once she decides she loves you, she’s your friend for life. Ruby is also a princess and a bit of a diva.
Most Unique Thing about Ruby: Ruby’s claim to fame is being able to open any door, including doors with round doorknobs. She is very smart and can watch someone do something and then figure out how to do it for herself. Ruby is funny and she likes to make her favourite people laugh with goofy antics. After watching Deb play with her cats when making the bed, Ruby now joins in on the fun and “helps” make the bed too.
Ruby's favourite Treats/Foods: Ruby’s favourite treats are baked liver treats from Caledon Farms, cantaloupe, ice cubes with fruit in them and pizza crusts.
Her favourite food is her raw dog food from Québec. Deb switched all of her pet food to raw food at the beginning of the year. Every time Deb gets her bowl ready, Ruby does a perfect “sit and wait.”
Ruby’s Favourite Activities:
Ruby loves hiking, car rides and eating
She loves climbing every picnic table she sees
She loves agility—especially jumping and swimming
How Ruby Unwinds After a Full Day of Activity: Ruby likes to unwind by having a Kong treat on her dog bed, sitting outside watching the neighbour’s horses and cows or having a snuggle with Deb.
If Ruby had a human voice: Deb thinks Ruby would sound like Sandra Bullock as Tantor the elephant in Tarzan (the Disney cartoon) because she can hear Ruby’s one-liner being: “I don’t know mom, it looks suspicious to me!”
Ruby’s Training
Ruby started her training at ZENFULdog with behaviour consultations, then she moved on to cognitive training—she has done a group class, private parkour, fitness, hiking and some tracking.
Deb Tells Us How Training has Shaped Ruby: Training has been amazing for Ruby. We moved quite a few times before we landed in Green Valley. When we moved from Saskatchewan, she developed separation anxiety and by the time we moved here, she was reactive and fearful of people and other dogs. She is on medication for her anxiety to calm her down enough to learn. She was reacting aggressively and right after we started training, she bit someone. With training, she’s gained a lot of confidence and skills. After learning tracking, basic skills again (I did puppy school with her in Saskatchewan), wearing a muzzle, some agility and parkour, she was able to go on adventures again. I am forever grateful to Kendra for helping me get my sweet loveable dog back. I thought I’d never get her back. Ruby is always great to me, but now everyone else gets to see how great she is too.
I just love my dog and I would do absolutely anything for her. I think what I’d like to say to other people living with a dog who has issues is to find a good trainer, listen to what they are saying and do the work because your dog needs you to (and don’t forget to celebrate every success).
Ruby was worth the tears, frustration and even moments of hopelessness for me. Those moments of success are amazing. Many people take for granted that they can just take their dog anywhere and that their dog is friendly. I did envy those people at times because that’s all I wanted with Ruby. After all our work, taking her anywhere is now a possibility instead of a pipe dream.
Kendra adds: I love creating plans and teaching exercises to help dogs change emotional responses so they can enjoy their time together even in the face of triggers. The real hard work, however, happens when I am not there. The hours spent practicing and doing the exercises in real-life settings (where there isn't always total control over the environment) is what takes time, dedication, learning and implementing an advanced skill set—not to mention lots of courage and a tremendous amount of heart. I am overwhelmed by the amount of love Deb has for her furkid.
Comments