H&C

“Ruby’s busy week began on a train and finished in the Charity’s kennels – here is a brief summary of these events and the bits in-between. At the start of the week, Ruby and I accompanied my husband to the train station, including a walk down onto the platform to wait for the train to arrive. Ruby was completely at ease amongst all the commuters, and remained calm when the train arrived. Her ears pricked up at the sound of the shrill whistle as the doors closed shut, but she it did not unsettle her at all, which was excellent. The next day, I took Ruby to town for a walk through the shopping centre, into a few shops and to the bank. I was really delighted with how well Ruby responded to me as we walked around. She ignored all distractions and did not try to scavenge when she passed food items from the market stalls that were discarded on the pavements. A couple of days later, we all went to watch a rugby 7’s competition at a nearby club. Having walked around the outside of the pitch from a distance to enable Ruby to experience the levels of activity and noise, we then settled down on a picnic rug in the shade and watched a couple of matches. At first, Ruby was definitely interested in the hustle and bustle of the games and was keen to get closer when the oval ball came bouncing by. But, within ten minutes or so, she was content to stretch out and fall asleep – a case of the experience being more important than the result! And yesterday, at the end of a busy week which also included plenty of walks and play, Ruby went to stay at the Dogs for the Disabled’s kennels. She will be there for a week, to familiarise her with the environment, and to enable the training and kennels teams to ensure that she will settle in these new surroundings. She is accompanied by Veto, a Cocker Spaniel of similar age, and my next blog will give you an insight into the activities that take place through this week of familiarisation and ensure she is right on track. To finish, I wanted to thank you for all the comments from Ruby’s last blog entry. Now that Ruby has celebrated her first birthday, some of you were asking if this means that Ruby would soon be commencing her training. Sadly for us, Ruby’s start date is not far off, but we do have her for a few more weeks yet. Dogs for the Disabled aim to take each of their pups in for training at around 14 months old. Experience has shown the Charity that these extra couple of months give their dogs a little extra time to mature which ultimately means that they find learning their role as an assistance dog easier to adapt to from puppy socialisation.”

“Ruby is one year old today – it is amazing how fast the time has gone! From being a delicate little fluffy black puppy, not certain whether to be brave and investigate or just quickly hide, she has developed into a strong, lean dog, full of confidence and keen to seek new experiences. She spent the morning on a walk in the fields with our two other dogs, and returned to open the present and card that my Mother insisted on buying for her “adopted Grand-dog”. As always, Ruby liked the pull-toy present, but loved the wrapping paper most of all!! As I write this, she is intrigued by the melting ice that keeps falling out of the freezer that I am defrosting, batting the blocks of ice across the kitchen floor with her paws in an imaginary game of ice hockey! Last week I took Ruby to the local train station with our Puppy Co-ordinator, Claire Lush, to check if she was at ease in that busy and often noisy environment. Ruby was an absolute star, quickly settling down on the platform as we talked with one of the many commuters about Dogs for Disabled’s work, and confidently stepping on and off a couple of trains which pulled up to the platform. In fact, the only undesirable behaviour we experienced that morning was that of a driver who pulled straight out in front of Claire’s van, causing her to make an emergency stop! We were both shaken, and were concerned that the unplanned halt may have unnerved Ruby a little, so we both instinctively looked around into the cage in the back of the van. Far from being unnerved, Ruby was actually curled up, fast asleep, completely oblivious to the drama we had just experienced! We had to laugh!! Two days later, Claire took Ruby out again, this time without me, as she was visiting a potential new socialiser and wanted to take along a puppy that is currently being socialised. Apparently the visit went very well, and Ruby behaved impeccably, heeding all Claire’s commands and quickly settling down quietly on the kitchen floor. Ruby has come along way in her first 12 months. I wonder what the next 12 will bring?”