Ruby Smith

RUBY HAS A FABULOUS HOME WITH THE AMAZING OREO

Nala has a brand new home and a lovely new name to go with it. With her colouring, what else could it be other than Ruby? The best news of all is that her home is with our very special miracle boy, Oreo.

RUBY’S FIRST REPORT FROM HER FOREVER HOME (30.10.2016)

Caroline said “We arrived home and I settled her in for an hour then picked up the boys and brought them home for the introduction and dinner (you can guess which was most important as far as they were all concerned!) 

They’re all getting on really well – Orrie & Ruby have been playing “chase me” all round the garden as well as the house then it’s “see who can get closest to Mum”.  Orrie sits next to me and Ruby climbs over him!! 

Buddy is keeping a low profile as usual but seems very happy with his new sister. 

It’s been a bit too chaotic to take pictures since I got the boys home, but here are a  couple I took when Ruby first arrived – she thinks the panda is the best toy ever”.

A VERY SUCCESSFUL FIRST 24 HOURS

Caroline continues: “Just another little update so you know how we’re doing… After a nice, quiet evening watching TV, we all went upstairs to bed and slept through the night without a sound from anybody (except Buddy’s snoring)! 

Today has been a really good day, Orrie and Ruby have been playing together for a large part of the day, he’s currently fast asleep cos he’s totally bushed!  This is going to be a great way of him getting more exercise – after three circuits of the garden at top speed, he usually gives up (she is soooo fast!) 

They’ve been sharing toys, which was really entertaining to watch, and at one point were playing tug-of-war with a furry dog.  In the end, Ruby let Orrie win (I’m sure it was a deliberate decision from her), she’s a sensible girl! 

We’ve had 2 visitors at different times (both female), and after a bit of barking, Ruby snuggled up to both of them. The only issue we’ve had is that she doesn’t like cars – she’s frightened of the sound of traffic, so we’re going to have to work on that (not a problem).  She is such a bright girl, she knows her name already and is really affectionate – she just loves cuddles and tummy rubs! All in all, a very successful first 24 hours. I think it’s love from all sides!!”

ONE WEEK ON

Caroline tells us “I can’t believe Ruby has been here a week now – everything is going really well.  On Wednesday I got my first toothy grin from her when I came back from shopping, which was lovely to see.  She’s by my side a lot of the time, but is also happy to go and have a snooze elsewhere in the house, so I guess her confidence has increased which has to be good news.

We’re working hard on getting her more used to traffic noise, I drive round the corner to a quiet road, then take her and Orrie for a walk together and she’s gradually getting better, but I think it’s going to be a slow process.  I was a bit concerned about how both she and Orrie would react to fireworks, but they were both fine and, fingers crossed, that’s all now over for a while.  She is also doing really well when people come to the house, barking for a while but then settling down quite happily and I know she’ll improve with time and more experience.

Orrie is in really good health and has developed the most beautiful thick coat (with fluffy undercoat) – he looks magnificent but, of course, photos don’t really do him justice.  Am I a proud Mum or what?

It’s excellent news all round!”

NALA’S HISTORY

In 2016, Nala was an approximately 1.5 year Golden Retriever who is ruby red in colour. This beautiful girl has been spayed and has received the necessary vaccinations to be eligible for the Pet Passport needed for her journey to the UK.

She came from our good friends in Roscommon Pound who contacted us in the hope that we could rehome this precious girl. She was a stray and was terrified. Her past is not a complete mystery but her future is full of promise. She gets scared when surrounded by lots of new people and backs into the corner. She has clearly been beaten and is frightened of certain things. She smiles with a toothy grin, much like a toothpaste add! She had struck up a close friendship with the dog warden, Michelle, who was assured that we would look after her. On arrival, Michelle was surprised that she took to Kathryn, our Ireland Co-ordinator, as she was the first one other than her that Nala had approached without fear.

ASSESSMENT

Nala has a sweet personality and, like most Goldens, is very affectionate.  Kathryn says ‘she is nervous but, once she trusts you, she will come running up to you to tell you that she has missed you and needs a cuddle’. Alan and Celia her fosterers, believe Nala may be a lot younger than 18 months old as she is tiny and is dwarfed by their boys. However, she is a pocket rocket and can stand her ground with them when playing. They say ”Nala is a wonderful little girl and you can see her confidence grow as she gets to know you. Her main issue is confidence but even though she is not always happy, she never shows any signs of aggression.

One quirky thing about her is her smile, she crinkles her face back and shows her teeth when she is happy and does a little dance. Our daughter’s Labrador also does this and we all have a good laugh when we see her”. Nala has no problems with women but she does with men. She wouldn’t go near Alan on her first day with them but, by the evening, possibly because of the way their boys, Toby and Cody, react to him, she had come to realise he was no threat to her. Initially, she would go and lick his hand but, by the end of the night, she was standing next to him and letting him stroke her. She then displayed anxiety when he went to bed.

She has had more encounters with men since then. Normally she has a bark or two before backing away then, when she has plucked up courage, she will go and lick their hands. She will back off again and, when she realises there is nothing to be frightened of, she will go back with more licks and then is happy to be stroked.

Alan says “After a couple of weeks, Nala is still very apprehensive about men and will still bark when she is near them but it simply  through nervousness and she has never shown any aggression whatsoever. She loves women and will happily go up to them for a stroke with a very waggy tail”.

HEALTH: There are no noticeable health problems and Nala eats and drinks well.

SOCIAL LEARNING

It doesn’t appear as if Nala has had any basic training but her fosterers are attempting to rectify this and Nala is coming on slowly with her training.

After a couple of weeks with them, Alan says “ I love this girl to bits, she is so gentle and loving but also so fragile. She is coming along slowly which I don’t think is a bad thing and gaining a little more confidence every day. I am sure Lorraine will wave that magic wand of hers and find her a fantastic forever home but I do think, if she has a bad experience, it will have a damaging effect on her and set her back to square one. I always get one of her toothy smiles and a very waggy tail when I get up in the morning.

Nala has a tendency to jump up when she is excited but we are trying hard to rectify this.”.

Travel: Initially, she was quite upset and whined and howled for about half an hour then settled down and travelled quite happily. On arrival at home she was very nervous at the thought of coming out of the car. Now, although still a wee bit apprehensive getting in and out of the car, she has no apparent problems and will travel quietly.

Housetraining: Nala is now house trained.

Household living: She was nervous of the Hoover, brush and basically anything else that is long or has a handle. Any quick movements also unsettled her. Celia has to walk with a crutch and when she was using it, Nala was not happy. In his second report Alan said “Nala has shown no improvement when seeing a brush or Celia’s crutch etc but she is not bothered as much by the Hoover.

It doesn’t take a lot to take her out of her comfort zone, I changed my glasses to do some DIY this morning and she wasn’t too happy in her body language until she realised it was me and then rushed up with her waggy tail but, on the plus side, I used some power tools this morning and these didn’t bother her”.

Separation anxiety: From the start, she was a little anxious at times if she was not in the same room as her fosterers. Alan had to sleep downstairs to start with but, after a couple of nights, there wasn’t a peep out of her during the night. She is still showing some separation anxiety but Alan can now go to bed at night but she is, initially, unsettled and will whine and howl for a few minutes then settle for the night. If Alan goes upstairs during the day, she will sit at the bottom of the stairs and cry till he comes back down and she will do the same if they are in separate rooms. As long as she can keep you in sight, there is no problem.

Leadwalking: Initially, she was very apprehensive about having a harness put on and she backed away and needed coaxing with a treat. They decided to try her with a slip lead. She will now sit whilst waiting for her lead to be put on and also sits at mealtimes until excitement takes over.

Alan says “When she sees me getting the boys ready for going out, she gets quite excited and she will now come and sit in front of me and is happy for me to drop the slip lead over her head. She is walking a lot better but still has a tendency for going round the back of my legs  instead of staying on one side of you. She loves going out and enjoys having a good sniff and explore of her surroundings”.

Resource guarding:  There is absolutely no evidence whatsoever of any resource guarding. Nala is happy to have Alan and Celia’s dogs walking past her and to have them standing nearby whilst she is feeding. She is also very happy to share toys with their dogs. Children: She has no problems regarding children and the more she meets, the merrier she is. She has met their grandchildren and the girls next door when she has been out walking, obviously in a controlled situation. There have been no problems whatsoever but, observing her, there could be a small problem if a toddler was eating as she may attempt to take the food. With this in mind, it may be better if she went to a family with older children.

Dogs: Nala has been very friendly with their dogs and there have been no problems at all. In fact, Alan says she has taken a real shine to Toby and they quite often play together. She has also met their daughter’s dogs who have stayed overnight and, again, there have been no problems. A home with a resident dog or dogs would be her preferred choice as she loves the interaction.

She is very friendly with all other dogs and has had no problems in meeting them whilst out on the lead.

Alan says “Nala has become a little more confident and this seems to be mostly due to Toby as they have become great friends. She also now follows Cody’s lead and will come with him to let me know it is tea time”.

Cats: There have been no encounters with cats.

NALA’S DREAM HOME

It is incredibly important that Nala be placed in a home with another dog or dogs. It would be great if the people were home much of the time so a retired couple who will gently win her round would be perfect. She needs to know that it’s ok to be scared but, once she realises she is now safe and will always be loved, then her affectionate nature will come out, for sure. She will need time to bond with her forever mum and dad first and then, slowly, she will feel confident enough to be introduced to other people.  With the right placement and with plenty of love and patience, Nala will become a very well rounded girl. She has lots and lots of love to give and, when she has found her confidence, she will become a much loved member of her forever family.

This girl loves to be loved and has loads to give in return.