Dog Handling Tips: Ruby – 8 year old female Jack Russell Terrier

Ruby is an 8 year old female Jack Russell Terrier. Ruby originally came to us as a young puppy who was quickly adopted but sadly she was returned to us at 10 months old due to a change in her owner’s circumstances.We believe from Ruby’s behaviour that she may have some form of mild brain damage. This is speculation as she is a healthy girl physically, however when she is uncomfortable with a situation she will try and bite. She does not like to be over-handled and even if she may appear to be happy being fussed initially she can soon become unsettled and will react defensively.

Ruby has never been mistreated and seems to have been this way since she was a young puppy, even displaying aggression towards her first owner at a young age. The staff and volunteers have gotten to know Ruby well over the years and can read her body language so we avoid putting her in a situation where she feels uncomfortable and will leave her alone, so as not to cause her any stress. We feel Ruby does not process things the way other dogs do and when she doesn’t understand something she will let you know!

In general Ruby is a fantastic little girl who is full of character and makes us laugh every day with her funny, quirky ways. As Ruby has gotten older we feel that she has become more settled and is enjoying strokes and affection more than she used to. Staff and dog walkers here genuinely adore Ruby, she is very sweet natured and cute, she makes your heart melt. She is a lazy girl (she definitely doesn’t like early starts!) so we leave her to wake up and tell us when she is ready for her first walk. We always listen to and read Ruby’s signs which means we have a good relationship with her, we never push her to do anything she doesn’t want to do, we just adapt around her and take things at Ruby’s pace throughout the day.

Ruby does suffer with watery eyes, however we cannot administer eye drops as she becomes too upset by this. She is also due x-rays on her legs in June 2019. Please speak to a member of staff for more information about this. Ruby needs a very special home, she needs someone with experience of this kind of dog. She needs an adult only home free from visiting children and without any children planned for the future. Her new owner will need to make several trips to and from the rescue in order to form a bond with her before adoption, this will then progress into a slow introduction into the home so please bare your location in mind should you wish to inquire about her.