News Alert! Ruffian & Ripley!
Update: 10 May 2024!
After graduating from basic obedience class, Ruffian is now taking weekly classes in Agility. His favorite obstacles are the high-elevation dog walk, the A-frame, tunnels, and all the jumps. So far, he is not a big fan of the weave poles or teeter-totter. Training is an incredible exercise opportunity and we enjoy cruising through each obstacle course as a team.
And introducing RIPLEY!
At home, Ruffian has a new responsibility: training his new little sister!
That’s right! On April 5, 2024, Ripley joined our pack! Born on 10 February 2024, she is an f1b Bernadoodle. That means she is 75% poodle and 25% Bernese Mountain Dog. She now weighs almost 18 pounds and has tons of crazy energy. She loves her toys, is 90% house trained, and has just started sleeping through the whole night. She will start puppy kindergarten in June.
Update: 12 October 2022!
Ruffian graduated at the top of his basic obedience class! He is a big boy now, but still weighs a little less than 50 pounds. (And should not grow much more.) He is on his way to becoming a “Canine Good Citizen,” and AKC “Fit Dog.” He is not on a path to be a service dog, but Goldendoodles are supposed to make excellent Therapy Dogs! He loves helping with yard work and often hauls large tree limbs to the other side of Hawk’s Grove for processing. He know the path and sets an amazing pace!
He enjoys watching animal show on TV and is always on his toes, keeping the neighborhood safe. His best friend is a cat named Kaylee.
Update: 31 July 2022!
Ruffian graduated from puppy kindergarten, and earned a puppy obedience class certificate of achievement! So, that’s going on his resume! He’s sitting here at the moment … chewing on a cardboard box he stole from somewhere. The guy still counter surfs once in a while, so we try to be careful with what’s left there.
But he recently ate an energy bar with a small amount of dark chocolate. We looked up the amount versus his 46.2-pound body weight (at six months) and decided the chocolate wasn’t a big deal. This is a link to the site we found. And yet, he managed to go berserk energy-wise for a good hour or so.
I take him on “sleep walks” (to help him sleep longer) at about 10 p.m. Anyway, a little extra mileage did the trick. He has recently started doing boy-dog things — marking territory, peeing differently, noticing girl dogs — and starts his basic obedience class next month. Go Ruffian!
Update: 5 June 2022!
Ruffian has been with us for two months now, and he is SO smart! He attends weekly “puppy kindergarten” class and has learned to sit, to look at me, and (mostly) how to walk without pulling on the leash. “Come here” and “down” come next. He is reliably potty trained, and sleeps from 10pm to about 5am. I’ve really enjoyed watching go from a little fuzzy ball to a “big dog” who learns something new every single day.
I love to watch him play with the other puppies in class or with the big dogs at the dog park. His heroes are the two big Alaskan Malamutes here at home. They have tought him a lot about doggy etiquette and how to sit calmly during meals. Zooey is our pack leader, and she has set the ground rules establishing where he can play and the zone of carpet where she might be sleeping. Zeke is Ruffian’s bedtime companion who always tucks him into his crate at night.
It’s fascinating to watch Ruffian explore our neighborhood. He loves meeting people and smelling all the icky smelly things he can find. He watches the squirrels, birds, and bunnies in our yard and seems fascinated by all the commotion at our beehives.
He was born on January 20, 2022 and now weighs thirty pounds! He loves his puppy chow, but goes crazy when offered a cream cheese filled KONG or part of a turkey sandwich. He also loves squeaky toys and anything that makes a crunchy sound when he ravages it.
“Gotcha day” = 6 April 2022!
Hey, everyone! Please meet the newest addition to the staff at Inherit the Night. This is “Ruffian”!
Ruffian is an “F1b” goldendoodle. He is 25% golden retriever, and 75% poodle. As of today, he 11 weeks old and weighs 15 pounds. Along with today’s pictures (below), you can see how different he looked only a few weeks ago (above) … when he first sent us his resume and employment package.
Updates to follow as Ruffian grows and takes on more responsibilities!
