Tuesday 12 April 2011

Ruby, Reggie and Minnie - An introduction

Hello,

My name is Ruby, I am a 3 year old Neopolitan Mastiff Cross living in the UK (Sheffield to be exact) and I have a Mummy, Daddy, Brother (Reggie) and Sister (Minnie). My mum thought it would be a good idea to keep a diary of our lives together letting people know what we have been upto and more about our training. Mum was inspired to write our stories down after she came across another blog about a Great Dane called Honey who is very clever and lives with her sister in Australia, although mum is sure that our blog won't be nearly as informative or interesting she still thinks it might inspire her to keep up with our learning if she has to report in! So first of all here is a little bit about each one of us and how we came to live with our mummy and daddy (we are all rescue animals)

Minnie (she is Reggie's mum) and definatley the boss in our house!
Mum and Dad bought their first house in April last year, mum been the animal love that she is knew straight away she wanted lots of pets and so called up the local RSPCA, they explained that many people wanted kittens but not everyone would take an older cat so my mum decided she wanted one of each.... Minnie is around 2 years old and was found pregnant in a field by the RSPCA, she was taken in and after giving birth she came to live in our house along with one of her sons. Minnie is a very quiet and regal charector she keeps herself to herself, she keeps me in my place with the odd swipe across my face if I get to interested. She doesn't like lots of fuss to be honest she will only lay with mum and dad if both myself and Reggie are out of the room. She is a quiet thoughtful lady who is happy as long as she is fed twice a day and has a comfortable bed to lay in. I think you will agree that she is very beautiful and looks to me like a panda bear.


Reggie - My Brother
Reggie is the funniest, cheekiest biggest personality my mummy has ever seen! He is still a baby you see only 1 year's old he has lived with my mum and dad since he was just 8 weeks old so has never really known what its like to be homeless therefore he has no fear of ANYTHING including me who, I certainly tower over him and we play together lots, I have to be careful though as he is so small mummy worries I will hurt him, however I know he can more than hold his own! He very often sneaks up bites my feet, tail and ears. We do love each other a lot however and when we are not play fighting we can be found snuggled up either on my own bed or with our mummy who we both love and adore. Reggie's favourite toy is a straw!! The ones that humans use to drink through, you can't leave them lying around in our house! He takes them out of the glass and carries them around. Ironically Reggie doesn't hunt other living creatures which is rather strange for a cat. He wakes up the whole house every morning at 6.30am on the dot with the loudes meaow ever letting mummy know its breakfast time. He loves to go and sit in with bathroom whilst mummy is having a bath and if she will fill him the sink up he lies in there whilst she bathes - silly cat!! Here are a few pictures of my brother Reggie, mummy says he is a cheeky chappie and a bit of a torment but she wouldn't change him for the world he makes her laugh every single day and he is my very best friend







Me - Ruby - Neopolitan Mastiff Cross Breed.
Now comes the interesting part - ME :0)
My name is Ruby and I came to live with my new mum and dad in July 2010 at 3 years old. My last mummy and daddy split up so that left me and my brother Marlon (Bull Mastiff) needing a new home.
My mummy had seen my picture on the internet for a good couple of months before deciding to come and visit me for the first time (probably because she knew she would just have to bring me home) and that she would need to persuady my daddy that it was a good idea! You see my mummy loves all her babies so much that we eat the best of everything and as she works full time she would need someone to care for me in the daytime which would cost a lot of pennies. In the end mummy came to see me alone..... I am a very nervous girl and find it very intimidating to be in the company of new people, so much so that the people in the RSPCA were very scared of me I only had one human friend there a man called Matt who came into my kennel to introduce me to my potential new mummy. Mum was told before hand to take it easy on me not give me to much fuss and see how we got on. Mum was very respectful of the fact I was nervous walked into my pen but didn't make eye contact with me or try and touch me she just sat in a corner not looking at me, which made me curious so I wondered over and sniffed all round her face. That moment I decided she was meant to be my mum. I could see on her face just how much love she had to give me and how patient she was willing to be with me and from that moment I felt comfortable. I was going home! What I didn't realise was there was another human in the house (Dad) who wasn't quite as good as mum in terms of letting me come round in my own time, it upset him that I was scared and growley and he used to get a little frustrated with me, he would never hurt me he just used to walk out of the room. After a couple of weeks though I came to realise he loved me just as much as my new mummy and it was fine to let him near me.
The one thing mummy didn't bank on with me was my lack of socialisation and excitement around other dogs, I am a very strong girl and actually weigh more than my mummy so she quickly realised we needed to sort this before I got myself into trouble, I am not viscious with other dogs I am just a little unsure of how to behave around them so I jump on them, being the 10st dog I am this is very scary for other dogs and their owners which worries my mum as you can be put on something called the dangerous dogs list in the UK and thats the last thing my mummy wants as I am really just a big softy. I went to a training bootcamp back in January with a brilliant trainer who has actually been on the television here, my mum paid ALOT of money for me to go to him for 10 days in which time he did lots of work with me on my sit, down, stay and recall. I behaved very very well for him and didn't do any lunging what's so ever he says I was a lovely lady and was almost perfect although not the brightest dog (his dogs are German Shephereds and trained to home office standard) so I didn't quite match up, I did however, do everything he asked of me. My trainer has told my mummy that I am taking advantage of her which I admit I am a little as she loves me so much she finds it hard to discipline me, we are both going to work very hard on this though via clicker training and other methods and we are going to have 1 - 2 -1 sessions with the trainer in the hope that one day I will walk nicely past other dogs and not lunge at them and even be allowed off the lead on my own. This is my mummies dream and she doesn't give up easily which is why we have decided to write this blog to keep people up to date with my progress. My mummy has a condition called Cystic Fibrosis (I will keep you updated on her health throughout this blog) which means she will never have human children of her own so we are her babies and I take my role of my mummies baby very seriously and shower her with all the love, effection and loyalty I possibly can. I do misbehave sometimes but life would be very boring if we didn't have anything to work towards wouldn't it? ;0) 

Anyway this was a really long first post and introduction so I won't say anymore just leave you with some pictures of me (my mum says I have a face only a mother could love, I don't know what she means I am beautiful) and I will update again soon with our progress and I am sure we will have plenty of Reggie stories to tell everyone too.

Bye for now

Rxx









17 comments:

  1. Oh Ruby!! I am so, so happy that you have started your own blog! I'm so looking forward to following your adventures now and I know my human, Hsin-Yi, is going to enjoy having nostalgic visits when she looks at your pictures of all the things you get up to back in the faraway place called England, where she once lived! :-)

    Hsin-Yi has never been to Sheffield but one of her favourite movies of all time is set there - "The Full Monty", of course! And she thinks that people from the North of England have the most gorgeous accents ever (well, maybe aside from the Scottish!)

    We loved hearing more about you - I think it is wonderful how your Mummy rescued all of you and gave you such a wonderful forever home. You are so lucky to have found such a lovely, loving and dedicated human as her to call your own!

    I'm also sorry to hear about her Cystic Fibrosis sickie - we didn't know! - she must be very brave, although I'm sure you all cheer her up enormously!

    As for training - I must tell you, I used to be just like you. I had a very bad problem of lunging and pulling on the leash whenever I saw another dog and this really upset Hsin-Yi because she just could not control me (I dragged her off her feet & flipped her on her back many times!) and she was also scared, like your Mummy, of me being labelled a Dangerous Dog (we had a similar thing in NZ) - but after going to see a very good private trainer and doing lots of work with me, Hsin-Yi can now control me very well and as you can see, I walk very nicely now and am polite with other doggies. So tell your Mummy not to despair - she is doing a great thing already by believing in you and spending time & effort training you - and I'm sure she will soon one day be able to walk you very happily and calmly, with no problems! :-)

    OK - well, I've written a HUGE long comment too so I'd better stop!

    Looking forward to your next post!

    Slobbers,
    Honey the Great Dane

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  2. Ruby! You are the most beautiful thing ever! I am so happy you have a blog of your own. Hey! I know all about being scared and making a big fuss to keep scary things away. Momma has trained and trained and trained with me because even if I make just a little fuss it scares the humans and makes momma feel bad and plus I am like almost twice her size so it is dangerous for her.

    You know what? I learned to take tiny tiny baby steps in my training. Yuh, like for a long time we only went walkies in my own gardens and even now we only walk in certain places at certain times of the day.

    No worries, though, because there is lots of fun stuff we can do right here at our estate; like agility or working on tricks or (momma's latest) jogging in big circles around the perimeter. I'm not allowed to jog on walkies lest I get overly excited.

    Honey and her Hsin-Yi really helped me and momma a lot. When we met? I couldn't even go on walkies at all because of my nervous stuff, but now we go to school and on walks and have tons of fun for sure.

    Stop by my blog and say hello, OK? I am always super excited to meet another mastiff even if just on the internets. We can swap the training tips.

    Slobbers,
    Mango

    P.S. Hey! Tell mom to click on the LARGE button when she uploads your photos because I want to see as much of your loveliness as I can. Oh, and that Reggie? Crazy!

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  3. P.S. Here is the link to my official blog. My profile page is kind of confusing because we have more than one blog for other stuffs.
    http://mangosgreatadventures.blogspot.com/

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  4. Hey Mango

    Thank you so much for your reply, mummy didn't even think anyone would stop by to read this, well maybe honey as my mummy has been speaking to her human Hsin-Yi but we really didn't think anybody else would stop by so thank you. Thank you so much for the re-assurance and tips of things we can do to help with my nervous-ness and helping to build my mummies confidence. she loves me so much but says I am turn into a devil when out walking so we need all the help and tips we can get! I will be posting again in the next couple of days with an update! I have told my mummy to keep it much shorter this time and to press the big button to make sure everyone can see Reggie, Minnie and Myself much clearer. My mummy is very new to all this and so we are hoping that in time our blog will become much easier and more interesting to read its a big learning curve for us so any feedback is most welcome! I will be stopping by your blog right now and will follow you. Once again thank you for your comment, Lots of slobbery kisses to you.

    Love Ruby xxx

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  5. Hi Honey,

    Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment for me, I am starting to really like this blogging as I get so excited around other doggies at the minute its really nice to be able to speak to others on the internet with out stressing my mummy out ;0) We have lots to learn before our Blog is anywhere near as wonderful as yours but for now we really are loving making new friends and learning lots of tips from other doggies that have been just where me and my mummy are.

    Mummy says the full monty is very very funny and was filmed just 5 minutes away from where we live however I am not allowed to watch it as it is a little rude and sweary mummy doesn't think its the right kind of film for a princess to be watching ;0) (thats what she calls me) I love reading your blog and know you have a kitty sister, I have both a kitty sister and brother, my little brother is my best play friend although mummy says I get a little rough with him sometimes! My sister Minnie doesn't really like to play very much so we have a mutual understanding and we pretty much ignore each other, hopefully one day we can be better friends but for now I am happy with Reggie although he is a little monkey we get into lots of trouble together which is fun!!

    Hope to speak to you very soon

    Lots of love

    Ruby x

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  6. Hey Ruby! You can peemail me if you want to swap training tips. My peemail is

    backupdogATcomcastDOTnet

    I don't type it normal because sometimes bad spam people troll the internets for peemail address, but just swap the AT for @ and the DOT for a . and you should be good to go.

    Slobbers,
    Mango

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  7. Hey, Ruby!

    I'm another Mastiff, from Pennsylvania. Momma lets me star in her blog on Thursdays and random other times. Mango sent me out to visit; welcome to bloggy land!

    Drools,
    Thor

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  8. Hi Ruby and family, wow you are a gorgeous dog. Sounds like you picked the right family for your forever home. We had a great dane Bruce, who we recently lost but still have our old girl Kara, who is a cocker spaniel and she is nearly 13 years. I look forward to more of your adventures. Our Bruce was extremely reactive to other dogs and also people. I also have a niece with CF. Bruce had a blog too. You can look at him on www.brucefromdownunder.blogspot.com/

    Take care and no worries, love Carol.

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  9. Hi, Ruby and kitties! Honey told us about your new blog so we trotted over to introduce ourselves. We don't have a blog, but we like to visit other critters' blogs and get to know new friends. We live in Maryland in the USA with our mama. We are also both rescue doggies. It's so nice to have been rescued and to have a safe, loving home, isn't it? Jed is a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever-mix [he's a bit bigger than the AKC standard for the breed]. Abby is a boxer-beagle mix. Mama was a Great Dane person all her life, but lucky for us when she lost her last Danes she decided to look for us.

    We think you are gorgeous! We can't wait to see a bigger picture of you and your siblings. We look forward to reading about your adventures.

    Mama read somewhere that Neapolitan Mastiffs are natural guard dogs but also great family dogs. We're sure with all the good training you're getting, you're going to be fine!

    Jed & Abby

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  10. I'm a human longing to have a dog, but since I work full time, and away from home, this is not an option right now.
    In the meantime, I visit dogs blog to learn as much as I can for when the time is right :-)
    Oh, I'm also the human of two kitties, even 2,5 kitties, I would say, as a feral one is wondering if my home could be his forever home. Time will tell.
    Anyway, it is a pleasure to meet you and your family.

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  11. Hi there Ruby, it's nice to meet you all! Honey introduced you to us in her blog. My ho my, you are a stunning girl! You are SO lucky to have found your new current owners. I bet they all love you to bits. Love your pictures. I am so looking forward to reading more of your adventures!

    Pee/S: I'm now your new follower!

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  12. Helllllllo beeuteeful Ruby!!! wolf-whislte from Bobo...

    We've come to visit from Honey. You are a most loverly girl. You and yer bruvver and sister have similar markings. Very cool!!!

    We can't wait to hear what stuffs you all get into. Lots-o-pictures please...

    Bobo and Meja

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  13. Hello Ruby !!

    You are too cute !! We saw the pictures of you and the link on Honey's blog and loved your face so decided we would come and say Hi !
    My humans love the fact that the three of you are all black and white ! this is Cool ! I'm black, but I have patches of white on the back of my paws - and a little little little bit of white on my neck :-)
    I have one kitty brother too + always a second cat friend that we host from the local RSPCA - we have this host family thing - until the cat finds a forever family so the cats don't get to be all squashed with dozens of other cats at the RSPCA but they get to share a family life instead waiting for their forever home! This is great for me my humans say because it allows me to meet lot of different cat with their own personalities so I'm getting good with new things !
    I can't wait to read another post from you !

    Lots of love,
    Lincoln

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  14. Hello Ruby, it is nice to meet you! We came over from Honey's blog. Honey helped us start our blog a while back and we love her! You sure are pretty! To be honest, I get a little nervous around other pups too. I just don't know how to act!

    Licks,
    Ruthie

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  15. Hello Wuby!!! and Minnie and Weggie!!
    I'm so pleased to meet you.
    I think you have a lovely family and I know you'll all be vewy happy togethew. I look fowawd to youw adventoowes. I thinkyou awe vewy vewy bootiful and don't let anyone say othewwise
    smoochie kisses
    ASTA

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  16. Hey Kids!!! Mango that Relentlessly Hooge Lughead er Handsome Boy sent us over...we're a bunch of crazy terriers...we have a Dale, a Wire Fox and MOI...a tiny little Lakeland who does NOT have a hooooge derriere no matter what Mango might tell ya....

    Our Mumsie knows all about trying to walk with lunging beasts...she's got Stanny in class and rumor has it that I'm next. See even though I am a mere 13 lbs. I get the boyz all worked up and we all go insane. Mango's right (did I just say that?) Baby steps in training....

    Come by and visit us...just click on the link to this comment!

    Hugs and kisses,

    Scruffy, Lacie and Stanley

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  17. Hello Ruby,

    It's very nice to meet you! We found you through Honey's blog as well :)

    Our names are Lexi and Jasper the Great Danes!

    We are looking forward to hearing about your training progress! We think we might have seen the programme your trainer was on!

    There are lots of knowledgable people in blog land, so I'm sure you and your human will get lots of support :)

    Licks and lots of slobber,
    Lexi and Jasper the Danes

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