Ruff
Hound Mix | male | 1 year Old | 32 Lbs
QUICK FACTS: ✔️ Good with other dogs and kids! ✔️ Crate trained! ✔️ Good in car! ✔️ Walks well on leash!
✔️ Could live in an apartment! ✔️ Good for beginner dog owner! ❌ Working on potty training!
Updates
Ruff was officially adopted on March 8, 2021!
Ruff wakes up around 7 am (or whenever his humans wake up even if that's a little later) to pee and poop outside and come back and spend some time with his toys. He absolutely loves bones and Kong treat toys, especially if they have peanut butter inside! Since Ruff is finishing his heartworm treatment and is on activity restriction, we have mostly only allowed him toys that require him to stay in one place. However, when his heartworm is finished, he will gladly chase balls or play tug of war with a rope toy to burn is energy. After spending 30-60 minutes playing with his toys and following his family around as they get ready for work and school, Ruff goes back in the crate to snooze his way through the rest of the day. Ruff is an angel in the crate, especially since being crated all day is so against his playful personality! Once he goes in and receives a treat, he is quiet for the next 4ish hours until he gets to go out for a pee break and then back into the crate until about 4 pm. Then he spends the rest of his night bouncing between time outside with his humans and the crate resting, with a yummy kibble dinner that he gladly scarfs down around 6 pm. He sleeps at 10-11 pm and doesn't make a sound until the next morning!
Ruff loves ALL people, both inside and outside the home. We have a 14-year-old in the house that he adores, but we heard that his foster family in the south had elementary aged kids that he also did well with. He loves to follow us around and watch us do our daily tasks. When he's getting sleepy, he loves snoozing by your side.
Since his foster family in the south had elementary aged children, and we have a 14-year-old he does well with, we would say he's great with kids! Probably not so much with babies due to his high energy and playful behavior.
Ruff is on activity restriction right now, but he is a high energy dog that needs to burn his energy one way or another despite his heartworm! Although we have him on trazodone to keep him calmer, we still do brain stimulating games and short and slow walks to tire him out. Ruff is super smart and treat motivated, so teaching him tricks or having him play with those puzzle toys is great for his mind and energy! Once he is done with his heartworm rest, he will definitely need and love longer walks and more playtime with toys. We use a harness and he does great with that! He does some slight tugging here and there but mostly keeps our pace on walks and when we stop he always stops and looks up at us, waiting for the walk to continue!
Ruff does well with our resident dog (45-pound boxer mix) Jack. He is not shy to go up to Jack and mouth on his ears and neck to prompt him to play, and when is heartworm treatment is over, we know he would love playing with other dogs and the opportunity to socialize. When Jack is not in the mood to play and gives Ruff a little growl, Ruff knows to read these signals and give Jack his space. Ruff has not met a cat.
The only time Ruff is alone is when he is in the crate, and he does amazing during crate time. He snoozes his way through crate time with a whine here and there when you pass by the crate, and never has accidents. We do not know how he will do left to free roam the house since right now he must be monitored during that time to prevent any high energy play during his activity restriction.
Ruff is a delight that has been doing amazing throughout all the tough circumstances he's been put through lately. From his heartworm treatments and activity restriction to the cold Wisconsin weather he had to face, Ruff has adjusted quickly and been so sweet throughout the process. We believe that once he is off activity restriction and has regained his full health, a lot more of his sweet, cuddly and playful personality will come out than what we have already seen so far! He will be ready for his forever family after March 9 when heartworm restrictions are done!