Ruby Miniature Pinscher Mix Scarborough, ON

Ruby is typical to her Miniature Pinscher breed (though she's mixed with something else, but I'm not sure what).

Ruby came to us overweight, (20.5 pounds), but we have put her on weight management food and she is getting some great exercise, so we've been seeing her excess weight melt away. She’s currently sitting in the 15 pound range and it's an ideal weight.

Ruby originated in Quebec where her owner left her at a shelter when they moved and couldn't take her.

Ruby came to us a challenging dog, as many Min Pin's are that aren't given the gift of social skills and training. She's come a long way and is now a fairly easy dog and adaptable to new people and situations. She will need an adopter that understands the breed or is well experienced with dogs.

Ruby has been getting a lot of socialization since arriving to Mattie's Place and is becoming more tolerant of other dogs in her environment and "friendlier" with strangers but she would do best in a quieter home setting without a lot of people/dogs/traffic triggers for her.

She has manageable leash reactivity on walks, but finds treats a great distraction. Some further training will benefit her in this area, but she's a small dog so she's not going to sweep anyone off their feet with this behaviour.

Ruby can live with other resident dog(s) and does fine off-leash. Her insecurities mount on-leash. She can over-come her insecurities with training.

Ruby is 4 years old. We do not have a DOB for her, but her original owners noted 4 years old on the intake form at the shelter.

Ruby did great at our veterinarian for her intake exam and having her medical brought up to date. She's a really sweet dog if you understand the breed and personality that comes along with that.

My rescue, Mattie's Place, is named after my red Min Pin, Mattie, so Ruby has stolen my heart for sure, and she will be an incredible companion for someone willing to commit to helping her be her best self.

Professional training for Ruby will be an incredible gift her adopter could/should give her. These dogs are so incredibly smart and thrive off of learning.

Ruby is housetrained and crate trained.

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UPDATE ON RUBY (Nov 1, 2023) : Ruby injured her spinal cord in foster care. She has an intervertebral disc problem known as a ‘high-velocity low volume’ disc extrusion.

She had serious bruising to her spinal cord.

This happens, secondary to excessive force being placed on a normal disc (she got tripped up in her leash and made a dash for the door in her foster home).

Degenerative disease is also a factor.

The excessive force with her zigging instead of zagging caused a tear, which then allowed a small amount of the central portion of the intervertebral disk to fire out like a bullet and hit the spinal cord at high velocity.

With this force, the spinal cord was injured and Ruby has a presumed grade 3/5 injury level - loss of ability to walk but still able to voluntarily move her legs a little.

Ruby went through an emergency hospital stay and then extensive physio-therapy and has had a full recovery. She is walking/running/jumping/playing normally and doing all the things dogs do once again.


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THIS DOG CAN'T CATCH A BREAK UPDATE: April 22, 2024 Ruby was getting off a busy elevator with her foster who lives in a high rise condo. As people hurried on as they hurried off and in that mix Ruby was startled and nipped a person on the side of the knee. It was a single tooth skin break, but they did go to the hospital. The bite location was cleaned and no further medical care was needed. Public Health was informed and no orders other than the 10 day standard quarantine protocol was put in place.


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FROM HER FOSTER:

Ruby arrived and within a few hours, she was exploring the house and backyard and accepting belly rubs.

Ruby is such a character! She's slowly learning that cuddles are nice and we don't need to bark at everyone. She has no trouble with stairs anymore and even jumps up on the couch.

With others:

She's met new people and as long as they are ready with treats she's much quicker to warm up. She made her rounds over the holidays and had very little issues meeting other adults and kids. She still reacts to strangers in my building who are clearly nervous and staring her down, or if they get in our way coming out of the elevator. If I'm ready with treats as a distraction she's happy to lock into me and ignore the others.

With other dogs:

She is very respectful of my temperamental dog, even though I can tell she wants to play so bad! They are slowly getting on each other's good sides and usually have a few zoomies together daily. Dogs outside she has odd manners with and does air snaps which I think she thinks are playful but it's off-putting to other dogs so we tend to avoid. She will bark at other dogs from a distance but the treat distraction before she reacts helps her focus on you.

Routine:

We get up between 7am and 9am and go for a walk. Then she gets breakfast in her treat toy. Every 3 to 5 hours she'll do her air snaps to you and dance around and you know she wants to go down again for a walk.

Sometimes she gets lunch depending on how early breakfast was or sometimes it's just a early dinner in her toy again. She's very hyper and excited to go out and pulls quite a bit on the leash down the hall, but she's small and easy to hold back, and chills out a little once we are outside. She seems to prefer to poop in the long grass.

Bedtime around midnight and she usually sleeps buried in blankets on the couch or curled up at your feet on the bed.

She's not destructive at all when left alone and is pretty quiet all around inside, unless someone knocks of course.

She will play with toys sporadically but usually not for very long. She loves a cozy blanket and to get dressed up for a walk.

She's making better choices every day and deserves a family who will put in a little bit of effort in the beginning so she can be the absolute best companion to you for years to come.


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Since Covid, our process has changed to keep adopters and volunteers safe.

All paperwork to be completed online, virtual home visits, meet and greets in person, but outside.

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To note: the above description is relevant to this dog in his current & previous setting. Home changes & adopter personalities can bring out different behaviours not previously seen. We also do not claim, endorse, suggest or hint at, that any of our dogs are hypoallergenic, low shed or no-shed.

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Adoption fee includes: spay/neuter, deworming, flea/tick prevention, vaccinations, food, nose to tail health exam, toys, leash|collar, go home preventative based on season, custom dog tag