Size
(when grown) Small 25 lbs (11 kg) or less
Details
Good with dogs,
Story
** If you are interested in adopting Ruby, PLEASE READ HER WHOLE BIO. We know it is long.**
Ruby is an incredibly adorable, super short legged, 1-year-old, 12-lb Dachshund / Chihuahua mix. She was rescued from a hoarding situation in New Mexico where she lived with 30+ dogs and sadly never (until now) got treated right, loved, or shown what it means to be someone’s cherished pet. Because of that, Ruby is still learning how to be a dog — and what it feels like to be safe.
Ruby MUST go to a home with another dog (or dogs). Dogs are Ruby’s safe place. She feels comforted, confident, and grounded when she is around other dogs, and they will be essential in helping her learn how to live in a loving home. Ideally she would join a home with two or more friendly dogs, but we will consider a home with one stable, confident dog. But she will not thrive as an only dog. She is more confident and happy with doggy friends around her and we want to do what is in Ruby's best interest when finding her a forever home!
Ruby's adopter should expect a bit of a slow transition as she settles into a new home and learns that she is safe and loved. Dogs like Ruby don’t forget the people who give them their first real experiences of love!
From Ruby's foster:
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"Ruby is an incredibly sweet girl with so much potential. She will need an adopter who can truly be patient and understanding with her. She is currently very afraid of humans. That said, I’ve fostered many fearful dogs, and most will try to nip when scared, but luckily Ruby has never done that! She is not a nippy scared type, but a run and hide scared type. I have picked her up twice (which she did not enjoy — she freezes and gets wide-eyed), but she has never shown any aggression. She is a dang sweet and cute, terrified little dog.
Food is absolutely the way to her heart. She is VERY food motivated. If I have a treat or I’m eating, she will come right up to me. If I don’t have food? Forget it — she will keep her distance. If I try to reach for her or pet her, she runs and hides, usually under or behind my couch. That’s her safe spot. She’ll come out when my back is turned, but if I make a move toward her, she retreats again. BUT I’ve only had her for 4 days so far, and honestly, we’ve already seen good progress in that short time. I’ll be able to give a better update as more time passes.
The most important thing for a potential adopter to understand is this: you will not be able to touch Ruby, pet her, snuggle her, walk her, or take her outside right away. I don’t know exactly how long that will take, and I’ll update as she progresses, but her adopter must be prepared for that reality. What she needs most is patience, understanding, and someone who will not push her boundaries. You cannot build trust with a scared dog if you do not respect her boundaries!!!
Clearly some absolute [bad word] person did her wrong. Respecting her space is essential in gaining her trust.
Dogs like Ruby are actually my favorite fosters. They’re the ones who tug at your heart the most, and when they finally start to trust you, it’s incredibly rewarding. One of the hardest parts for people to understand with dogs like her is that you cannot take them outside right away. No walks, no letting her out in your yard... Fortunately, Ruby is a potty pad PRO. She uses potty pads consistently and perfectly. I have not attempted to take her outside, and I won’t for now. I absolutely would not trust walking her at this stage because 1) she has no leash skills, 2) with how scared of humans and me she is, she would be a major flight risk due to fear, and 3) she is already stressed and attempting to taker her outside or on a walk would only make that worse.
If she were to slip out of a harness — which is very possible with a scared dog — she would be gone in an instant. Even though we have a fully fenced yard, I still do not let her out there (yet). If she slipped her harness, which I WILL use the first time she goes out even in my fully fenced yard, she would likely run under the deck or not follow me back inside because she doesn’t trust me yet.
For now (and likely for at least the first 2–3 weeks, based on experience with similar dogs), potty pads are the safest option. We have them set up in two spots in the living room and she uses them every time. I’m happy to send potty pads home with her adopter.
As for crating: I tried once on the first night, and she cried. Given that she came from a hoarding situation and has likely never been alone, I chose not to continue crating her. When we leave the house, she stays loose in the living room with three of my dogs and does perfectly fine. She doesn’t chew or get into anything (though we do have a baby gate up at our kitchen trash under the sink). I check the camera when I leave her, and she just sleeps on the couch with the other dogs.
She also sleeps in bed with us and our dogs. I truly think this has helped her bond and feel safe. The first few minutes at bedtime she’ll explore (and of course check under the bed), but within about five minutes she hops up and settles in. This morning when I woke up, she was laying pressed up against my arm. And last night she slept in between my husbands legs. These sweet moments really show that she is making progress.
Ruby absolutely needs a home with other dogs — ideally at least two. She came from a hoarding situation, and being around dogs is all she knows. She is completely confident with my dogs and comfortable in my home. She plays with toys, naps on the couch, snuggles with the other dogs, and moves around confidently. It’s just humans she’s still learning to trust. I don’t force interaction with her — ignoring her and letting her come to you on her own terms is key.
She has clearly never had any training and will need to learn basic manners, like not stealing food from the coffee table. She LOVES food, and the only time she willingly climbs on me or my husband is when we’re eating. We’re gently working on teaching her not to climb or put her feet on the table, but always without raising our voices or scaring her. She’s not doing anything wrong — she’s just never been taught.
Ruby will do best with a dog-savvy adopter — someone with experience, a history of owning dogs, fostering, or working with fearful dogs would be ideal. Most importantly, she needs someone patient who understands that bonding will take time. It’s not easy to bring home a dog you can’t immediately cuddle or pet, I get that, but giving her the space she needs now will allow her to feel safe and eventually blossom. And when she does, it will be incredibly rewarding."
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We'd like to place Ruby in a home where she'll get the training and stability that she needs. Positive reinforcement training promotes great behavior, bonding and confidence for a young girl whose self-esteem will fly high while she masters her skills. Training is so important in the future behaviors of every dog. It's for this reason that we're unwilling to adopt to a family that doesn't make this loving choice. Farfel's is happy to provide a list of both in-person and virtual positive reinforcement / force- free trainers in your area.
Ruby has been fully vetted, and she is in great health and up to date on her vaccines. She is spayed as well.
Farfel's Rescue is a fully foster based rescue, and offers a one week trial with every adoption. We feel that this is much more beneficial to not only the dog, but the adopter too. We believe that only getting 20-30 minutes with a dog before deciding on a lifetime commitment is not a fair amount of time to the adopter, or the dog. Therefore we give adopters one week with the dog to assure it is the right fit, and offer a full refund of their adoption fee should it not workout within the week trial.
Farfel's Rescue has been doing adoptions this way since 2005 and is thrilled to adopt out ~400 dogs each year.
If you are interested in adopting from us, please be sure to fill out our adoption application at http://farfels.com/farfels-rescue/adoption-form/ .
