My name is Francesca… and together with my partner Luca we were lucky enough to meet Ruth for an online consultation regarding some behaviors of our little Lily🐾 Although we weren’t in attendance, her great passion and love for her work they gave us many positive and practical ideas. We have treasured it in our daily life with Lily. A professionally and humanly attentive and prepared figure. We carry in our hearts a memory of a truly positive experience and that we would like to recommend.

★★★★★

– Francesca Luca & Lily🐾 –

I first heard about Ruth from another canalside dog owner in Berlin about a week after we arrived here (October 2021). My dog, Clive, reacted very strongly, while his dog was calm; when I said I wish my dog ​​was calmer and less nervous, she mentioned Ruth. If I remember his words correctly, he said that Ruth had a gift.

I adopted Clive when he was 8 months old from a certified breeder in December 2020. He is my first dog. From what I’m told, he grew up with his father and brothers in a single family home with a large farm. His mother died in childbirth. Clive had never been off leash and I don’t think he had any experience outside of the farm. So he was house trained and comfortable around me but had never done any other training (basic commands etc) and would freeze when we went for a walk and he would see other people or cars or dogs. Due to the pandemic, there were very few opportunities for training or socialization, although we ended up going to dog parks.

In Canada, the dominant approach to training is positive reinforcement, and there is a lot of attention to control: that is, when you give commands, your dog obeys. I found this kind of focus really unappealing: I didn’t want to control Clive or show how much he obeyed me. It’s a dog! I wanted him to be happy, to have his own personality, to explore the smells he liked, and not be afraid of me. But when we went for walks, strangers always criticized me, and told me that Clive shouldn’t go anywhere without my permission (for some reason, strangers love to give advice, especially men!). At the same time, I wanted to know that Clive would feel safe, that he would listen to me when needed, and that I didn’t have to be anxious about him. However, it didn’t seem like there was a way to have all of this without following the path of the ‘master dog’.

Training with Ruth

Our first meeting was a revelation! Ruth talked about my relationship with Clive in terms of trust and joy — not command and obedience — and I felt there was a way Clive could be confident and adventurous. Ruth was really patient, she was very good at understanding my lifestyle and adapting her advice and education plan accordingly. But above all, it was encouraging. Because I think a lot of dog training is actually training their human companions! I was nervous and anxious, overprotective of Clive and reluctant to put him in new situations. Ruth was very patient, she went with me to the dog park and to a cafe because she knew I needed support. It also taught me how to respond when things went wrong. My tendency was to become very aware and wonder what Clive and I were doing wrong; now, I’m much more relaxed and focus on making Clive comfortable (instead of focusing on how he should behave).

I really can’t say enough how different our relationship is. Clive is my friend. When we go for walks, it feels like going for a walk with a friend who is easily distracted and curious. I’m not at all focused on making Clive some sort of obedient dog, any more than I would be focused on making a friend something he isn’t. I’ve been busy with work so I haven’t always focused on training, but I’m confident that if there are new things I want to teach him, I can do it. Some weeks are better than others, but I don’t think of it as Clive or me doing something wrong, and more about how I can cheer him up or make him feel more confident.

Throughout all of this, Ruth has been a constant presence. Even in the weeks we don’t meet, I am in touch with her with any concerns. These include sudden new behaviors (for example, sitting in front of the window and staring at me), changes in his appetite, which seems like a step backwards to me. I have a tendency to be cautious and complacent, and Ruth pushes me to trust myself and Clive more. It was a joy to see Clive, who used to be nervous and cautious, become more confident. This is evident when he hops around the street as if he owns her, but also with me: he comes to me to let me know when he wants to play, and is physically more comfortable with me. Needless to say, I was very proud to see myself become more confident, no longer anxious and worried about making mistakes.

There is still a lot I have to do: spend more time in cafés, take Clive on the subway, and eventually travel by train. I look forward to it, knowing that I will have the support of someone like Ruth. She has a gift – with dogs and their human companions!

★★★★★

– Ashwini Vasanthakumar –