Ruff Rascals grew out of a need to find information on how to keep our latest family member healthy, happy, and active. Getting a puppy is only the beginning of years of love and caring that come from dog ownership, and you have to take it seriously.
Before we even welcomed our puppy into our homes, we wanted to know as much as we could about what we were getting into.
After many hours of googling and trying to find reliable resources from trained professionals, we put together what we thought was the best advice about how to raise a dog.
But the problem about research is that you can prepare all you want, but experience trumps research each and every time. Because your dog will have their own challenges, new stumbling blocks as they get older, and more importantly their own personality, their own quirks, and their own bad habits.
We want to help you along every stumble, every fall, and every problem as you travel through life with your dog from age 1 to age 20. (Yes, some dogs live to 20. Our’s will. Don’t break our dream).
Our own challenge came from getting a mutt. Like a beautiful mysterious cocktail, we could only guess at what was inside, and what came out was a little high-energy ball of fluff who never stops. But he was ours, and it was either get more energy, or spend hours creating and buying elaborate dog toys. We did a little of both.
We got in contact with many dog owners, trainers, groomers and fur mamas who had similar issues, and who all solved them in different ways. Because even though we all had different breeds, we all want the same thing: happy and healthy dogs.
And at the end of the day, an active dog is a happy and healthy dog. Sometimes the easiest solution is the simplest one.
From this love and passion grew a community of dog lovers who were more than happy to lend us us their expertise and their experiences to help us write all this wealth of experiences in one site.
From marathon runners who introduced us to Australian Shepherd training partners, to cyclist who shrugged and said their dachshund loves nothing more than a cycle through the woods in a doggy carrier, or even our own experiences from packing the family away in a car and heading to the nearest (and furthest) dog friendly campsites.
No matter what type of dog you have, if you want to have healthy and active lifestyle, getting a dog is the equivalent of getting your own little (and sometimes loud) cheerleader. They will follow you to every beach, every mountain, every camp, and every forest, as long as they can stay by your side.
They will encourage you every step of the way and you’re only job is to get to know them well enough to know how much exercise they need, how to help them keep up, and how to keep them happy in your adventures.
We are assuming that if you are here reading our site, you’re not training the next Crufts Champion (although we’ve interviewed a couple of those too).
We’re thinking you have your own ruff rascal at home, or thinking of getting one to join you in whatever lifestyle you’ve chosen.
Maybe you just want to teach them basic dog tricks because you don’t need them to do yoga with you on the weekend. Maybe you’re looking at ways to boost your training levels, but you’re not sure how your pug is going to join in (not going to lie, that’s going to be one hell of a good dog carrier). Maybe you’re just interested in finding fun and creative ways to keep your kids and your dog entertained at the same time.
The name is a tip to the hat of our own ruff rascal at home who is far from perfect, maybe a little rough around the edges, but at heart a little rascal who just wants to have fun and find out what’s over the next ridge. Our dog may sleep in our bed, but he comes when he’s called. He may be a little quick to chase those pigeons, but he’ll bring back a ball on cue and wait patiently for your throw.
At the end of the day, we’ve put together this site to give you the tools to get find your level of acceptable ‘ruff’ in your life and how to turn your rascal into an obedient dog for your family. Even if that family is just you and your pup.
There’s no such thing as a perfect dog, or a perfect human, though we suspect our four legged friends are closer to achieving this than we will ever be.
Whilst RuffRascals.com was created to help you raise an obedient dog, at the end of the day, it’s also about making happy humans.
It’s not always easy getting into a new routine, or adopting a new furry family member. We are here to support you, help you, and if we can, get you the information you need to stay sane. Because, let’s be honest, after Fido has destroyed your 5th Nike in a row, nothing helps calms us down more than to hear that we are not alone.
And you are not. You have the whole community of RuffRascals.com to back you up on your journey to being a happy, healthy and active dog owner.
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