From passion to innovation – finding new ways through COVID-19
Ruth’s love for dogs stems back to her childhood, leading to her qualifying as a veterinary nurse back in 1996 where she trained at Stone Lion Veterinary Hospital, Wimbledon.
From then on she never looked back, going on to work at Liphook Equine Hospital as a theatre nurse and finally ending up in the heart of Dorset, where she worked at Heathlands Veterinary Hospital. It was here where Ruth started expanding on her love for dogs with a more than successful puppy club every Wednesday.
The training she was able to gain from her past experience as a veterinary nurse is what allowed her to flourish into running her own dog training business. Through the excitement of helping animals Ruth was living the dream of never feeling as though she was working.
Ten years after becoming a veterinary nurse was the beginning of her dog training journey, when she got her first puppy – Scooby, a Jack Russell terrier-cross border terrier. She now has four beautiful dogs that love training and learning something new every day, including three-year-old collie Mable, who is a grade-three agility pro.
Ruth not only takes part in agility competitions, but is also a pro dog trainer accredited by The Kennel Club and Absolute Dogs who runs her own business, Watercombe Dogs, from her home in the heart of Dorset.
She has teamed up with some of the experts of the trade to provide some of the best reward-only training around. Even with Covid-19 they are constantly finding new ways they can innovate to keep owners and their pooches entertained – this includes an enclosed field on site and online puppy, recall, boundary, scent and agility training.
But the fun doesn’t just stop there. Ruth’s newest venture is her online site, Paws at Play.
Through years of experience she has learned how every dog is not only unique, but needs to be understood in different ways. This is why Ruth puts that extra effort in to make sure what you’re buying is right for your dog.
With the new website comes a whole community of dog lovers, and Ruth personally recommends the best toys, treats and goodies for dogs. Check out the speciality packs, such as the “My Puppy is biting me lockdown survival kit”, which contains six training e-books to help clients train their puppies from home – plus long-lasting all-natural treats, chews and a fabulous snoodle toy, to help develop safe play for pup.
