Ember
Shepherd Husky Mix
Cherry Valley, Ca | Three Week Board and Train
Meet our newest board and train! This happy-go-lucky girl is a year-and-a-half-old shepherd mix. She came from a high-kill shelter in San Bernardino, where her brothers were not as fortunate as she was to make it out. The Oaks Ranch saved her. After nursing her back to health, she has been on the hunt for a place to call home. Let’s follow her journey as we help her learn some skills to find a family.’
May 3rd, 2026
This little girl arrived full of spunk! She spent her first day settling in to her new environment. She is fond of women and eventually warms up to men. She enjoys using her mouth to interact with all of her surroundings but was easily redirected with food or treats! She is a bit wiggly estimated around 45lbs at the moment. She eats all her food and definitely wants more.
May 4th, 2026
Ember slept through the night in the crate. She starts off a little whinny but settles right after. She went to the park today but we quickly learned she has some work to do around other dogs and men. She has a deep bark but is eager to please and just needs some confidence building. Working on a long line was helpful to give her lots of space to observe at a safe distance. She likes playing fetch but does not know how to return the ball as well as catch it! We worked on teaching her new name today, she’s getting the hang of it. We are building her door manners but she’s a fast learner and she’s just happy to just be with someone. Her only real caveat is she loves to lick.
May 5th, 2026
Ember went to a farmers market today! It was with the help of some lovely people Ember had the chance to work on her reactivity towards men and other dogs. She is rather neutral to women and children, all types of scooters, wheelchairs and bicycles. She’s working on manners and a few commands. She’s really smart and picks things up fast.
May 6th, 2026
Ember spent the day going for lots of walkies to people watch at the park. She does great when given ample space to observe but no pressure to interact. We encountered some beef with balloons. We did many walkbys, probably annoying the woman who owned the balloons, to play the engage-disengage game until she no longer longed for violence! She is learning to wear an e-collar before we begin conditioning. As well as working on settle and food manners. We are seeing improvements in her door manners. She’s still not auto sitting on her own but is no longer jumping when bored or rushing the doors. We learned that she is water neutral while out gardening. She approaches water seeming intrigued but not trying to play or chase.
May 7th, 2026
Ember had some interesting encounters today! She met a fruit guy and at first was very suspicious of fruit in boxes. Then she said the cart was going to murder her and last but not least the fruit man himself was out to get her! However we worked very hard and overcame our produce fears. Later on she met a cat! She was a concerned citizen for the first few minutes. Treats and “you are so brave” on repeat helped significantly! The second time we saw the cat she could care less, at a distance, fingers crossed. Finally was our battle with a marvelous goth cactus on the side of the street. With its menacing charm she had to investigate! A few treats and lots of touching helped overcome her deep concerns of overworld domination. She was so brave today that we were able to work on place and using that to build her confidence. It has helped that her door manners and duration work are improving greatly. She’s quite an impatient blossom eager to bloom but she is gathering herself nicely, eager to please.
May 8th, 2026
Ember went to an outdoor mall today to people watch and work on her settling in public. She’s improved greatly on her reactivity towards men, being able to walk closer without needing to be redirected. She is working on her food manners and greeting people with out jumping. Jumping is a struggle for her as it is her love language. She is settling better around my own dogs without reacting however she’s not yet ready to meet them up close, still a work in progress. She is having lots of fun trying different food puzzles and ways to eat her food.
May 9th, 2026
Ember had a spa day! She took a shower. She was not too fond of it, but did really well for turkey! She cutely stole an extra towel for herself, and one couldn’t be mad with how smart she went about pulling it off the hook and throwing it on herself to have two towels. She was quite proud. She enjoyed a more relaxing day after by playing with a Kong and doing impossible missions to steal a bully stick as well.
May 10th, 2026
Ember began her e-collar conditioning. We went to different parks and outdoor spaces to find her working level. She responded really well. Her reactivity to men still exists; however, she finally made a male friend after several days of patience and touch. She’s working on her crate manners, but her door manners continue to improve as her asking permission transfers to all doors. She met some new cats today. She is definitely unsure about them and reacts immediately, but over a few minutes, she disengages with space. She could eventually make a cat buddy if someone took the time to manage her and introduce her slowly over a few months. She is very cuddly, though, and eager to please. She does have high energy, but she tires fast.
May 11th, 2026
Ember worked on her recall and place. She is gaining confidence around more distractions, but we are sticking to larger places where she can get the space she needs to build her confidence. She met geese and had no interest in them, but one goose found her particularly irritating, hissing and walking up to us, demanding she leave their territory. Ember seemed oblivious to her demands. She’s improving around men, only reacting to a select few rather than all we passed. She is still dog reactive, but her distance from them is getting shorter. She did find squirrels interesting and tried to chase one, but the two decided they were at an impasse, and she stopped caring after a few minutes of their standoff.
May 12th, 2026
Ember made great strides towards conquering many fears today. She went to the beach, probably for the first time in her life. It was exciting and scary; she was unsure of many things but eager to overcome them! Her recall is doing fabulous as she is understanding to check in more. We are improving her duration, place, and sit. She got to practice around detractions. She even went into the water, and that seemed to be the least scary thing for her all day. She did not return to the water, but she was intrigued by the foam from the crashing waves. She’s making progress, and we are so proud of her!