Hi Barb, It was great to hear from you. You have been the subject of my conversations all week — all good of course! Gemma is a wonderful puppy. I still marvel at the amount of time you must have spent with her in order to train her in so many different ways. In spite of a hectic schedule the first couple days, she settled right in when I got home and slept through the night the very first night. She still sleeps very well at night, but sometimes wants to get up between 4:30-5 a.m. I am ok with that since she usually just goes outside and is ready to sleep for another hour or so. She is a complete joy when she is awake, and I am really not sure what I ever did without her. We have been on many field trips over the past few days … she met her “babysitter” and many of my friends. We also went to the school, an auction, the park and visited an acquaintance who is recovering from a stoke. A friend came over today with her two grandchildren, and it was a wonderful visit. I am always so proud of my little “gem.”
As you predicted, Gemma loves to sleep on the air conditioning vent for her late afternoon nap. She follows the “daily schedule” you outlined almost to the letter! She has lots of toys (to keep her out of trouble) and she is starting to retrieve. I have attached a few pictures, although it was hard to pick three out of the many taken over the past few days!
As I mentioned in an earlier email, the vet was very impressed. She thought Gemma will be “show dog quality” when she is older and said she would be a “perfect therapy dog.” Her calm personality is always a topic of conversation when I take her anywhere. The vet even said, “this is very unusual for a puppy.” Thank you for picking the perfect dog for me.
-Lois