Dear Barb -
Hope all is well with you and your family! Our little gal Stella (pink from Maddie) has been a pure delight and an occasional challenge - which is par for the course with a puppy. She is so smart and has mastered potty training by ringing a jingle bell at the front door and whimpering a bit to go out. She sits patiently as we quickly put on our frozen north gear and is great about getting to business outside. The girls are loving her so much and she is a hit with all the neighbors and friends of ours who just gush over her. She is so patient and has a perfect temperament with our girls. She was such a great pick for us! Her favorite form of exercise these days is chasing the kids (and us) down the sledding hill in our back yard.
She is growing so fast and is up to 22 pounds as of last week. We are really starting to notice the features of her parents in her face as she matures - she is such a beautiful dog. She did end up having coccidia which was quickly remedied and she is quite the little chewer, which has taken us to new levels of "minimalism" in our house to make it puppy safe. Unfortunately, three weeks ago she ate a large squishy child's toy and it was determined it would not pass safely, so she had to have surgery to have it removed. We were very worried, but she did great and is back to her energetic and sweet self with no complications.
Multiple vet trips aside, we are so thrilled to have her in our family. She starts formal training later this month, but we have already been working with her on sitting, getting down and not jumping. She mastered laying down the other night after minimal time and we have become devoted fans of the practical style and common sense approach of the New Skete monks.
Thank you again for all the work you did to provide us with such a healthy and well prepared dog for family life. She is a true joy!!
Jeanne and Mark
note: Stella is from Maddie and Captain
