[Jespah]

Well, much to my delight, Mr. Rupert behaved like a gentleman yesterday when he met his potential new sister. We first got him put in his place by having a couple of the adult females meet him in the yard, then they went in and the breeder brought out the pup and her Mom. Rupe was very good, he was curious but a little intimidated by all of the ladies - which is what he needs! He gave her a couple of short barks and she walked away and then turned and gave him the exact same sounding barks right back. As if to say, don't tell me what to do Mister!
We are going to call her Jemma, she will be 7 months old this coming week and we will pick her up next Saturday morning. She was an absolute sweetie - mine aren't lickers and she pretty much gave me a bath and nibbled one of my ears down a size or two. She's full of beans and chased butterflies and grasshoppers across the yard most of the time. She sat in my lap and came when I called her. She is at that funny gangly stage where she is really long and thin and looks like one of those slinky dog toys.
We are taking her on a trial, the breeder prefers this, so that if she and Rupe don't bond, she'll go back and I'll get my money back. I think she'll be fine and it was easy to tell that Rupert wanted to romp with her but wasn't too sure. It will be a whole different ball game next week when she comes to his territory. Patience and monitoring them while together should help this work.

Deb