Jemma is a smooth coated Border Collie 'pound puppy' who was born at the Oswego City Animal Shelter on August 13, 1997 and adopted into the Bozak household on November 10, 1997. Previous "Jemma Updates": February 19, 1998 to February 25, 1998 November 10, 1997 to February 19, 1998. (the images are thumbnails - click on an image for a full size version)
March - April, 1998
Jemma spent the two months following her Basic Obedience graduation recouperating from a tentative diagnosis of osteochondrosis or OCD. Two months of enforced bed rest is not an easy task for a puppy (or owners!) but we managed and Jemma recovered without needing surgery.
May - mid-June, 1998
Timing is everything! Jemma's return to full activity coincided nicely with Oswego's late spring/early summer weather. Gradually longer walks around town helped her regain her stamina and twice daily training sessions served to review her basic obedience lessons and get her ready for the Advanced Obedience class. It was also around this time that Cody, a Golden Retriever puppy moved in next door. Cody and Jemma became best friends and loved to chase and wrestle with one another.
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mid-June - July, 1998
We enrolled in the Advanced Obedience class where Jemma was able to build on her distraction training and socialization skills. A Canine Good Citizen test was held the week following the end of class. Jemma did well in all things except the separation exercise. For the first time ever in this exercise, she barked extensively. So, no CGC certification. We'll try again next spring, after a refresher course.
August, 1998
Despite not accomplishing the CGC, we all embarked on an 11-hour trip to Maine to visit Esther's family. Jemma stayed in a motel which allowed pets and was so well behaved she was personally invited to return! We also visited David's brother, who has two dogs - Barnie, a 10-year old Australian Shepard mix and Rufus, a 5-month old Australian Shepard. The dogs got along quite well - wrestling and chasing constantly!
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September - October 5, 1998
Jemma has lots of energy, is pretty intelligent, and needs a job (typical Border Collie). Since September, Jemma has been taking Agility lessons from Dee Bramble at Over Rover Training Center c/o Dee Bramble (E-mail OVERROVER1@aol.com) 12430 Route 176, Cato, NY 13033 (315) 626-6203 Jemma has quickly picked up the skills for the obstacles, although she is still working on weave poles and the teeter-totter. We are now learning how to work with her as a team in completing a course and Dee suggests that Jemma will be ready for her first competition in the spring! Here are some pictures of Jemma on the teeter-totter, two jumps and the A-frame (one of her favorites). I've managed to make hurdles out of PVC piping, built a table and set of weave poles (pictures forthcoming). Recently we bought Jemma her very own tunnel!
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October, 1998
We have also entered Jemma into the Palladium Times' "Pet of the Year" competition. We'll keep our fingers crossed to see that she makes the cut to the final 13 pets. Our previous dog, Ginger, set a precedent by making the top 13 and finishing fifth in the overall competition. Is Jemma up to the challenge?
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Late breaking news: The Palladium Times lacked the good sense and good taste to include Jemma for a spot in the 13 Finalists for this year's competition. Perhaps they'll have better sense next year :-)