Good Day Out

  Gemma had a long, solo day with us.  Right after breakfast, she was plopped into the tub for a scrub down for the big day.  She is still not crazy about the forced air dryer, is better about having her nails filed and is easily appeased with treats!
  She didn't like traveling alone and expressed her displeasure both vocally and getting car sick.  Our first stop was to Pat and Rich's house.  They donated a tent to our collie club, along with some other items for the upcoming Ice Cream Social.  They live with Duncan and Gemma's aunt, Fiona,  two dogs from our breeding who have the most wonderful home!  We had a very nice visit and Gemma had some time to play, explore and chase the birds.
  Then, we went to the Super Pet Expo to spend the rest of the afternoon.  The Dulles Expo Center was packed with vendors, people and dogs.  We wanted to talk to as many vendors as possible to solicit donations for the raffle at the club's Ice Cream Social.  Our first vendor was Natura, which makes the food our dogs eat.  The vendor exclaimed over Gemma's coat and when I said, she only eats Innova puppy food and her adult relatives only eat Evo, he was more than happy to tell me who to contact to get a donation!
  Gemma was very excited, of course, over all the smells, new dogs and people.  She learned at the Natura booth that samples were on the table.  After that, she jumped up on every table to look for more goodies!  She was very good about the new experiences, wasn't startled at anything, not even strange dogs suddenly appearing from behind to sniff her out.  I did find Gemma hard to control when we first arrived, she wanted to go to every booth RIGHT NOW!  She pulled on her leash, wouldn't walk in a straight line and would suddenly dart in front of me to see if the item on the floor was a discarded treat.  Then, we stopped at the Intracell booth.  He was promoting a product called The Stick, with versions for both people and dogs.  We had a massage with the people version, then Gemma had her own with the dog version.  She stopped hopping around and really enjoyed it!  After that, she was much calmer and walked like a perfect puppy!  This is definitely on our shopping list for the dogs.
  Gemma tried out a toy, the Physipet and enjoyed it, so that goes on the wish list, too.
  We bought two new toys for the yard, ones I think Dixie especially will enjoy.  We didn't get home in time for everyone to get time in the play yards so the new toys will have to wait until tomorrow.
  Gemma slept almost all the way home!  She must have recognized when we turned onto our road as she suddenly sat up in her crate and started fussing.  Back in the kennel, she acted like she wanted to tell everyone about her adventures!