Kimmy should be called "The Shadow"

because she follows me everywhere I go... It's clearly true what they say about Dobermans being "velcro" dogs ;)

I am used to being followed around the house already (Ben), so I don't mind have a little shadow behind me. It's cute :)

Kimmy and I are finally settling into a routine properly. She now knows 6 AM is NOT waku-up time, 7 AM is. Dogs have amazing internal clocks - she will start whining and squeaking as soon as it turns 7 in the morning, even if the alarm clock hasn't peeped and all is quiet in the house.

The first thing I do when I get out of bed is open her crate (which is beside my bed), let her out, take her in my arms and carry her downstairs and then out in the garden for a good morning pee. Then we go back in and I take my thyroid meds and prepare her kibble moistened with some warm water. She eats her breakfast while I prepare Ben's morning milk and his school snack, then I get dressed and take her out again for a wee/poo.

Then I go wake Ben up, help him get dressed, and then he settles (still half asleep) on the sofa in the living room, sips his milk and watches Thomas the Tank Engine on TV, while I eat something, put the contacts in and take Kimmy out for another pee.

Then I leave Kimmy closed in the kitchen, and walk Ben to school. As soon as I get back, I let Kimmy out the front door, and we go for a walk, just us girls ;)

She loves to sniff around and is always curious to meet people on our walks. She knows to stop for a moment at the neighbour's fence to see if their Golden Retriever is in the yard, and if yes, she will bark at him, pretending she's a big fearless dog ;)

After we get back home, she is ready for a nap, and that for me means computer time!!! I check my email, log in the forums and reply to my posts, all the while Kimmy is either lying at my feet or snuggling on the chair behind my back.

After she wakes up, it's potty time again. At around 11 AM, she gets more lively again, so we do a few minutes of training (now we're practicing sit, sit-stay, down, and down-stay. At 11:30 or so, I take her out to pee again, then go pick up Ben from school at 11:45 AM.

When we get home, Kimmy gets her lunch first, while she's eating I prepare Ben's and mine, then I need to watch her closely for signs of needing to go, in the beginning she needed to eliminate right after eating, now it's more to 15 - 20 minutes, so when I see she starts sniffing, I immediately take her and carry her to the garden.

Then it's naptime for her in her crate, so that Benny and I can eat lunch in peace.

On days when Ben has afternoon school, I take her with me for a walk, otherwise we stay home and I just keep taking her out every 50 - 60 minutes. She gets another meal between 3 and 4 PM, and then it's another short training session and some play time / cuddle time :)

Her last meal is at 7 PM, right around the time Gerry comes home from work, and he then takes her out for a wee/poo, and then we just pass her around and cuddle a lot which she loves :)

Then I go get Benny ready for bed while Gerry keeps an eye on Kimmy. At around 10 PM, she goes out for her last potty break, then she goes in her crate beside my bed for the night.

She usually wakes up to go potty around 4 AM.