Moo Cow Lotion

Cooper and I are back home now. We spent the last few days at my parent's house so that Cooper and Sherlock could meet.  I was pretty worried about them getting along, but no worries.  They are best of friends.  In fact, its pretty shocking to see them play.  They take rough-housing to the next level!  Where do they get the energy?  For hours they wrestle and chase each other.   An unfortunate result of the rough play though is Cooper has totally shredded his paw pads.  I assume the hyperkeratosis from the distemper is partly to blame, even though he didn't have that condition too severe.  Some paws are worse than others of course, but the poor guy seems to be sticking to the couch today.  I went and found some stuff called "Bag Balm" and have been putting that on the pads.  I will update how it works.

PS: Thanks Steve for humoring me and driving me around looking for what amounts to cow udder cream... : )

Calmer Now

So we have turned a corner in awful behavior land.  He is doing much better.  Granted, when I am home he is permenently wearing a lead so that he can be corrected, but that's how it is.  He's getting the idea.  I did have to tie him down to a piece of furniture yesterday... and boy did he fuss.... but eventually he was calm and normal.

Maybe he's just not been feeling good post surgery?  I guess most guys would.

I Think He Wants 'em Back

So, a post-surgery update.  Cooper is really awful.  His behavior sucks big time since the surgery.  My biggest beef is with the nipping, especially when he is hyper.  I've mentioned some of the things I've tried, like a can full of coins, spray bottle of various noxious liquids, and even a dog whistle.  All of these things except the whistle make him MORE hyper.  The whistle stops him, for moment.  He's usually not calm enough still to command to sit.

Ugh. I'm very discouraged.  I'm not a quitter, and its not like that's an option, but I want this "phase" to be over with.  I wonder if this is a male dog thing?  Individual personality? None of our females were like this. 

He Was Broken?

Its been a while, so the short of it is that Cooper is now 'fixed'.  The vet and I decided he was healthy enough.  He is now home, and seems to be totally fine.

As to the vaccinations.... we have still only had the rabies booster.  I am too nervous about giving him the distemper vaccine until maybe January.  Ideally I'd like him to be clear of the distemper on his next PCR test, which we'll do in December I guess.  In the meantime, Dr. Shows is trying to locate a solitary Parvo vaccine.  The issue is that in modern times, most of the vaccines are combined into one serum, and my vet doesn't carry the vaccines separated.  Oh, he's also grown a ton. Well, it feels like a ton. He is at 39 pounds now! How that happened, I don't know, but it seemed like it was overnight!

Behavior. Oh the behavior!  In general he is quite well behaved.  Unfortunately he has shown some signs of either aggressiveness or eagerness on the leash when other dogs are around.  I could really use some advise on this.  My vet thinks it might just be me... as in he's feeling protective.  Well, its something we are working on.  The rest of his training is going well.  He is great when we do beginning commands like sit, stay, and come.  I'm hoping the leash barking will get better as the training continues.  Out of necessity because of the virus, he's also led a pretty sheltered life since I got him too.  That can't help.  He did meet and play with my dad's dog Sherlock last week.  That went well.

An Open Letter

Dear Mr. Cooper,
I'd like to inquire why you find the need to eat my carpet and shoes. Maybe you like bitter apple spray? I'm not even sure how you even reach my bras. They are left to dry pretty high up, but in order for them to work, the straps are needed. I would also like you to cease and desist pillaging my dirty clothes. I typically like my panties to have the crotch in tact, as well as my jeans and pajama bottoms. Really? Is this how you want me representing myself to the world? Crotchless?

I also need your cooperation when we go walking. As I'm sure you would agree, you would not like to be barked at when you are trying to take care of your business, so I ask you to please consider following the golden rule and do unto others.....

Finally, I enjoy your company tremendously, but prefer that when we play you pay closer attention to where your toy ends and my skin begins. It hurts.

Your cooperation in these matters is much appreciated.

Love, the mommy


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