Oh My Dog!

He does this every night:

And, of course, I refold the blankets every morning because I love watching him pull them down to make the little nest for himself.

It was lucky, too, that I decided to film his routine on this particular night because, shortly after he made his little area, Emmett jumped up on the chair with him! This is noteworthy because, so far, all their snuggling has been when Cooper approached and cuddled up to Emmett. As far as we’ve witnessed, this is the first time Emmett ever snuggled up to Cooper… And it was caught on camera!

Maybe it’s because of the time change and thus it was dark at 4:30 yesterday…

Maybe it’s because of the bizzaro weather… (Can someone explain to me how the heck it can be 67 and rainy here in southern Indiana while it’s snowing in New Jersey?)

Maybe it’s because of the house being built next to us – not near us, but practically on top of us – which is causing some extreme anxiety and nonstop barking in Lucas and Cooper…

Or maybe it’s because poor Lucas stepped in a pile of un-picked-up poop on our walk and I had to clean his foot while he protested…

But I’m feeling out of sorts today!

The best solution I know of for going from out of sorts to.. in sorts (?) is a lap piled high with pups.

Here’s hoping you have lots of dog snuggles today! I know I’m squeezing tons of cuddle time into my schedule!

Dear Cooper,

One year ago yesterday, you came home. You were supposed to be a foster, though!

A 6.2 pound bundle of joy!

It became apparent – almost immediately – that the big boys adopted you. They played with you, letting you tug and tug and tug on toys that they held until they got bored, then they’d let you win. I think they instilled in you a tremendous misunderstanding of your own size and strength!

I'm so strong and tough!

You were pretty stubborn with the potty training. It was cold then, and a few weeks after you came home we got a massive ice storm. You wanted nothing to do with that, even with coats and sweaters. You would stand outside and squeak at us. When it was really cold, you climbed into our sweater or jacket for a little nap. Inside, you loved nothing more than a lap or one of your brothers for a cozy snuggle.

Lucas was your favorite cuddler.

As you got bigger, though, you got very mischievous! You loved to chew furniture, shred rugs, and hide under our bed. There were some frustrating incidents that involved Emmett letting you out of your crate, too.

Getting bigger!

You have also had a lot of health problems. It took us a long, long time to figure out what was going on, and for that, I’m really sorry. You had to suffer quite a bit while we figured out your combination of food and environmental allergies. You lost fur, got pretty sick, broke out into a rash, and worse. Then you started in on the head tremors. You’re a trouper, though. Each time you tremor, you come out of it ready to play and pounce. Through it all, you’ve stayed pretty spirited!

Spirited.

We took you all sorts of places – Maryland for Thanksgiving, BlogPaws, Petsmart, Petco, and everywhere else we could think of. You made friends at the dog park. You’re an awfully shy guy… except when your brothers are around. We’re working on it. You’re going to doggy daycare, which was tough at first, but now you’re doing great. We take you lots of places and have lots of fun!

You went to National Pit Bull Awareness Day!

The thing is, Cooper, you’re brilliant. You’re much smarter than John and I. We have a tough time keeping up with you!

Valedictorian

Here’s what you know so far: the basics (sit, down, etc.), around, over, through, under, back up, crawl, twirl, roll over, bow, speak, high five, right vs. left. You play the shell game where I close my hand around a treat, and you select the correct hand. You’ve mastered a touch stick, and we’re starting to teach you to get our keys and to flip a light switch. Honestly, we can’t keep up with you, but we’re trying!

Your brothers adore you, even though you torment them every night when you go into your “midnight madness” and run around trying to clobber them.

There’s no question that you belonged in this family. But I gotta say: On this anniversary, I’m feeling a little sad that you went from this…

to this.

And this…

to this.

You grew up so fast! You are my darling little bean. Your smile is ridiculously adorable. When you crawl onto my lap for a snooze or wag when I walk into the room, you wrap me around your little paws even more.

I love you, Cooper! Happy anniversary, bean!

… for poor Lucas.

Halloween is the worst day of the year for him. People walking past the house all evening, the doorbell ringing incessantly, and intruders! intruders! in the alley!

However, we’ve already had one major victory for Halloween this year: We took Emmett and Lucas to Petsmart’s annual Howl-o-Ween event, and Lucas nailed it! They didn’t go in costume – as of last weekend I was still planning on making them costumes – but they saw tons of dogs all decked out.

These guys went above and beyond!

There were big dogs and little dogs in an array of store-bought and homemade costumes.

How cute is that banana?

I was so proud of Lucas. He waltzed around the store, took in the sights, and sailed through the event.

He did better than Emmett, who was pulling every which way to get in on the action. They saw their two favorite Petsmart trainers and met the store manager. At one point, a boisterous dog in a bright red cape rushed Lucas’ face… something he’s not fond of… and he definitely told the dog to back off, but it wasn’t a full-blown catastrophe for him. I was so proud of him the whole time we were there!

After the event, we discovered that their costumes were already marked down. We can never find anything big enough to fit Lucas, but they actually had one XXL in one style, so this year Lucas is a Giant Pumpkin!

The Great Pumpkin!

Emmett is a bumblebee, complete with stinger!

Cooper thinks Emmett's antennae are chew toys!

And Cooper is a frog!

He doesn't look like a happy frog...

Tonight, our neighborhood is having a Halloween parade, so the boys will debut their costumes there. I’m sure they’ll get lots of attention, which is good practice for Lucas and Cooper. Once the trick-or-treating starts, I’ll probably bring them upstairs and away from the door so that Lucas won’t be too anxious the whole night.

What are your Halloween plans? Are your dogs dressing in costume? Please feel free to share pics on the Facebook page – there’s already a darling hot dog from a precious Positively Pit Bull, Holly!

When we adopted Cooper, I remember thinking to myself, “This is great! He’s not going to have any issues like Emmett and Lucas because he’s a clean slate!” I thought that if we followed all the socialization rules – 5 outings each week, meet 100 people, etc. – while enforcing good manners at home, he’d be a problem-free pup!

Clean slate?

So, of course, I’m hanging my head right now because of those wild and unfair assumptions. And, of course, I should know better. I’ve encountered so many dogs with so many backgrounds. On top of basic experience, I studied anthropology. I did observation projects with baboons, and wrote massive term papers about nature vs. nurture. The bottom line: I should have known better.

So here we are, one year later, and Cooper is one shy little guy. Obviously, we’re working on his confidence. He’s taking a training class, going to doggy daycare, and attending big events like the Run for the Animals and Pit Bull Awareness Day, all with tons of reinforcement.

The funny thing is that Lucas came to us as a wildly fearful dog. He lunged and snapped and barked and growled when he faced something (like a plastic bag) that he couldn’t handle. Turns out, though, by nature Lucas is a pretty social guy! When he’s feeling confident and reassured, he’s sweet, playful, and the life of the party. He loves going for walks; Cooper tucks his tail. Lucas loves meeting people in novel places; Cooper whines and tucks his tail. In really controlled situations, Lucas can meet and play with new dogs; Cooper tucks his tail and, occasionally, growls. All things we can work on with Cooper, of course, but it’s just so fascinating to me that their personalities are seemingly trumping their circumstances.

Similar... but so, so different

With Lucas, for instance, everyone who meets him – especially in those super early days – assumes that he was abused. “That poor dog,” they say. “He was clearly abused. He doesn’t trust anyone.”

While he definitely didn’t trust anyone, I don’t think he was abused. I think that Lucas was a stray, a street dog. Obviously we’ll never know, but I remember so clearly the first time we turned on the TV after bringing him home. It scared him so badly, he hid under the kitchen table. The rustling of plastic when we got back from the store sent him behind the armchair. He shied away from buses and cars, and he freaked out over everyday household items like the blender and the vacuum. Had he been in a home, he would have had exposure to all of those things.

Not that it matters, of course. We spent years helping Lucas navigate these scary new things. We’re still working on his dog-dog interactions, but if you had told us a few years ago that we would take Lucas to the Halloween pet parade at PetSmart, we would have laughed and laughed and laughed. But we did. We took him on Saturday, and he did great. His only “incident” was with a dog who appeared to be even more insecure than he was.

Cooper is going to need a lot of the same training that Lucas got, but we’re working with his personality rather than his life experiences.

Just like with Lucas, we have one huge advantage.

Emmett.

The hero of this story

Emmett helped Lucas more than we could have in those early days by being there and being a good role model. Likewise, when we take Cooper somewhere with Emmett, his confidence level soars.

All this rambling is to say: We know what we have to work on for each of them and their individual personalities. I’m thinking about writing up a little “training plan” for each of them for 2012. (Yes, I am that anal.)

What do you think? Maybe I’m way off base and just reading into it? But do your training efforts revolve more around your dog’s history? Or his/her personality? 

When Emmett wants attention, he gets as close to you as possible… to the point of parking his 65+ pounds right in your lap and sticking his face in yours, just to give you that extreme close up of his dog nose. Luckily phones have cameras now! Otherwise, I’d miss so many good, quick pics like this one!

Tell me: How does your dog demand attention?

1. Cooper is taking a click-a-trick class, and he might just be the smartest dog there. He learns everything on the spot. I’m so proud! Except, we’re discovering, he does not do well with high-energy, rambunctious dogs. He got into a scuffle in his last class and another one in this class with dogs who were boisterous. The trainer – who knows Emmett and Lucas and next-door Cady – asked, “Does he have experience with high-energy dogs?” Um. Hmmm. Something to work on.
   

   Who? Me?

2. Speaking of Cooper, thank you for sharing all your doggy daycareexperiences. I’m very happy to report that he has made HUGE improvements. One of the ladies told us that Cooper loooooves to run, and when I dropped him off yesterday he waltzed right over to the entry room instead of desperately clawing a trying to get back to me. YAY! (Maybe this will help with point #1? Hmm.)
   

   After doggy daycare

3. Emmett is sick. He’s had a very upset stomach for a little over a day now. But what kills me about Emmett is that when he wakes me up at 4 am desperate to go outside, the second I swing my legs out of bed, the little darling wags at me! And he wags when I tuck him back into his bed after he goes. He feels terrible, I’m sure, but he sure keeps his spirits up! There is (yet another) lesson to be learned from him in this.
   

   Sleeping the day away in the office with me.

4. Saturday is National Pit Bull Awareness Day! We’re taking Coop to Indy for a big event. Is there anything going on in your area?
5. And, on a personal note, I am not ready for Christmas. Why are people talking about Christmas shopping? Why does Target have a Christmas aisle? I still haven’t finished sewing the boys’ mouse ears for their “three blind mice” Halloween costumes yet. Why, why why?