Four Dills

The most current photo is at the end, so please scroll down to view it. This makes it easier to monitor Cooper’s growth. Thanks for looking!

We just purchased/rescued a Dalmation mix several days ago. We are waiting for Cooper’s first appointment on Saturday to find out exactly what he is. I have been visiting him during my lunch time the last few days so he will get to know my scent, and hopefully not feel to much separation anxiety from his sister. Cooper will be coming home to meet (again) his new brother and sister here at the house today. He appears to be quite a calm and affectionate dog. This is our first time picking a dog out from a local Shelter. My heart breaks for all the dogs that don’t get adopted out. I wish I had a bigger yard as I would have a few more.

We have been watching many videos from various people and really like Cesar Millan’s teaching style: the gentle approach ~ calm assertive.

Here are a couple of  pictures of Cooper at 2.5 months.

May 13, 2010 (Thursday) ~ We brought Cooper home from the local Animal Shelter after he had his surgery. He was a bit groggy but pleased to see a familiar face. The two Shih-tzu’s were waiting in the car to meet their new brother again. Lacey was so excited to see this new puppy that she sat in front of his kennel door and stared at him the whole way home. Mustang on the other hand sat in his chair wondering what the heck is my mom bringing home now.  The first night was rough. After my husband rubbing Cooper’s head for several minutes, he finally put his head down and slept for 45 minutes. However, the rest of the night was pretty much a loss. Brian got up around three to take Cooper potty and then he went back to bed and slept until 4:30. We did order a much larger kennel since the first one wasn’t as large as it needed to be.

May 14, 2010 (Friday) ~ Cooper is having fun playing with all his new toys, eating dog food, and running in his backyard. So far this puppy has had only one accident due to my husband closing the back door. Otherwise, he takes himself out and pees and poops on the grass. Truly amazing for very little help. We did introduce his collar to him with his name tag on it. He is constantly stopping and itching himself as though that will remove the collar.

May 15, 2010 (Saturday) ~ We took Cooper to the vet this morning. He had a clean bill of health, weighed in at 8.5 lbs, and will return Wednesday for his second shot. This evening Cooper found his voice. It’s as though the devil came out of him for a bit. This morning we started working with him on “come”, “sit”, and having him walk with his leash on in the backyard. He did fine the first round with the leash, but the second round he was a little resistant. We are noticing with this breed mix that he seems to pick up on commands well. Hopefully, I didn’t speak too soon.

This is our first large dog “puppy” and we are determined to make him a good one. It’s important we follow through since we have two smaller dogs depending on us. Our boy Shih-tzu finally came out of his shell today and walked around the house without being too scared. He seemed much calmer and knew I was watching the three of them constantly for any problems to arise. Since Mustang is not a big social dog to begin with, I was very proud of him today!

Below are some new pictures and a video of Cooper. Imagine it’s only been two days and already we have new pictures. Lol! Cooper seems to be enjoying his new 36 inch Kennel from Costco. The last picture show all three dogs taking a nap. Now if only I could nap too!

MAY 20, 2010 (Thursday) ~NEW PICTURES BELOW ~ Cooper has had a set back in his potty training. He will go outside for a couple of days, then have several accidents inside. We don’t spank him or yell at him as it will only worsen the matter. Instead, we pick him up and place him in the middle of the backyard lawn. We walk around on the lawn and eventually he goes. We give him praise right after.

We continue to keep the water spray bottle on standby since it has shown to be the most effective tool. One squirt and he stops whatever mischief he is in. Overall, Cooper is turning out to be a wonderful puppy. Lacey, our Shih-Tzu, loves to be close to him, especially laying by his side. However, I do stay very close by in case Cooper decides to bite her. Mustang, our boy Shih-tzu is still a little reserved around the puppy. Some days he will hang with us all day, while others he wants to be away from Cooper. He does growl at the puppy letting him no not to encroach his space.

Yesterday, we went to drop off Cooper’s stool sample and obtain his second shot. He screamed! We received a call later that afternoon that his stool showed ringworm. The vet had us pick up some medicine for him, which we started that evening. Second dose is in two weeks. The good news is the other dogs won’t contract it since they don’t eat his poo. Thank goodness!

Cooper continues to do well in his kennel during his day naps and through the night.Our sweet little puppy turns into the devil dog for about 45 minutes each night. It is the strangest thing. My friend who also has a puppy, informed me that her dog does the same thing. She describes it like a two year old fighting how tired he/she is right before bed. =) As cute as puppies are, I am looking forward to this stage being over.

Lacey really enjoys her baby brother even though he like to snip at her from time to time.

Our puppy has melted all our hearts. He really tries to be a good boy. We love you Cooper!

JUNE 7, 2010 (Monday) – Our puppy is growing a bit too fast. It seems lately he is on a growing spree. We have had to move his divider in his kennel back three times in the last two weeks. We are hoping that our 36 inch kennel will accommodate this unknown pound puppy’s size. I have been teasing my husband that maybe Cooper is part Great Dane. You’ll see what I mean after looking at the first picture below. He use to be close to the size of my female Shih-Tzu, but not any more! He currently weighs 14 pounds on our scale which isn’t really that accurate for a dog. However, we will be taking Cooper for his next vet visit this Saturday for his last shot. We will get a more concise weight at that time. We continue to work with him on his potty training, which he knows how to do most of the time! I think he deliberately has a few accidents when he feels he is not getting an adequate amount of attention. My goodness we play with him most of the day! For the most part Cooper is a well behaved puppy, and really tries to please us. He has mastered sit, stay, come, shake, and down. We tried roll ever, but he wasn’t too thrilled about learning that one. We will try again in a couple of weeks. Here are some updated pictures. If anyone wants to guess what type of breed(s) Cooper is, please let us know.

JULY 4, 2010 (Sunday) ~ Our little puppy is not so little anymore. He is now weighing in a 20lbs.
This is using our home scale. Cooper will be going to the vet next Saturday for a proper weigh in and
another check up. He has been chewing his chew bones non stop lately due to six new teeth trying
to come through. Cooper continues to be a well behaved puppy. He takes a walk with my husband
early each morning (before work) and one in the evening. He loves to be played with in the backyard,
but will also run around the backyard playing with his toys without someone too. He is such a happy
dog. We are so happy that we rescued him and that we get to watch him grow. Here is a current
picture or our sweet lovable Cooper. It is amazing to see the growth in such a short time.

JULY 11, 2010 (Saturday) Cooper went to the vet today for a couple more shots and a clean bill of health. He now weights a whopping 23 pounds! He is so much fun to have a around. He brings a lot of life to our pretty mellow household. We love you Coop!

August 08, 2010 (Sunday) We took Cooper to the vet to use their scale. The Coop weighed in at 28.6 pounds. We get so excited watching him grow. He is now 5 months and one week. He has entertained us non stop since the day we brought him home. He has the funniest personality and loves to entertain us. There are times we wish we would have adopted his sister too. Luckily, he has his sweet girlfriend Bella, who happens to live next door to play with. Cooper loves to have her over for a play date. Bella is a year old and very gentle with Coop.

Brian loves his boy!

Thirsty here. Can someone get me an Ice Tea?

Bella and Cooper. Love @ first site!

COOPER IS NOW A YEAR OLD! Happy Birthday to most wonderful dog ever. We are
so in love with him. We will always adopt all future dogs from our local animal shelter.

We took Cooper to the DOG PARK for the first time several weeks ago. We now take him 3-5 times a week. He loves playing with all the dogs. He is submissive. There are a great group of dogs that come out to the park each time. Below are some pictures we have taken of Cooper’s new friends.

I am so pooped!