~*Cooper’s First Easter*~

Cooper is a part of our family, which means we had to as a family… do things that he enjoys! He got a ducky that says “My First Easter”, all we could find.

We made our way to a dog park by the end of the day, to give Cooper something he enjoys. He ended up for the first time being attacked, a Doberman had him pinned down (didn’t actually hurt him), but the owner freaked out (hitting his own dog). He yipped, ran and hid over my legs, and was clearly scared to death! He wasn’t actually hurt; he was getting his rear chewed for trying to get a bigger dog to play… Cooper hasn’t quite figured out the “dog language”. And he has run from a Yorkie in the past that was tugging at its leash and acting very aggressive. Cooper is not hostile or violent in any way shape or form (he runs the opposite direction, he is the gentle giant).

Cooper seems to think that everyone, and everything, is a friend… he up until Easter Sunday, never met anyone that he didn’t like. He spent the remainder of his time at the dog park avoiding the Doberman that pinned him down. The owner was amazing, and responsible. He even re-checked Cooper after all calmed down… made sure there were no marks, not hurt, and let us know he was “sorry”.

Apparently when his dog was little, it was attacked at the dog park, and it has had issues with dogs that continually get into its personal space. My husband stated to me after we got home that if a dog has known issues it should be integrated with other dogs, and I can see his point, thank God nothing horrible happened (Cooper is the kids’ first dog, and they witnessed it all). My side is this, if the dog has issues with personal space, and the man was constantly with/near his dog, what better way to help it face fears and become a better dog than to be there? I am just grateful Cooper is well adjusted, for the most part behaved, and on his way to being the perfect family member for our family.

Every dog is different, much like human kids, and each one gives us different lessons in life and challenges to face!