My Honey Bunny

No matter how big my puppy gets, he’ll always be my “little man”. I love to spoil him, help train/teach him, and know that he offers something to our family that helps complete us.

Love My Dog

I recently read a book, from the perspective of a Veterinarian catching a cab. It is not unusual for a people of certain professions to be asked to look at something, given symptoms and asked advice, or even whimsical stories. I read about a cab driver, whose wife complained about him loving the dog more than her. And the story was well written, but what got to my heart were the core truths of dog ownership. Such as how they always run to greet you, their rear ends wagging not just the tail, and no concept of time. I love how I can return from doing car pool, grocery shopping, or even checking the mail outside and get the same level of excitement from my Cooper.

More so, I love how Cooper is starting to show his affection, and he isn’t like most dogs I’ve ever owned. I’ve had times when I feel especially bad, and even go into my room to be alone, and he’ll follow shortly after me. Now most dogs (or even pets for that matter) would see a person that isn’t feeling that great and snuggle or kiss them (in a vain attempt to cheer them up). Cooper seems to know when to love, and when to literally push a person to force them to stop feeling sorry for themselves. And when he is “pushing”, he’ll continue, until you find yourself back in the common areas of the house and around the other people. Only than does he seem to back off and go back to doing what he’d been doing before you thought you’d go off and sulk (to expel the emotions).

Personally, I prefer to be alone when I am stressed, giving myself a chance to think things through in peace. Whether I am talking to thin air (thinking out loud), writing things down (gratitude journal), or even a pros and con list. And than there are times, when hearing others’ drama and stress physically affect me (hard to not have empathy and care), and I have to detoxify for my own life and family.

Having Cooper has been a blessing and a curse… more of a blessing than not, and he’s intelligent, but it has been hard to not fall head over heels in love with this furr-person! And he is a person in the sense that he is thinking, problem solves, and has his own personality.

He was so well behaved doing his "heel"... thinking tomorrow I'll treat him to a dog park!!!

Veterinarian Visit



Yesterday, had been a whirlwind of ups and downs…

First of all, the previous day, I thought Cooper had cut his foot. I saw a spot of blood on his leg near his foot, and I’d checked his paws. I found nothing, and checked him through out the evening, and saw nothing. I even went to his training class explaining how I’d seen nothing since.

Yesterday, I think I can safely state I went into a panic. I saw blood on his private area, on his inner thighs (both sides). My first reaction was to google it, to see how serious it could be. It could be everything from a breeding issue (which he is only 6 months and a virgin), could be a bladder infection, kidney stones, rat poisoning, or even a burr from a wildly grown field caught in the wrong place. My husband thought for sure he bit it, and I was going overboard for nothing.

We got him directly into the veterinarian yesterday (with in a half hour of calling). They checked his private area, and he had no marks or wounds. They checked his gums, no bruising, wet tongue, so that wasn’t the issue. They even took a urine sample to test.

In the end the only logical conclusion is, there is a female dog that is currently in heat and not fixed, locally. The veterinarian explained that when he gets excited, it fills with blood, and I am still unclear how he is actually bleeding. If he were a female dog I would never have had huge alarm bells going off. But, because he lives a sheltered/indoor life I can rule a majority of things out as a cause.

Today we got the call, his urine came back negative, and he is not showing any signs of infection or blood. So, with that being said, it cost me $75 to find out he is “all male”, and hormones of what equates to a human teenager… ~*sigh*~

I am grateful that he is in perfect health, which all is well, but when I verbally state the facts in blunt terms, I can’t help but to blush and break out laughing.

Phoenix Dog Park in Fair Oaks, California

We tried a new park yesterday… figured after the air conditioner was done, we owed him. He was placed in his crate, and after we were the only ones home, I let him loose…. where he ran (literally) from room to room looking for “people” with sheer excitement. Cooper doesn’t seem to understand his jumping up onto people is rude, so he felt like he missed out. And he frantically looked for someone that might still be there to pet him and sweet talk.

My husband heard from a customer about a park, which has grass with no patches of dirt. I was actually looking forward to the possibility of a place I can take him and not have to bath him after. Turns out they still have the doggy pools, and the gentleman claiming to run the park (he had cards for the park’s website and a printed out I.D.) doesn’t exactly allow the pools to be dumped and refilled, stating that it creates mud from the lack of drainage. I have always been a little hyper sensitive when it comes to my puppy. So when I see one dog had a muzzle on and another was drooling a froth, I find it frustrating I can’t possibly save my Cooper from a potential disease.

The man had also gotten onto our children, about “running” and playing with the dogs, stating that running wasn’t allowed. Normally I would leave it at that, but we left after he insisted on literally following the kids, even when he saw they were already be spoken to by us. I might be hyper sensitive when it comes to my dog, but it is creepy to have a grown man literally following my kids to beat us to telling them the man’s self imposed park rules. We will not be returning to Phoenix Dog Park anytime in the future, it was less than welcoming.

I went into this experience with a positive attitude! I thought of the name and the symbolic meaning, and figured it would be a welcome change (a chance to let Cooper run off energy and not bath him every time). And I have to admit, I prefer the first park and it was the best choice! The children enjoy the normal park we attend, they have a blast playing with others people’s dogs and children(throwing balls, blowing bubbles, and Frisbees), and since having a dog and going to more dog parks deprive them of the ability to go to more children/human parks… I prefer a place where the owners are more like us! We are attentive to our pet, we love how our children can run and play with other dogs (helping to alleviate previous fears they once had towards all dogs), and it helps to get the dogs to run/jump/play… hence the reason for going to a dog park. If my dog isn’t running off excess energy after being indoors than a dog park is reduced to who knows whom and about the owners over the dogs. And if I was that desperate to talk to other adults, my dog wouldn’t be my excuse, I’d use Yahoo groups, Meetup.com, and various other resources (even Craig’s List has groups). Unfortunately, I have to admit when this phoenix caught fire is wasn’t born into a new/positive experience but was quickly crossed off our list, and I’m sure I’ll when chatting at other parks pass on our experience to others so they can avoid being treated like lepers. And more so if they do go, this is not a welcoming environment for children.

New Trick

Cooper has been amazing, and he loves to feel like he is doing something and a part of us, so I started to think of just how I can help…

I live in a home with a husband and three sons (wouldn’t trade them for all the fake princesses in the world)… and each one of my boys has the same problem! They’ll take off a shirt or pair of socks, and they don’t seem to make it to the dirty clothes. I am currently working with Cooper to take the dirty clothes to the hamper, and to help me run around cleaning up. “Dirty Clothes, put it in the hamper”.

He’s been a faithful little dog, that sleeps at my feet, and never strays too far from us. I’m hoping this new trick/chore will be something that is done by him like “wake your kids” has been most mornings. The kids now know to get out of bed, or Cooper will lick your face, pull off covers, and step all over you will his big paws in his task to “wake the kids”!!!

~*Crossing Fingers*~ … I am truly hoping with my heart him helping to pick up the dirty clothes is successful too.

As time progresses, I am becoming more confident with Cooper, in my ability to teach him, and I think I am starting to realize that the purpose of the classes at PetsMart has been ultimately for me to learn not him. I’m the one that is to work with him through out the week, and the class time is divided in such a way that other than the initial command they do not invest in him as much as I do. Oh, and I would like to add that the internet, Youtube, and even Comcast’s videos in OnDemand have been helpful/informative. I really enjoyed the “take a bow” Comcast showed months ago, now he does it when he thinks he is being cute not when told.

Happy Mother’s Day

Every year, I make “Mother’s Day Spoons with Kisses”, and pass them onto others… instead of being selfish in thinking it is all about me.

This year I was forced to make these in red, because it is the only color Michael’s Arts and Craft carries in their store (they made it clear if it wasn’t normally carried on shelves they wouldn’t special order another color). Thankfully I was told where to shop in the future, for more selection and cheaper prices (Roseville area craft shops, and WalMart out there carries them). So, next year when I am doing them for two classrooms, and extras to hand out, I can design around more colors (and separately for the kids’ personal favorites)! ~*Cheers*~

Mother’s Day is not just about the mother… if the kids are happy so is she! The early morning was spent making Cooper tired, took him to a dog park, and let him run and play until he was too tired to move. Unfortunately any and all visits to a dog park mean bathing him, he loves the pools and laying wet in dry dirt, and he is a magnet to all mud puddles. The blessing is that after he is bathed and smells like a coconut again… he takes an actual nap!

The remainder of my day was a blessing, spent with my husband and kids, gifts were thoughtful, and in and out from one thing to the next. I wish that I could say that there was something different and special, but it wasn’t far off from how we normally live. We all enjoy doing little things for each other, giving thoughtful gifts, and no matter how much we give it comes back in return.

Cooper is Learning

I remember when we first brought Cooper home, he was a tiny little thing, and I could hold him in my arms… now if he is strong enough that I wouldn’t trust my kids to walk him and not loose the leash (they’ve never walked him).

I don’t regret taking on more training classes, I just think he’d benefit more from us, and the trainer we hope to get him with in the future (they take him 24/7 for two weeks and he’ll be returned to us completely trained). I’m not seeing where he’ll progress in his current training classes, and nothing we’ve not been already doing with him. A huge part of me wants to drop out and reclaim my Friday nights, but I’ll at the least see it through to the end. I’m not as happy this time around with “Cooper’s Class”. Thankfully there aren’t too many left.

I’ve been looking into more dog parks, much like I do with the human kids, to keep things fresh. Different dogs to socialize with, different owners to chat with and new experiences for Cooper. I keep a list of children’s parks in the car for the kids, lists of spraygrounds (with addresses), and yes even stores to spoil our furry child!

Surprisingly the biggest learning moments with Cooper have come from other owners. And it frustrates me that other people don’t need a class to have well behaved dogs! The most I can do is smile, take mental notes, and joke that I hope their well behaved dogs rub off on my dog (much like how allowing a human kid to play with the right kids can help reinforce our ethics/teachings). I think even after this set of classes is done, I won’t do any more, but I will make it a point to keep working with him on his “manners”, and do research on how to get him to stop jumping on people. The biggest issue he has is his over excitement with people he likes, jumping up on them (we’ve been using the commend “OFF” since down means to lay down), and his paws (which he doesn’t realize are not the size of a Chihuahua). He doesn’t bite, growl, or even bark. He thinks everyone is his friend, everyone loves him, and they all want to play with him. He also thinks he is smaller than he actually is, and will still try to sit in my lap (I’ve gotten bruises on my thighs from him jumping up into my lap on the couch).

But I can’t stay mad at my furry-faced child!!! The few flaws that he might have are not as bad as other dogs. Much like the minor complaints that I have with my human kids, when I compare them to their peers, I find that I am grateful in the end for the blessings that I do have. Much like how I can watch the relationships others have, and come home feeling blessed that I am not living their lives. At the end of the day when I drift off into that vast imagination we call dreams, I am married to my best friend, my children are all I envisioned (healthy, intelligent, thriving, and good people)… and my dog is as I remind myself only six months and doing well (he’s intelligent and learns fast, and in some cases my children take up all my time and he comes through as if I’d actually worked with him to do as he is supposed to).

Cooper Killed the Frog

Cooper stole another plushie from the kids… A FROG!!!

He enjoyed his new temptation, as he ran from the kids, in the far crevasses under their beds they dare not crawl to reach him…

He’d come out into the common areas, and taunt us all, daring us to take his new conquest (he stole the frog)! 

Eventually we all gave in, let him keep his prize, and are simply thankful it was… just a plushie.

By the end of the day, he managed to break it (an eye ripped forward and in such a way it can’t be sewn). COOPER KILLED THE FROG... ~*Giggles*~

And he has over time become less destructive, he no longer cares about cords as he rests under the computer desks, he seems to know what he can take and get away with, and he has come a long ways since he entered our lives. We even trust him to be home alone, without being stuck in his crate, and he’s yet to prove us wrong in trusting him. Most of the time he stays by the front door, sleeping, and waits for us to return home.

It amazes me how much Cooper has learned, changes he’s undergone (from the tiny puppy to current teenage years), and the differences in the roughly five months he’s been in our lives. He was blessed to be the only student in his puppy class, and to be honest as much as I dislike a spotlight on myself he probably benefited from the extra time spent on him. He learns things pretty fast, and I’d had him recall things I didn’t work with him on (as if I had), so he is capable of more (he is intelligent). He enjoys his job of “wake the kids” in the morning, he loves to please others, and why simply being mad and having it show through in my voice has curbed most behaviors we don’t like… just can’t stop him from rudely jumping on people he likes for attention. I’ll probably need to research that one, his current class is focused on heel, go to your bed, and basics (won't teach him what I need)… but I wonder if we can walk down the street and he gets the chance for petting/love without jumping up onto others (since "down" means to lay down we've been saying "off" to help teach). “Leave it” works just fine, but I don’t want to him to than think he isn’t to get any attention and fear others (still doing dog parks for social and he doesn’t jump on people there while off leash).