Cooper Passed Intermediate Education

Last night my stomach was literally in knots, wondering if Cooper was going to actually pass his class. We push our human kids to do well academically, while trying to find that balance of being their own person, and I think we feel the same about our dog. We want Cooper to have his own personality, but to want to strive to do/be more, and the only reason we chose to start “training” him is because of our neighbor’s Boxer. I am hoping that he can be as well behaved and trained, and have manners.

I looked over the pamphlet, AKC Canine Good Citizen, and Cooper is not going to be able to achieve that with the path he is currently on. My neighbor, whose dog impressed me enough to go beyond a simple dog, was able to personally train her dog and simply test without any trainers. We’d done the puppy class and intermediate class through Petsmart, and even if we give another six weeks for advanced classes… I am highly doubtful he’ll get to where I’m hoping/praying he’ll get.

More information on Testing ... http://www.akc.org/events/cgc/training_testing.cfm 

Today I took Cooper to the dog park, to help celebrate, and give him a reward. His test last night had him “Heel”, which when I worked with him we did it with a loose leash, because I personally think him not having slack in the leash is like cheating (if the leash is tight do they truly gets heel or are you leading them to do it). He did a “sit/stay” and “down/stay”, which he mastered from the puppy class. I remember working with him on that thinking he’d be tested back than (he wasn’t). I have to say, that even though I don’t think he can go much further in the current settings, it did give us the basics and desire to do even more.

The neighbor’s dog planted the seed, to think Cooper could be capable of being more than a lazy house dog… and Petsmart classes gave us the basics, giving us a foundation towards his future. And after chatting with other dog owners, I can now dream that some day, Cooper just might do actual volunteer work. It is possible for this canine to make the elderly and sick feel better, that he has enough love to give to others, and embracing him has made a difference in my life.

I have always been a cat person, strays even love me, and I can relate to a cat’s personality better than a dog. Dogs will continue to come back even with the worst of owners… and a cat puts up with a lot less and will leave (cats require you to work on the relationship and not simply give food or come home at the end of the day)! When Cooper entered our lives, I immersed myself into his world, and took it on myself to learn as much as I can.

~*Thanks*~ Cooper!!!