How About THIS Basket?

Yesterday's post is about the basket Cooper 'claimed'.  The basket came with a raffle prize I won.   That basket is in the living room.  Cooper loves to hang out in the basket while we're in there. 

But sometimes we hang out in our bedroom, especially on cold days.  It's warmer in the bedroom and we can snuggle in with our blankets.

Apparently Cooper would like to have a basket in the bedroom too.  I left the laundry basket on the floor where he could reach it.  SO he decided to try it out.  

 He didn't stay in the basket for more than a minute because there was nothing soft in there to snuggle with.  I think if I had put pillows in this basket ... he might have been very happy.  

Cooper Claimed The Basket

At one of the most recent toy runs Cooper and I attended, I won a HUGE basket in the raffle.  The basket was full of spa items like bath salts, slippers, towels, bath gel, creams and lotions among a lot of other things.  I picked up the basket in my car and brought it home.  I took things out of the basket and put them all away leaving the big basket empty on the living room floor.  Cooper was VERY interested in this new basket.  He kept looking at it, putting his head in it and standing there as if he would like to get in.  I told him he could get in but he wouldn't jump in.  I have some small pillows that I thought might make getting in a little more appealing.  That was ALL IT TOOK!  He immediately got in the basket and started shoving the pillows around with his nose as if trying to arrange them for a more comfortable bed.  He laid down and was quite happy to stay there for quite a while.

The other night, Jesse took one of those pillows out of the basket to use while he laid on the couch.  Cooper watched him do this.  He walked over to look at Jesse and just kept LOOKING for a long time until Jesse gave the pillow back.  When he did, Cooper got in the basket, happy for the return of the pillow, laid down with his chin on that pillow and looked at Jesse as if to say, "See?  I like this pillow here so I can lay on it like THIS!"  It was so funny.

House Hunting

We've been house hunting for a month or so now.  Houses are coming up that we're interested in so we go look at them.  Cooper seems to really enjoy the process of looking through all the empty houses full of all kinds of smells.

One house in particular that I REALLY LOVE, sold and came back on the market again.  Something happened and that sale fell through.  We went to see it again and this time we looked it over very closely to see what might have caused the sale to fall through.  I can't see why someone might have wanted it then changed their mind, but I'm happy they did.

We inspected the whole house and took lots of pictures.  Cooper helped with the inspection.  He likes the big clean cellar...

the low windows in every room so he can see out...

and the wide open doors that lead from one room to another for the purpose of chasing Daddy during their nightly Puppy Time.

We put in an offer on this house...   FINGERS CROSSED

Please Mama?

Cooper can be just like a kid sometimes.  If you look at this picture you can see his 'Jug' at his feet as he stares up at me with THAT LOOK on his face.  "Please Mama?"

I know I have mentioned this jug in past blogs, but I thought I would give it a plug.  I've found the actual web site of the company who developed this toy.  The company is called Premier and this is a Tug-a-Jug.  You'll see on their web site that this comes in 3 sizes and it's an "busy buddy" toy.  This means that the toy makes him work for the treats/food inside and it keeps him happily occupied all by himself for a little while.

Cooper loves his jug.  He brings it to us when he wants a snack.  We purposely give him less of his food at meal times so we can give him a little in his jug a couple times a day too.  He loves it.

Cooper's New Thunder Shirt

For Cooper's 5th birthday he got a 'Thunder Shirt'.  This shirt was designed to calm nervous reactions in dogs.  I know most people think Cooper is the most well adjusted dog around but it's not true.  He is a VERY nervous boy in the car.  Unfortunately I kind of traumatized him when he was little by leaving him in the car alone when I brought Andy shopping in Wal*Mart.  This resulted in Cooper becoming a very nervous car passenger almost right away.  The damage was done before I realized what I was doing to him.  I really think I need the Dog Whisper's help, but since that probably won't happen, I just did my best in dealing with it while trying not to make him worse.

A couple of months ago I heard about this shirt that puts pressure on the dog's torso.  I know this to work well with people with Autism, so I understand the concept.  I tried my own little experiment in the car and it seemed to help a little, so I decided I would get one of the shirts for Cooper.

I looked at the local pet store where I get Cooper's food.  They carried them but were out of his size so I ordered one for him.  When I got the call that Cooper's shirt came in, I stopped on the way to Andy's to pick it up.  I put the shirt on him before we left the parking lot.  There was an immediate improvement, though not drastic.  Each time I use it now he becomes calmer more quickly than the time before.  He actually will lay down on the seat now when he would NEVER do that before.  So far I recommend this shirt for dogs with nervous habits.  Take a look at the web site.  It shows video of other dogs who have also benefitted from this shirt.

Cooper's Box

Little by little we have been taking things out of our storage units to try to combine two units down to one.  Cooper is beginning to get used to this process.  His interest in only in what smells familiar.  Nothing really catches his attention so he usually sniffs the air and walks around on the truck.  

On our most recent trip to storage we were concentrating mostly on boxes so we could try to see what was in them and what we could use.  We came across Cooper's box and I decided we should bring it home.  I had Jesse put the box on the truck for me as I went looking for more stuff. 

Jesse joined me deep in the storage unit and we were handling boxes and talking about what we should do when we heard Cooper barking up a storm.  Since he was on the truck alone (98% trustworthy to stay put) we wanted to make sure he wasn't barking at something to chase.  I looked out and found him to be tearing that box to peaces trying to get into it.  It was so funny.  He was determined to get to what was in that box.

We helped him get to the contents of the box.  You can see here what was inside.  What fun it was to investigate with him!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We're Thankful for all of YOU who enjoy our stories!

Riding In The Thanksgiving Parade

Last weekend we were invited to ride in a Thanksgiving Parade in Plymouth.  We were supposed to be behind a float dedicated to Vietnam Veterans. 

Only 25 bikes got to ride there, the rest of us went at the end of the parade.  It was a lot of fun anyhow.  Cooper got a LOT of claps and cheers, which of course we all know it all he really cares about.

After the parade, Jesse and I rode back to where the floats were parked to get some good pictures of Cooper with the floats for my thanks giving post.  We got some really cute shots, but you'll have to wait to see them TOMORROW!!!!

We ended the day by joining the rest of the riders at The Black Raspberry Pub.  They fed us all you can eat pizza in thanks for riding in honor of the dedication of the float to our Vietnam Veteran's.  What a great gesture that was.  The pizza was delicious and they just kept it coming!  Thank you to The Black Raspberry Pub and all who rode that day.    

Meeting David's Dogs

After a recent ride, we went back to Shannon and David's house.  I had never met his dogs.  

One was social enough but we didn't dare let them down to play outside.  

The other one was fine as long as we didn't bring him too close to Cooper.  He had real alfa issues.  He growled at Cooper a little so we didn't push it at all.  No need to push them together, it's just not that important to a dog.  Anyhow, we had a great visit.  Cooper saw one of the dogs for long enough to learn a little something new.  He's such a good boy.

Baby Cooper

When my grand son Logan was about 3 years old I got him a little beanie baby type toy that looked just like Cooper. 

Little Logan with his new toy
 Baby Cooper

Logan loved it!  He slept with it every night.  He put a leash on it.  He named it Baby Cooper.  Lucas and Kyra play with it too.

I thought it would be fun to take pictures of Cooper and Baby Cooper with Logan, Lucas and Kyra.  How cute are they?  They were all being really shy.  VERY UNLIKE ANY OF THEM.  

Look at the poses here with Cooper and Baby Cooper.  It almost looks like they are both doing the same pose.

Keeping Warm and Happy

I got this really nice double fleece reversible coat for the cold weather we've been having here in MA.  I love the coat. I've always wanted one and this year I finally found what I wanted.  I live in it when I can.  Sometimes I even wear it on chilly nights as we watch a movie on TV.

Cooper gets chilled easy, so he has a sleeping bag I usually bring to Andy's with us.  Otherwise, he always wants to sit with me so I can keep him warm.  I can't always sit still for Cooper to get his napping done, so he is best to find a warm place to lay on that is NOT me.  

I haven't got his sleeping bag in my car right now.  I usually keep it in my car, but I'm not sure were it is since the move.  It got really chilly for Cooper at Andy's one night and I didn't have time to sit with him.  So I put my jacket on the chair for him to lay on.  I think he loves my coat as much as I do.  Look how he snuggles right in.  Such a pampered pooch.

A Bath In The Kitchen Sink

Cooper needed a bath again.  It's been really hard to bring him in the shower with me now because all we have is a little shower stall.  He doesn't like it because he can't get out of the 'rain' no matter where he stands.  I don't like it because I can't direct the water to where it needs to spray to get all the soap off him without drenching his face and getting water in his nose.

I decided that trying to bathe him in the sink would be a good thing.  He's big for the sink but I would have a lot better control on where the spray was going.  He was really very good about it.  He's had sink baths before.  He didn't really like it as much as he tolerated our big shower from our old house, but he did well.  

The one thing I forgot when I decided to bathe him in the sink was...  the 'After Bath Shake'.   I had to think quick before I could allow him to shake off after his bath.  I didn't want my kitchen to get soaked.  I grabbed Cooper fast and carried him, dripping, into the bathroom.  I put him in the shower and closed the curtain and told him to shake.  (He does this on command)  I had him shake a few times then wrapped him in a towel for a few minutes.  

Success!  A sink bath and no mess!  I'm so glad he's a cooperative boy.