Cooper's First Ride

By the time Cooper was about 10 weeks old, he had become trusting and adventurous.  He never wanted to be far from the security of Mommy and Daddy, but he was compelled to explore.  His explorations were of the innocent puppy nature, until...

One beautiful, warm winter day in December '06.  It was after Christmas and I was on Christmas Break from school.  Being Well rested and inspired by the warm day, in the high 50s I think, Jesse and I decided we would take the bikes out for a ride.  Cooper had been used to going everywhere with us and this would be our first time leaving him home while we left.  He was following us around in the way he always did (afraid he would miss something), when Jesse and I looked at each other at the same time... thinking the same thing... 'Wanna take Cooper with us?' was about to come out of our mouths in stereo. 

My tank bag was the perfect size.  Cooper had a jacket I had bought him for the cold days since he gets cold easy.  Our cat's harness fit him well even over the jacket.  THIS COULD BE FUN.  I fastened the tank bag so it wouldn't slide around at all, even if he leaned against the side.  We put a towel in the bottom of the bag so Cooper would be cushioned from the bumps.  Jesse put Cooper in the tank bag while I fastened his harness so he had almost no room to move.  He had enough freedom to sit up, lay down and turn around, but not to get outside the bag.  Perfect!  

Cooper had already met the bikes up close and personal before this day.  Jesse rode almost every day, so Cooper was familiar with what took place and how they sounded when they were started.  We stood by him as I started the bike with him on it.  No alarming reaction.  He was fine and gave no indication that he wasn't happy.  SO, I got on the bike too, and we were off!  

Jesse led us out the drive way and down our street.  Cooper calmly looked around and seemed unaffected.  He wasn't excited or scared.  He seemed to be taking it all in stride as he does with everything.  He's used to getting scooped up and brought along everywhere we go.  He never knows what's in store for him.  This was no different.  He did put his nose to the wind a few times when we were going slow.  When we picked up speed, he would duck his head down into the bag to avoid getting the wind in his face.  

It was a nice ride.  Uneventful.  Just another introduction into Cooper's life that we approached with caution so as not to upset him.  Most of the caution we have displayed has been needless, but better to approach it that way than not.  He is a very accepting little dog now and was then too.  He's that way by nature.  We're SO lucky for that.  He will do anything I ask with few exceptions.

We didn't go far.  The ride was fairly short so as not to surpass Cooper's attention span or his level of tolerance.  Ending with success is a MUST with dog training.  He was excited when we parked the bikes again at home.  He recognized where we were.  Until then maybe he didn't realize it was just a ride with no stops or errands to run while we were out.   I think it was then that Cooper felt like that was a fun trip.  

In hind-sight I think we had created a monster that day.   We didn't ride again for the rest of the winter.  Well, Jesse did, but Cooper and I didn't.  As I said, Cooper had known motorcycle activity from about the first day we brought him home.  He was accepting of the noise and the activity that happened around the bikes.   However, after that first ride, we noticed he would look for motorcycles when he heard them.  He would intently look at them when they were near by.  It wasn't crazy awareness, but passive.  Just enough awareness that it was cute to see his interest.  Who could have known then, that Cooper's interest would turn him into this avid biker dog who has ridden and loves riding as much as he does?