Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Homeless

Written by Erin

Can you believe Cooper is still homeless? We sent him on a test drive with a wonderful family while we went on vacation, but things just didn't work out. The young daughter was allergic to dogs, and had runny eyes and nose all week, so Cooper came back home with us. I've had several people tell me they know someone who might want him, but I never heard back from those people. Several other people have told me they are considering taking him, but they aren't sure if they can handle another dog (similar to our story). At the end of the day, we have no serious contenders.

Cooper is now about 15 lbs. His growing seems to have slowed a little, but we still expect him to be anywhere from 30-50 lbs when he is full grown. He is done with all his puppy shots, is no longer on any medications, and is getting neutered in a week from today. He's still missing a little bit of hair around his eyes, but other than that he is a completely normal puppy. He is crate trained and stays in his crate, without complaining I might add, at night and during the day while we are gone. He hasn't chewed up anything in the house which is a surprise to me. Most puppies are destructive, but he seems to be able to differentiate between toys and everything else.

He is halfway potty trained. By halfway, I mean that when he is outside, he knows he is supposed to do his business. Especially since I won't let him come inside until he's gone #1 and #2. He will only potty inside if you don't let him out frequently enough. He hasn't caught on how to tell us when he needs to go outside yet.

Cooper is a very calm and curious dog. He knows the time to play and the time to sleep. He only barks occasionally when playing. He doesn't bite when playing very much anymore. We have already taught him to sit and lay down, and it took little effort. He just sits and stares at you, like he's trying to figure out what you're thinking.

We are going to keep Cooper during his post-op healing. Once his pain medications are finished and the cone comes off, we hope to have him a permanent home. If not, he will go to live with the in-laws and will be an outdoor only dog. I worry it will be a hard adjustment for him considering how much we've spoiled him.