Cooper Update by Whitney

Listen to my tale of woe and pity me.

I took Cooper to the vet yesterday because he was pawing at his ear, and shaking his head and acting really uncomfortable. So I looked inside it and it was red and a few scabs from him scratching it. Any way, they took a look and there was a fox tail grass seed down it right next to the ear drum. So they had to put him under and extract it while he was gassed out.

He feels much better , but it came to a grand total of, (drum roll please,) $104.00!!!!!!! It would have been fifty more dollars if they had done an injection to get him to sleep, instead of gassing him with a mask. With the gassing they hallucinate, but it's cheaper so I had that done. I got to watch them extract it, (the grass seed.) But when he started to wake up, he started to hallucinate. (Seeing things that weren't really there, not knowing where he was, uncontrollable panic, etc.) It was scary/sad. His eyes were open, even though he was still asleep, he started whining, and thrashing around and both nurses had to hold him so he wouldn't fall off the table. Finally he calmed down and woke up, but he was still whimpering a little. ,:(

After that he was tired, and I held him for a wile while waiting for mom to pick us up. She thought it was going to take an hour so she went to do some errands, but it only took ten maybe fifteen minuets. We didn't need any meds after that, and I am sooooooo glad I caught it before it had worked it's way deeper and ruptured his ear drum. ,:) But now I am seriously in debt to my mom by $164.37. :p But I’ve also enrolled in pet insurance so I can afford any more unexpected surprises. (And Steve has offered to pull all the weeds in the back) :)

So if any one has any jobs they would be willing to pay for, I am willing to do it. (Debt stinks!)

Cooper Update by Whitney

It has been such an interesting experience having a puppy. My other dog, Vixey was full grown by the time I got her. Some new experiences for me are:

1. Going to the vet for vaccinations,

2. Being able to feed him poultry meat with out him being sick,

3. Taking him outside multiple time between 1:30 and 5:30,

4. Toilet training,

5. Chewing,


And multiple others. But, we are both having fun. He is pretty easy to teach and knows “sit”, “give”, “Don’t-you-even-think-about-going-on-the-carpet” and “up”. He knows part of “down” “spin” and “come”.

I can’t believe how fast he is getting big! He is like three times bigger than when we got him! (Compare photos of him in my lap, from here and vol. 1)

We also can’t wait until the new off-leash dog park they are building down here is finished so we can meet other dogs.

It is such an adventure and I can’t wait till we take him on his first hike or camping trip!

Cooper Has Arrived! By Whitney

As many of you know, I have just gotten a new puppy! He is a red tricolor Miniature Australian Shepard, and his name is Cooper. At his first vet appointment he only weighed 3 ½ lbs!

Australian Shepherds are not native to Australia, but actually came from America. It’s the fact that shepherds Down Under use them so much that they were dubbed “Australian”. The Aussie Shep, like many herding breeds, are very intelligent dogs, and are frequently used in the agility ring, (an obstacle course for dogs) and the obedience ring. They also do well in tracking, performing, herding, and just about every other thing that they put their minds to. Because of their intelligence they need mental as well as physical stimulation, which they can get in training.

They are easy to train, but they need to be trained. They need to feel useful and have a job to do. They are not a good apartment dog, and need to have lots of exercise. They are great with children when they have grown up with them, like exercise, (like Hiking) and will catch on quickly to what you are trying to tell them.

I got the news last May that my Pomeranian Vixie had been accidentally killed by a much larger dog, while staying at a cousins house while we were in New Zealand. I was devastated. The owners of the large dog were shocked at what had happened, and wrote out a check for what we had paid for her. With the check, and numerous hours of baby sitting from my Aunt Bree, I was able to earn all the money I needed for supplies, vet bills, and the dog. (Thanks to my Aunt Bree, for the play pen, the stair gate, and the baby sitting opportunities. Thanks to my Aunt Brooke, who also has a Mini Aussie Shep, for the advice. Thanks to my cousin Analese, for the name tag and tennis ball toy.)

I had about a year to study and think about getting a dog before I could actually get one. I did a LOT of research on what breed to get and I have written a 10 page paper on dog care. I went from investigating Brittney Spaniels, to Pointers, to American Water Spaniels, to Bohemian Shepherd's, to Queen Elizabeth Pocket Beagles, to American Indian Dogs, to Golden Doodles, to Keeshons, to Dashunds, to Lochens, (say LURv-shen) to Schipperkes, to Chinese Crested Powder Puffs, to Bishons, to Poodles, to Cocker Spaniels, to Cock-a-poos. (Phew!) But finally I came to the Mini Aussie Sheppard. And since we were not renting anymore, I could get one!
(They shed twice a year.)

Then I went dog searching. Well actually I was looking for unborn litters of puppies that would be born in a certain time frame. I had to get home from the Con-Con first.

I then found a family group of breeders called McPups. So then I set up an appointment to go see the puppies they had that were the right age. They were one month old at the time.

There were three boys and three girls. (I had already decided that I wanted a boy.) All the girls were red merles, and with the boys there was a red merle, a blue merle, and a red tri. (Cooper.) Steve and Daniel immediately wanted Cooper, Janey wanted the red, but I liked the blue. (Ellie liked all of them, and was hysterical when we left with out one!) But we decided that the blue was too big, (He was nearly twice as big as the others!) And the red merle would be a couch potato. He slept the entire time we were there. Cooper was up and about, and friendly. So we decided to take him home in a month. I gave the breeder a $100.00 deposit, and we left him to get a little older.

I found an online web site called Pet Edge that has great merchandise, and good prices, I was able to get most of my supplies from there.

I found an awesome vet hospital that is a very short drive from our house. They have friendly staff and good prices.

He is doing well, training wise and loves people.

We are looking forward to living with him.