Cooper #6 Yellow Labrador Retriever Male 4 Months Old ID #3221

April 10, 2024

I can procrastinate no longer….The time has come for the adorable Mr. Cooper to find his forever home.  He has been a joy to have with us for the past several weeks, and while the human and canine residents in my home will miss him very much we all know way deep down that it is his time to shine in his new home.

Cooper is as cute as they come and is ALL boy and ALL  puppy.  He is full of puppy enthusiasm and goes from 100 miles per hour to sound asleep in a blink.  He has sharp puppy teeth and nails and is a tad stubborn at times, but can be easily redirected when he gets into mischief (which does happen from time to time.)  He is smart, curious, independent, and very friendly and has the best wiggle butt.  He has been my 3 year old chocolate lab’s constant companion and smackdown WWE wrestling partner (the Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin have nothing on these two.)

He loves a good bone and his rope toy for a little tug of war.  Someday he might be a good ball swagger too, but for now he’s got no game and cannot catch a lick. He will; however, play monkey in the middle or keep away endlessly.

I wouldn’t say that he loves his crate, but he is willing to go in (for a treat) and generally lays down pretty nicely.  At night he settles down quickly and generally sleeps the whole night (unless another dog wakes him up.)   He is nearly potty trained, but will probably need some time to adjust in new surroundings.   We let him out often during the day, but if he has to go he will often go sit by the door.

He’s been a fun addition to our mix, and I think will do best in a home where they are willing to work with him to be best self.  I think he would thrive in an active home with another playmate and a fenced in yard, but as a puppy and he could adapt to any home with patience and quality time to spend helping him use up his endless energy.  He’s going to be an amazing dog and great addition to some lucky family!

March 30, 2024

Cooper — maybe he should be renamed Chunky — had his vet appointment yesterday and weighed in at 34 lbs. (officially they recorded 32.4, but I saw that scale hit 34 lbs.).  Honestly he’s so thick I would have thought he’d have been heavier!

He was a decent patient, but not super thrilled to be at the vet’s office, and not super cooperative on the leash at the office.  Guess I can’t really blame him.  We will keep working on his leash skills.

Cooper is a very happy puppy.  He enjoys playing with our younger dogs, and has gotten braver around the old girl.  Perhaps she has also gotten more tolerant of him too

Potty training is going well, so long as we let him out regularly.  I was very impressed though as last few days he has gone over to the door and actually whined to go out and promptly did his business.  He gets it, but I think sometimes he get playing so hard that he forgets that pee-peeing is done outside.  For a 14 week only puppy he is doing very well and learns from the big dogs.

He greets everyone he meets with exuberance and bounce.  He loves to be the center of attention.

Cooper is stubborn about going into his crate, but once inside settles down nicely and just curls up and goes to sleep.  At night, he continues to sleep through the night.

He really is a great houseguest!!

March 24, 2024

Thank you Lord for stopping the rain!  House training is no fun in the pouring rain.  Especially when the house trainee looks at you with those huge eyes when you open the door — I knew he was thinking “I’m no duck…I’m not going out there alone.”  So out into the pouring rain we all went to run and jump in puddles!  Those huge paws can make a big splash.  He did not mind getting wet — just didn’t want to do it alone.

The highlight of our rainy day was the awesome box that Cooper received with great snacks, toys, fun bow tie and a very special purple dinosaur that was donated in memory of Chloe!  Thank you to the Flanagan’s for putting together such a fantastic, much needed distraction to the weather!!! See pics below!

Cooper continues to be a playful, inquisitive addition to the pack.  He goes from full action mode to snoozy and snoring in no time.  He is a typical lab puppy and will from time to time need to be distracted from things that he shouldn’t chew (chair legs, shoes, hands, etc.) to something that he can have, and is a bit stubborn but eventually moves on to better play toys.  His stubbornness seems to increase with his need for a nap. He is doing great with house training and continues to sleep through the night (which is amazing!). We are working on some commands — although it is a bit challenging with the other dogs in the house who are also want constant attention.

Unfortunately, his vet appointment needed to be postponed until next Friday, so I can’t report on the chunky boy’s official weight.  He’s heavy — I can tell you that for sure.

More to come…he’s a gorgeous pup!

March 19, 2024

Wow, it’s been a fun couple of days with this adorable, pudgy boy. He arrived in Ocean City on Saturday late afternoon after a long trek through PA and NJ.  While he was reportedly quiet on the his trip off the farm – he was very loud for me all the way through PA.  He barked non-stop.  Perhaps he was unhappy about being separated from his sister, Bailey, or maybe it was my singing.   The good news is that there were no accidents (from either end) in the crate – just a lot of noise.  😊

After his long ride, he was rudely greeted in a less than warm way by my 2 resident dogs – he’s smart though and he learned quickly to give the old girl a wide berth and he’s figured out how to get the chocolate lab to play with him – which is really all he wanted in the first place.   They are all working out the pecking order.  He just wants to be where the action is – I have to try to get a video of him trying to jump up on the bed.  It’s like a full speed body slam – he bounces off and just keeps trying to get up there.

On Sunday he spent a few hours at the beach playing.  He had fun chasing all of the kids and they loved walking him!!

Cooper has been exceptional with the house training – no accidents!!!  While I’m not fool enough to believe that he is house trained now – I do think he will get there pretty quickly.  You can see that he gets it and he also seems to have an exceptional bladder.   I am making this assumption as so far he hasn’t gotten up in the middle of the night for a potty break – he’ll go from 10:30 pm to nearly 7 am, and I am end up having to wake him up!  Getting him to go to sleep is a different story.  He’s not a huge fan of the crate, but does eventually settle down after some very vocal backtalk.  It takes about 10-15 minutes and then once he’s asleep he sleeps like a rock.  Snoring away.  I keep the crate by my bed – that seems to work better than in a different room.

Each day he shows a little more of his personality.  He started out very shy and reserved, and is morphing into a very bouncy, clumsy goofball.  He does also have a little bit of a Tasmanian devil in him which shows up when he is overtired.  It’s pretty amusing too.

He’s mastered the steps and is starting to walk pretty well on the leash too.  So far he only barks if he’s in his crate – even if his buddies are barking like maniacs at a dog walking by.  He’s really doesn’t bite and isn’t mouthy (unless said Tasmanian devil is among us) but he can easily be redirected with a chew toy or bone.  He also isn’t as food motivated as other labs that I’ve had – which is interesting given his size.

He has his vet appointment on Thursday so I’ll report back in on his weight, etc. after that visit.  He’s pretty heavy – I’m guessing he’s every bit of 25 lbs.

I can tell already that it is a good thing that I can’t have another dog right now – he is going to make someone a very handsome, fantastic new family member.  He’s an adorable chunk with huge paws!!! More to come…