Cooper

I can't tell if Cooper misses Corey or Pickle. Corey came over with Pickle on Sunday and while Cooper was excited to see Corey (he loves everyone who walks through the door so this isn't that big of a deal) he didn't seem to care much for Pickle. Or even recognize him for that matter. They just sniffed each other and Cooper wanted to play but Pickle was too freaked out by new surroundings to want to do anything.

My brother thinks Cooper is the most expressive dog and I think so, too. You can almost read his mind based on his facial expression. I like having an expressive dog but sometimes when he's just lying there watching tv or drifting off the sleep, I can't tell if he's content. I'd like to think that he is but how can I know for sure?

He's been barking a lot when I leave the house and the neighbors have complained. I don't want to get him an anti-barking collar because they're super pricey and I don't think they'd work anyway. He usually doesn't bark in the house when I'm home but he'll woof at the door when people are being loud in the hallways. I think he might be bored or lonely so I'm going to buy him more of those Kong toys and randomly fill them with treats and his dog food so he doesn't gain too much weight. I hope that'll keep him occupied long enough that he doesn't care when I leave because then he'll get Kong filled treats.

It makes me feel guilty in some ways when I go out after work or on the weekends. I feel like I should take care of him or do something with the dog but I can't take him everywhere with me and I don't want him to be more co-dependent. I have a problem of worrying about everything around me and I worry that Cooper feels like he's being abandoned or I worry that he's lonely. He's not really human so he might not even feel or think that way. I guess it's that mother/nurturer in me that's worrying about those things.

Anyway, he seems happy. He likes his own space and not having to share the attention and treats.

Death

On a creepy note, after I posted that last post last week, Mitch's dog Lola died. He came home and found her lying on the floor with a floor lamp on top of her and blood and diarrhea everywhere. Apparently she had a stroke and while she was still alive, he had to put her down because she had so much damage and would be a vegetable.

She was a rescued/retired greyhound that was 12 years old. She was never properly potty trained so he would constantly come home with pee and poop everywhere. She also was a counter surfer and broke countless amount of his dishes. She also whined all the time; seriously, the dog whined all the time. But, Mitch had her for 6 or 7 years and it's hard to let go of anything even though he hated her at times.

It made me worry about Sari. She's almost the same age as Lola and I keep freaking out about her dying. I know it's inevitable but I don't want her to go. I haven't seen her for 3 years and I'm praying that she can hold out long enough for me to see her one last time. My brother says she's doing all right but you know, she's getting older and doesn't want to play as long and sleeps all the time. He says he freaks out when he sees her laying still for too long and goes to wake her up to make sure she's still alive. I'm dreading that phone call that I know will come sooner or later.

My brother and I joke about winning the lottery and getting her cloned. It would be worth every penny to get that dog cloned although we also wish we could get a time machine and just keep her as a puppy all over again. I just hope that I can see her soon...

Cooper has a heart condition; he has a small hole in his ventricular walls that happened at birth and it may or may not cause him a shorter life. The vet thought it was a heart murmur until I got it looked at and I guess this hole in the ventricular wall is a little bit better than a murmur. I still think, because I'm paranoid, that Cooper won't have as long a life as any normal shiba. Although I didn't want a shiba in the first place, I can't imagine my life without Cooper and I sometimes worry about going home and finding him dead from one thing or another.

Post-Secret

I saw this on Post-Secret:

I honestly believe that I spoil Cooper and let him get away with so much because of my guilt for my first dog Sari. Sari's the most amazing dog/companion anyone could ask for and she really deserves so much more than what she has had in her 11 years of life. I really wish I could keep her with me but because she's lived outdoors her whole life, living indoors would cause her to become destructive. Plus she's semi-aggressive and over-protective which wouldn't be a good thing when you live downtown constantly surrounded by people.

She's the best dog I could ask for...she always knew when you were sad and wanted to sit next to you and lick you to make you feel better. She never stepped on me or jumped on me because she seems to be th eonly dog who understood that dog paws hurt when they step on you. She always made me feel safe when I went for walks because I knew she wouldn't let anyone or anything hurt me.

I couldn't wait to graduate and finally start making my own money to spend it on her. But she moved to Washington with my dad and spends her days in the constant drizzle growing older. I miss her and I haven't seen her in 3 years because I just don't want to see my dad. If there was a way that I could see her without putting up with my family drama, I would totally jump on that chance. She's a great dog and I'm afraid that she'll die before I can see her again.

Phone

Sometimes I honestly think that my phone will ring and when I answer it, it'll be Cooper on the other line asking, "When are you coming home? I'm bored...and I'm hungry. Hey, whatcha doing? When are you coming home?" I know it's super ridiculous but I really believe that if Cooper could magically grow thumbs and speak, he'd call me every other minute wondering what I'm up to and why he can't be with me at work.

Weight Loss

At the advice from my vet, Cooper has been on a diet since January. She advised that I give him a cup of dry food a day instead of the 1 1/3 cups I was normally giving him. I was just following the feeding guideline on the side of the dog food bag for Cooper's weight range. From what the vet said, the dog food companies tend to overestimate the correct amount so the consumer runs out of food faster. Those assholes...no wonder so many dogs and cats are getting more and more obese.

I suppose that wouldn't really matter if you had an active dog and active lifestyle. From my musings past, I didn't walk Cooper at all in suburbia and only took him to the park when the weather was nice. Cooper being the ever lazy dog he is wouldn't run around as much as Pickle nor really, run at all. Although we had a mild winter in Colorado, I just couldn't bring myself to walk the dogs through the nasty muddy fields and walking both Cooper and Pickle by myself was really the most frustrating thing I could do because of Pickle's circling and nervousness.

Anyway, now that Cooper and I are back downtown with ample sidewalks, he and I have been going for at least a 45 minute walk everyday. The weekends, twice a day. I still only give him a cup of dog food and he hasn't had treats in I don't know how long. I know it's only been about 2 weeks since moving downtown and it might be too soon to tell, but I think Cooper's losing weight. He doesn't walk very fast but at least he's moving more. He's shedding and is poofier than normal so I'm hoping that once he blows his coat I can see the weight loss if there is any. My scale broke so I have no idea if he is losing weight or not.

I was in denial about Cooper's weight for awhile I guess. He never looked "fat" so how was I supposed to know? I couldn't compare him to Pickle because Pickle's a twig but come to find out, Pickle's the exact weight a male shiba is supposed to be. I saw Jackson and he looked like Pickle's body type and mass and only then did I gasp and realize that Choo Choo is a little porker. He weighed 27 pounds when we last took him to the vet. He needs to lose at least 5. I noticed that his collar was tight on him too and I blamed that on his super thick coat. Ah, denial...maybe I shouldn't be a parent because if I can't even find the flaws in my own dog, how am I going to find flaws in a kid? In my eyes Cooper's perfect and I know he's not. He's probably the worst dog ever and it's my fault of spoiling that little fucker. If I could start over from the beginning, he would end up the same. It's not that I'm a bad dog owner, I just let him get away with stuff and I'm not consistent.

Anyway, Cooper enjoys his walks although he likes to walk at the leisurely pace of an old man with a cane or walker. I'm constantly tugging on his leash to make him walk faster especially when we're crossing the street. Plus he has to stop and make friends with everyone who walks by us whether or not they're obviously a crazy person. It's frightening and I try to make him ignore them but he won't, he knows he's cute and wants everyone to know that.