Allergies and Sneaky Weight Gain

Last Friday Cooper had a vet appointment for a bordatella booster and to check up on his allergies. Thankfully, this year wasn't as terrible as last; I didn't have to bandage his paws to keep him from chewing on them.

Anyway, once we got into the vet and Cooper tried in vain to get back outside, the vet techs weighed the little guy while my chest puffed out in anticipation to hear them say, "He weighs 25 pounds!" Instead, I hear, "Cooper's 30 pounds!" My jaw literally hit the floor and I had an incredulous look of fury and disappointment that everyone noticed. I let out a loud, "Oh, Cooper!"while Cooper sat there on the scale, blinking up at me.

I honestly thought with his diet and ridiculous daily walks that he lost weight. He also blew out his coat and is looking sleeker, slimmer, and skinnier. I was so upset, he hasn't had treats in forever, I try to walk him longer and twice on weekends, and still, the little porker actually gained weight. I have no idea how that happened. God, I have to have the fattest shiba known to man.

Ugh, besides me disgruntled rumblings about his weight gain and not loss, Cooper's pretty healthy overall. He doesn't have mites or a weird skin condition, thanks to the switch to a grain free diet, his allergies have been consistently seasonal. The vet gave us a different medication and that'll hopefully sort out his problems. Cooper's now on a vitamin supplement for Omega 3 fatty acids and all I have to say is I'm glad that I gave Cooper jelly beans. He doesn't seem to notice a difference and just eats them like he eats jelly beans. Thank God because I don't think I can shove a pill down his throat and hold his mouth until he swallows.

Mr. Kim and Cooper

My brother is in town for about a month and he's staying with Cooper and me. Cooper's met him over Christmas last year and seems to semi-remember Mr. Kim. They get along really well and I'm glad that Cooper has some company while I'm at work.

My brother said that the first day he was here and I left for work, Cooper started howling and crying about 5 minutes after I left. He said Cooper was standing by the door scratching, crying, howling and making a ton of noise. Luckily, Mr. Kim was able to shut him up relatively quickly so no one should have complained. It kind of made me smile; Cooper misses me to some degree.

This morning, Cooper was curled up next to my brother while I was getting ready for work. It was super cute :)

Dog Sitting

Isn't it weird that, as owners, we think our dogs are near perfect? Or maybe it's because we're used to all the little quirks and idiosyncrasies our dogs have...either way, David likes to complain about Cooper and I complain about his dog, Leila.

I know Cooper has some problems; he walks too slow, will hold his poop for days, willingly makes himself sick, screams and cries when something annoys him, and generally doesn't like other dogs. But, he knows basic commands, is super easy going, not too mischievous anymore, and has the general apathy that I have come to love.

I feel like Leila could be a better dog with better training. I guess the same could be said about Cooper, however, since he is my dog, I feel like he's I dunno, I guess 80% trained. He knows not to jump on strangers, spit things out when you tell him, and is completely housebroken and I know I won't need to worry about accidents unless he has a terrible, terrible stomach ache. He is pretty good at holding it until I get home, and I love him dearly for that.

I read that the average trained dog has a vocabulary of 160 words. I think Cooper knows around 60 or so words for sure, 10 he knows but chooses to ignore, and the rest is all gibberish to him. He knows a few commands in Korean and I feel like that should count for two words.

Anyway, my brother's coming to visit for a month which will give David a break from watching my little drama queen.

Pigeons

I was walking Cooper yesterday when we came across a pigeon with a broken leg and wing. I wonder how that happened; it must be a treacherous life to be a pigeon in the city. Anyway, this was not Cooper's first encounter with a damaged pigeon. With his first encounter, he ran up to the flailing pigeon only to back away from it, screaming, when it started flapping more frantically in Cooper's face.

This time Cooper ran up to it, very excited, tail wagging, and a grin on his face. The pigeon flapped away a few feet, Cooper followed, and the pigeon flapped away again. This time in his pursuit, Cooper accidentally stepped on the pigeon. It gave a loud coo and Cooper took a few steps back with a horrified expression on his face. He held up the paw that stepped on the pigeon as the pigeon lay there, quietly waiting to die. All I could think about was Cooper's frame of mind and I'm sure it went something like this:

Cooper: "Oh my God! A friend! Wanna come over to our house? You can see my toys! Wait, come back, I just wanted to ask you a question...oh, so you wanna play chase? OK! Oh my God! I am so sorry! Are you ok? Oh goodness, I didn't mean to step on you, geez, you're not moving...are you ok? Um...maybe I should leave..."

Pigeon: "Oh God, please have mercy on me. Oh God, please don't...Oh God, just kill me now while I have some dignity left."

Alas, Cooper and I walked off on our merry way while the pigeon, who knows, I'm sure something came along and put it out of its misery or maybe it fell into the street. All I know is, Cooper could never kill anything. He just wants to be friends with pretty much any animal he comes across. He accidentally killed a fly once and I never saw him look so sad.