Shocking

I feel so bad right now that I want to go home and take care of Cooper. Because of constant complaints from the neighbors, I gave in and bought a shock collar for Cooper last night at Petsmart. I had to test it on him to make sure it works and it was the saddest thing watching him get a shock. It's annoying to hear him bark and he doesn't bark like a normal dog; it kind of sounds like one long yell/shout thing. And he keeps that up for hours. I don't know if he's lonely, scared, what, I don't know but I had to do something because leaving the radio on or the tv on doesn't seem to have an effect on him.

He's a fast learner so I'm hoping he'll figure out that when he barks, it's a bad thing and he'll stop barking on his own. I just feel like a bad person fo getting one of those collars.

You Can Come Inside, But You Can't

Cooper's a relatively easy going dog who loves everyone. Anyone that walks in through the door is his new best friend for life. He greets them a thousand times better than the way he greets me; tail wagging, shiba grin on his face, and ears pinned to the side of his head. However, I have noticed that there are certain people that he seems to almost hate. He turns into the ideal watchdog by growling, barking and baring his teeth to try and get that person out of the house.

OK, so I've only noticed this behavior with one or two guys; one was a cable guy who completely ignored him and hurt his feelings and the other is my friend Austin. Granted, Austin doens't really come over often but when he does, Cooper will not stop barking at him. I don't know why he does that; maybe it's some weird alpha thing. Austin usually teases Cooper by barking back and that just pisses off the little guy even more.

Side Note: it's actually super cute watching Cooper get mad. His "angry face" is so darn cute and I don't know how anyone can take him seriously when he's scrunching his nose and narrowing his eyes. Usually he gets frustrated because I laugh and tears into a toy and wringing it within the last inch of its life.

Anyway, Austin came over yesterday and I kept Cooper in his house. He was fine, didn't bark, whine, or really, make a single sound. What a weird-o.

Traveling

I have a lot of business trips coming up in the next couple of months. Luckily, most of them are short, 3-4 day trips but that means I'm having to leave Cooper almost every other week. David can usually dog sit but now he's on the project as well and I'm having a hard time finding someone willing to watch Cooper.

It's not that he's a horrible dog to take care of but he is dog aggressive and he tends to bark when he's feeling lonely and bored. I'm thinking of boarding him but I really don't want to do that. I'm hoping that some of my friends will be willing to watch him; most of the time, David and I aren't scheduled for the same sessions.

When I went over to David's last night to pick Cooper up, it was the first time that he jumped into my arms and started whining and crying. I think he was super excited to see me and finally go home since he was staying with Mitch for awhile. It was sweet and I liked that he missed me but I feel terrible because I'm leaving again soon. Plus, I think that the constant back and forth of bringing him to different homes is going to drive him crazy. He's really good at adapting to new surroundings but I just don't want him to be stressed out.

Oh well, poor Cooper. At least I have a whole week to spend with him before another trip :)

Barking, Hoarding, and Trimming Nails

Usually I can trim Cooper's nails if I have someone holding him. Since I live alone and David's too timid to hold Cooper, I have to resort to tricking him into staying still. I like to ask him to do tricks and reward him and then I trim a nail or two when I say "shake" and he gives me his paw. He freaks out because he finally realizes what happened and will scream and run away for a few minutes before he forgets all about it. Lately I've been teaching him to "relax" (lie on his side) so I can trim away.

I don't have problems with his back paws. I just cradle him in my lap while crooning, "Good boy!" as I clip away. I have more problems with his front paws and especially his dew claws. I knew I should have gotten those removed when we got him neutered...anyway, I tend to give up and trim just 2 of his nails on each paw. It works out ok. I wish he was smart like Sari and even Pickle and just grind his nails on the sidewalks.

Lately he has been barking/screaming/howling whenever I leave the apartment and he's not with me. On work days he seems to be fine and I don't hear him but on the weekends, good god...I already had the neighbors complain twice so I don't know what to do. Whenever I leave him on the weekends or even weeknights, I fill his Kong with kibble and treats and hope that'll suffice. I don't want to buy a bark collar because I don't think they'd work on him and if I got him that citronella spraying crap, I just know it'll get all over my stuff and I hate the smell of citronella. I would get a shock collar but I know Cooper would scream and that'll just shock him with higher voltage. So I'm hoping that the Kong will work long enough for my neighbors to go on with their lives and actually go to work. How the hell do I get that one neighbor that never works or even leave the house for that matter?

Cooper has a tendency to hide things in his house. I remember I had a 6 pack of those snack size yogurt raisins and I couldn't find them for a week. I came home and Cooper drops a box of the raisins at my feet and looks up at me like, "hey, you should open this and give me one..." I was stunned and asked, "Cooper! Where did you get this?!" He gives a guilty look at his house and I knew that's where he was hiding them. He looked so worried when I dug them out. Luckily he didn't open any of the boxes or I would have had to take him to the vet. Apparently raisins are bad for dogs.

Sometimes he hides toys in there. I once found some socks and underwear; both Corey's and mine.

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.