THE DOG BLOG

Well, perhaps it is very uncharacteristic of me to blog about my dog, but here we go!

I’m really not much of an animal person, but was very excited to get this little guy almost 6 years ago.  He was certainly a bit of “baby proof” in idea, but Dave and I quickly fell in love with him, and he quickly became our baby.  I feel almost embarrassed about how we took him everywhere with us, and were a bit obsessed.   Here are some pics of us in those early days....

The ad that made us fall in love....

Bringing the dog home!

Visitors...oh yes...just like a newborn...we had visitors come to meet the new little fellow

Back when Katie liked Cooper ;)  She bought him this hoodie!

After having Jesse we almost got rid of Cooper.  The sleep deprivation and adjusting to a newborn was very tough for us.  And the dog just seemed to be that extra thing that almost pushed me over the edge each day.  His protective barking woke him up frequently, Cooper always tried to get at my milk when nursing, and ALWAYS seemed to get into the garbage when I was in my most fragile state.

I am SO glad we pushed through that and held onto the little guy.  He really has been the BEST dog as far as the kids go.  He loves them, and is so gentle and patient with them.  Janna literally has to snap his bad knee out of place to get any snarl out of him, but mostly they just have fun together.  I feel like all my FB posts or comments about him have to do with his barking and garbage digging.... but he really is just a super relaxed family dog!  He is protective over us and that is why he barks when he hears outside noise.  He has never been into scratching or chewing or biting, or wrecking things....and so I must forgive his one guilty pleasure of getting into the garbage at the worst of times.

I have the dog on my brain because we have a new DOG policy that we don’t tie him up in the backyard to use the washroom anymore.   Between Dave and I, we have been getting him out for 3 brief walks each day for the past few weeks.  I do the 6:45 one, and it’s actually really nice to get out into some fresh air and the crisp morning before getting the kids outta bed.  Here I am a few mornings ago watching the dog pee.  Good times.

Our big push to do this was 2 fold.  First- we just felt like Cooper should get a bit more exercise and attention.  Crazy idea right before a newborn.....I know...but there is no time like the present, right??  But, also, the kids have really not been able to use the backyard to play in their house as you never know what treasures might be stepped into.   I just don’t have the time to watch Cooper as he is tied up out back to see where he goes and take care of it- and it’s been hard for Dave to find time to do all the frequent clean ups.   So! They have been enjoying their little house everyday now for a while. 

Today is mild and sunny and beautiful.  So, after the chiropractor we went for a long wagon ride, and then the kids played in their house together for a good chunk of time.  I will leave you with some pictures.  Thanks for reading! I’m out.