Cooper is HOME!

I am so excited that our little Cooper has been home with us since last Saturday. Shame on me for posting this over a week late...but things have been just a tad crazy with the new little fluffball, school, small group and my birthday! We drove out to Wisconsin on Friday night and spent the night, woke up early to go pick him and his brother up who we were brining back to Chicago with us until Sunday when his family could come get him. The ride home was great, sometimes keeping both of them in the crate and other times letting them out on my lap. Had it been just Cooper, I think he'd have been on my lap the whole time but it got out of control once his brother, Red (as we called him) got sick and threw up his entire breakfast on the middle console. I attempted to clean it up while keeping both puppies from eating it and crawling all over the place but my stomach wouldn't have it. We finally had to pull over so I could walk the boys and Jason did some serious cleaning and rearranging of our car. The rest of the ride home was uneventful, not a single accident. That night we introduced them to our condo and to Sam and the puppies played and took naps until bedtime. The two of them were so so so cute together. They both walked on a leash when we were outside and neither had an accident while inside. We crated them together for their first night and they slept for about 5 or 6 hours. There was a little whining but not much for two puppies first night away from home! The next morning we got up early to drop Red off at the hotel his parents were staying at. I was borderline tears...I didn't realize how attached I'd have gotten in just 21 hours. They were so darn cute together, best of friends and I hated the thought of separating them and hated the thought of giving Red back. But we kindly handed him over to his parents who were just ecstatic to be meeting him for the first time. I must admit too, that even just those 21 hours, it was a lot harder to have two puppies to take out, feed, watch for messes and everything else that puppies require. When we got home, Cooper seemed a little more lonely than the previous day but after a day he adjusted well. The very first night he was alone he did cry when we put him in his crate and woke us up around 4:00. That happened for maybe two days but he has been sleeping through the night ever since. What puppy does that? (asked the proud mama, Stephanie) Jason works from home so his first day back to work was a little hard keeping Cooper in his crate but he has since adjusted well, and rarely whines. He has had a few accidents but they've all been ones I can only blame on us humans. We've learned he has to be in his crate as soon as he's done playing and we need to let him out as soon as he's back out. I am amazed at how long he sleeps during the night and while it's still not nearly enough sleep for me it's more than I could have ever asked for in our first week! Our latest adventure is the biting. We've tried yelping like a dog and walking away, but he just doesn't get it. It hurts! We know he just wants to play but we must break these habits now. We're registered for his first puppy class tomorrow night. I really think this will help us to have some idea of what we're doing right and wrong as parents and teach us any bad habits we may already be doing. Not to mention how great it will be for him to have some socialization with other puppies. The big dogs in the neighborhood aren't interested in him at all and I think it may be giving him a complex. ;-) As for our other furry friend, Sam has been awesome. Best cat ever, so incredibly tolerant. From the first night, he was holding his own, laying right by the dogs. Now that Coopers adjusted and getting older, he will chase Sam around trying to bite him and Sam has to run away but he's back within minutes for the routine to begin all over again. I think once Cooper calms down, they will be good friends. Only sad thing for Sam is that when he is stressed, he eats. So he's gained a few pounds the past week...and this obviously cannot keep up. We'll get it all figured out...until then we'll just keep doing the best we can and pray for a lot more patience and wisdom!

Cooper with Red sleeping under the table behind him

Sam, Cooper and Red just a couple hours after we introduced them all!

"Hi, my name is Cooper, and I am SOOOOO CUTE! Wanna play??!"

Cooper and Red taking a quick second to breathe before resuming playing!

Playing wore them out!

Our puppy, Cooper!

I took this one of the first few days after bringing Cooper home, Cooper is somewhere on the floor when I took this...just thought we'd show just how much Coopers arrival is affecting Sam. Not at all, he is still king of the condo and master of the couch!

Wet Cooper! (our first few days with him it rained ALL DAY/NIGHT.)