Cooper's Growing Up!

Cooper is growing up. He's really starting to mellow out. Don't get me wrong, he's still our wild and crazy little puppy, but he's just taken it down one notch. There was a noticeable difference this weekend, in particular. Normally when he's out of his crate he just goes and goes and goes, revving up so much that eventually he gets himself in some trouble and has to be crated to calm down. But this weekend he started just calming down without having to be put in his crate and for the first time, started hanging out in his crate without being lured there by a kong filled with peanut butter! It's nice to see a glimpse of the mellow adult dog we will have some day. Now if I could just get him to stop biting. But, along those lines....Cooper appears to have lost his first tooth and I can tell another tooth is loose. I'm keeping my eye on it because I want to collect as many of his baby teeth as I can get my hands on!

Cooper is a Graduate!

On Friday, Cooper graduated from puppy school! He learned all his puppy skills and is on his way to being a good doggies citizen! He wasn't very amused about wearing the graduation cap but....he was a good sport about it. Congratulations Cooper!

And here is Cooper with his teacher, Cassie who he just adores!

Cooper and I will be signing up for intermediate doggie class and plan to learn more important skills!

Roll Over!

When we met Cooper over at Nikki's house, she showed us this neat little trick that her dogs could do. I was impressed and definitely wanted to teach Cooper to do it - - - and here it is! Smart little doggie! He's great with tricks....

I love to play!

Like any kid, Cooper LOVES playing in the backyard! What a cutie pie, huh!

Cooper works on his core

There's something about watching Cooper play with this ball that reminds me of using an exercise ball. He loves this thing. It used to be Laina's -- -- -- used to be, that is!

Growing like a..........puppy

Cooper is getting very big! It's bittersweet. His little bladder holds longer and he's not quite as wild and crazy ALL the time -- but -- it's sad because he's not so little anymore. By the end of summer he'll be full grown! If I thought Laina grew fast --- wow!

Here is Cooper enjoying some shade in the 80+ degree April day

Cooper loves his crate!

We had to increase the size of his crate last night. Now instead of being in 1/3 the crate, he uses 1/2 the crate. Pretty soon he'll get the whole space!

Even with the extra room, he still loves to smoosh his face against the bars of the crate.

Easter Sunday

Cooper's first Easter and the bunny didn't disappoint! Cooper and the kitties shared an Easter basket and Cooper got a new Nylabone and butterfly squeaky toy, which is his favorite toy now. The kitties got two new catnip sacks that they couldn't wait to dive into!

Cooper & The Kitties basket

Cooper loving his new Nylabone

Max cannot contain himself over the new catnip sack

Easter at Grammy & Grampy's house

Cooper took his first road trip down to Grammy & Grampy's house to have Easter dinner. He did wonderfully in the car -- sleeping most of the way on the floor in between my legs. He did great at Grammy & Grampy's too and had a lot of fun meeting his Grandparents!

See, Grampy really does like animals!

Reunited with Auntie Di -- so happy!

Cooper's First Trip to the Groomer

Cooper had his first professional grooming the Friday before Easter so that he was nice and handsome for the big holiday. It was nice to be able to see his eyes again and he was so soft and fluffy!

Max checking out Cooper's new look!

So soft and fluffy!

Cooper takes a bath

Cooper experienced his first bath on Saturday. Let's just say - - - not a fan. He whimpered through the whole thing and clung to me for dear life. Then, we finished the bath, toweled dried off and out came the hair dryer - - that is when the real "fun" began. Poor Cooper was not impressed. But he survived it and I must say, his coat is soft and manageable and he smells delicious!

The bath begins

Towel drying

So soft and fluffy!Ready to play

Bath time is exhausting

Cooper Is TEN Weeks Old!

Super Duper Cooper is 10 weeks old today! Amazing! He's an adorable little pupster. We start puppy class today which is a good thing because we need to learn some good habits!

Coop's favorite spot in the mudroom - up on the rack.

Cooper eats his leash. Yup, we need puppy class

But how do you resist that face?

Cooper's Fan Club

Auntie Di & Uncle Tommy came to Maine to meet Cooper. One thing is for sure -- Cooper is a people dog! That is a good thing. He had a great time visiting with them. Auntie Di even got up in the middle of the night with Cooper to take him out so that I could catch up on some sleep! Yeah Auntie Di! After they left and Cooper had to spend more time in his crate he was like "hey, where did my people go and why the heck am I back in this stinkin' crate?!?!?!"

Cooper's first visitors

Snuggling with Auntie Di

Smooches for Uncle Tommy

Dinner for Two

Traditionally, cats and dogs don't get a long but, Max and Cooper are figuring it out. Max has swatted at Coop a few times to let him know who is boss. And Cooper keeps his distance. But overall they are co-existing rather nicely. Zowie on the other hand just keeps her distance!

Max & Cooper sharing a meal

Snuggling on the couch

That's Some Serious Cuteness Right There

Here's another adorable picture of little Cooper. Puppies are funny. So full of energy! We are looking forward to beginning puppy class in a week. When Coop gets all riled up during playtime he can start to get nippy and we need to nip that right away! He's started playing ball with us and its adorable. He and Laina are having a great time together. She continues to be afraid of him when he runs at her and I just find this so funny because he doesn't even weigh 3 lbs. She's getting more used to him though and asks constantly if we can go play with our puppy. She's really looking forward to being able to take big long walks with Cooper. Right now a long walk for Cooper is up and down the driveway.

Run Cooper Run!

Cooper LOVES toys!

Cooper at Play

It's hard to tell how small Cooper is without seeing him in person. He weighs 2.8 lbs and can easily be held in one hand. He will likely be about 10-13 lbs so he's not going to be a big dog once he's full grown. The crate we have will fit him when he's full grown and so you can see by the pictures below how small he is in the crate. We had to use the divider that came with the crate to make it half the size. He is really learning to settle down and go to sleep in his crate. He's doing great over night. He's catching on to going potty outside. He's one smart pup! And when its time to play.....Cooper plays.......hard......