Cooper the Portugese Water dog's tails

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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Hi everyone, my name is Cooper, I am a 1.5 year old Portuguese Water Dog (please don’t say "I’m just like the obama’s dog, I’m NOTHING like the First Dog, I actually Like the AR-15!) :wink:

I came to live with MacTech’s family on Saturday the 5th of October, and I’m very happy here, this is Doggie Heaven, not only do I have 50 acres of land to explore leading MacTech around the field (he tells me that he needs to lose some weight and that I’m helping him by making walking not boring), and a one acre bass pond to swim in, but I also have lots of NEW FREINDS!!! (Sorry, got excited, I do that sometimes)
Let me try this thing MacTech calls a “list” or something…

Boy is it hard for me to type on an iPad (whatever that is, I call it Shiny magic glass platey thing), apple needs to make a paw-compatible keyboard

Here’s my new freinds;
MacTech
MomTech
SisTech
NieceTech
NephewTech
Nutmeg, a shorthair rabbit, I could spend hours sitting on all fours, watching her, she’s neat, I don’t know about that hay stuff she eats, seems flavorless to me, but she likes it…
Blue and Nemo, two domestic shorthair cats, I want to be freinds, but they are scared of me, it hurts my feelings, I just wanna be freinds, I’m freinds with Harold, the Maine coon cat that lives at SisTech’s house, where I go for “doggie daycare”, heck, even the two dogs there, Quincy, a dwarf dachshund (funny looking dog, looks like a fuzzy kielbasa with legs…) heck, even heir neurotic, yappy little longhair chihuahua, Lazarus, likes me, as do their barn cats

The horses I don’t care about, too big and stompy, the chickens, I don’t know what to make of them, they look quite fun to chase though, and the goats? Don’t get me started on those snobs, totally ignore me, as do NieceTech’s Vietnamese pot bellied pigs…

Anyway, I don’t mean to brag, but I’m very smart, if I do say so myself, smart enough to hang with the Dopers? I hope so, I know I’m furrier than any of you dopers, and that counts for something, right?

Here’s what I already know for trick commands;
Sit
Stay
Wait
Come
Down
Roll over
Dance (up on my hind legs, front paws held out like arms, dance around on my hind feet)

And here’s what I’ve learned in my new Forever Home

It took me 3 hours to learn the sound of my family’s footsteps on the porch when I come in

I know that I can sit on the couch in the kitchen, and can lay on MacTech’s bed, but all other furniture is a no no

I figured out how to open the upstairs hallway door after watching MacTech do it once this morning! inside door has a push down thumb latch! that works for paws too

I think I figured out how to open Nutmeg’s cage, the latches at the bottom, so I can let her out so we can play but my humans stopped me before I could test out that theory

I’m not fooled by MacTech’s green laser pointer, I know it’s just a dot of light

I love to ride in MacTech’s car, I jump in, lay down on the front passenger seat and relax, I only look out the window when we come to intersections, to see what new direction we are going in

That monster they have on the kitchen counter that makes fizzy water really scares me, why don’t they kill it instead of drinking it’s…juices, humans are gross sometimes

I need to evolve opposable thumbs so I can get into the Magic Cold Box Of Mystery that holds Tasty Treats like cheese…

Okay, MacTech is telling me I’ve been talking too long, later I’ll tell you my short sad story of my life before MomTech rescued me and brought to my Forever Home here…

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Welcome! :slight_smile: I look forward to hearing more about you and your new family.

3

Cooper! Welcome, and ::taps foot:: where’s your picture? We want to see you.

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Yes, doesn’t that shiny magic glass platey thing have a camera on it?

I’m so happy for you and your new home! As a rescue worker myself, I’m unnaturally curious of your back story, since I rarely know what happened to animals before I get to them. Whenever I get a chance to find out their “before” I really want to know, even if it’s horrible.

Squirrel!

5

Here’s my picture

Well, here’s my short and sad story…

Original Family got me as a puppy, and loved me, there were three small humans as well as the mated pair of adults, one of the small ones was in the larval stage, around three years old
That larval human would NOT leave me alone, was hanging on me, screaming in my ears, pulling my tail, and I was beginning to get annoyed with the Evil Larval One…

I just would tell Evil Larva to leave me alone, and what did that get me? They dumped me in a doggie prison, I did NOTHING wrong, I was asking the evil larva to leave me alone, it’s not my fault that Evil Larval One was too stupid to understand me, yet the family I THOUGHT I was a part of dumped me like a sack of old garbage

Once the jail decided I was healthy, I could receive visitors, two days after I got visitor privileges, another couple took me home, I was on my best behavior, they had no larval humans or Small Ones, but for some reason, even THEY rejected me, took me back to that same doggie prison, I was so sad, why didn’t anyone love me? I’m a good boy, if only someone would give me a chance…

Then, I met MomTech, and She fell in love with me, she rescued me from jail, and took me home to meet MacTech, it was like we were longtime friends all along, I hope they accept me as part of the family, it’s been two days, and i hope I passed the test

The only thing I don’t like, is that they have me sleep alone in my crate, alone, in the food making room, I’m lonely, scared, and lonely I just want to be part of the family, they sleep in nice comfy beds, why can’t I sleep with them…

MacTech is letting me sleep on his bed tonight though, he’s going to bat for me, he brought up my bed and stuffed animal just in case…

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Aww, what a sweet face! Sometimes three times is the charm.

Good luck with the bed, though sometimes doggies and their families figure out the crate works best after all. If the bed doesn’t work out, maybe the crate can get moved up to the bedroom? Happy sleepy-time !

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Aw. Don’t feel too sad about the previous not-homes Cooper - this is where you needed to end up!

So cute!

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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Like

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Aww, who’s a good boy? Who’s a good boy? It’s you, isn’t it? Yes it is! Yes it is!

::rubs Cooper’s big soft ears::

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Hi I’m Chuck. My person is alright and I get him all to myself. I don’t like it when he leaves me home alone. But I love when we go to work together. And there are other doggies where we work too. But they stay there all the time and don’t get to go to their peoples home. I feel sorry for them. My man lets me sleep in his bed if I want but he tosses and turns too much so I usually sleep at the foot of his bed. But when it’s cold I lay on his feet to keep my belly warm. Can I sniff your butt?

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MacTech is very happy with me, he told me so, this is my first night on his bed, I lay at the foot of the bed, and sleep, I didn’t feel scared, I didn’t need to bark or whine, I never made a sound, I was so happy, I’m part of the pack now!

I slept until 3:30, then nature called, I quietly woke MacTech, he got dressed and we went outside, relieved myself, and I even met Nemo at a distance, Nemo was still scared, but I resisted my instincts to chase, we didn’t even need to use my gentle leader this time, and we used that magic extendo-leash, which gave me more freedom

We’re back upstairs and on the bed, and I’m…getting…sleepy…agaiZzzzzzzzzzzZzzz

<MacTech here>
As stated, Cooper’s first night out of his crate has been stellar, and he has been nearly the perfect dog, and this is only his third day as a full member of our family, he is in his Forever Home

This weekend, we plan to do an Uncrated Test, he’ll be given unrestricted access to the whole house, I think he’ll do well, if he passes the test, the crate will be superfluous

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Shut up, you’re boring. Let Cooper talk.

Geez.

:wink:

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Hi Chuck, glad to meet another Doper Doggie, sniff away, that’s one of our canine traditions and not weird at all…

As far as your person going away, it’s scary isn’t it, maybe you can get your human to get you your own pet fuzzy hopping thing like Nutmeg, she is fascinating and I could watch her for hours, I don’t like it when she ignores me, so I talk to her, I don’t bark, as that might scare her, but I talk to her…

I’m still trying to figure out how to let her free from hopper jail, I think if I work the latches of the bottom of the jail open with my teeth, I can then nose the jail bars off the base…

Then Nutmeg can escape and we can play!

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Just a quick note before my latest adventure…

MacTech needs to get ready to go to That Place that Gives Him Money so he can buy me More Toys, so MomTech is going to take me to the BEACH!! To walk with her, then she’ll drop me off with SisTech for Doggie Daycare

The best part is SisTech’s house and boarding stable are on the same land as MacTech’s house, it’s a 5 minute walk through the hay fields, and everyone loves to have me visit

I won’t be able to post in this thread until MacTech gets home though…

Whee!!! More adventures!!! Happy Happy Joy Joy!

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Lucky Cooper! Lucky MacTech!

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Great thread! Welcome, Coop.

Two cautions:

I’m not a gun guy, but I’ve read that if you actually want a gun dog you need to expose him to the sound of the gun early on. I think 1.5 years old is older than recommended, but if you do want him to not freak out around guns, earlier is better than later. Boom, treat, boom, treat, etc.

Beach is great, but (try to) monitor the amount of salt water that gets swallowed – too much can do medical harm. If it looks like he’s taking it in, don’t let him spend too much time doing so.

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MacTech here, I’ll check with Cooper tonight, but I think what he meant to say was he wasn’t scared of a semiauto rifle that shoots a varmint cartridge and just happens to look “scary”

I don’t think I’m going to expose Cooper to the sounds of gunfire anyway, at least anything beyond .22LR from a rifle, if the SodaStream Monster scares him, I’m not going to expose him to gunfire sounds

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[Simon, the Husky-Border Collie-Lab Cross]

Hi there Cooper!

Please don’t be scared, I always bark furiously when I meet someone new until my Mom lets me off leash, then I am super fun and love to run and play. Everyone says I am really handsome and shiny, but I still think I am a little puppy and can jump on your lap - even though I am around 40 pounds. I also LOVE how my humans taste when I lick them, especially Mom and Sis - their body lotion is divine.

Don’t worry about the rescue thing - I’m a rescue too! I was born way up North and left on the street. When the rescue people found me, I was alone and far too young to be away from my Fur-Mom. The plane ride here was pretty scary, and the other dogs picked on me a little. When Mom and Sis showed up, I snuggled right into Sister’s arms to go home. They told me it would be a “foster” home and temporary. Mom even took me to work with her for a while and fed me from a bottle. I really liked that, and it was easier on my little tummy.

I had a secret plan to wiggle my way into their family, so I did. Now I am here to stay. I have an older brother dog that lives here, but I am Alpha to him - not sure how that happened.

I’m REALLY clever too, and figuring things out faster than my family can keep up and I LOVE being outside, even in the winter. I’m still crated when they go out, but mostly because I really like my crate. Dad wants me to be an “out” dog, so we’ll see how that goes.

Anyway, forever homes are the best. I make sure to tell my family how much I love them everytime I see them by wiggling my whole body and tons of kisses. Mom takes me running (but not too far, I’m still young) and I LOVE that!

[Simon]

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Sweet! Here you can sniff mine.

P.S. If you’re not a dog you might not want to click on the link.

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I should of listened. :smack: