Presenting: The Newest Member of Our Household!
Welcome Copper!
Steve and I have been thinking about getting a dog for a while now, and yesterday we took the plunge. We rescued Copper from a less-than-ideal living situation yesterday. He's about 3 years old, and we are not sure what mix of dog he is. He's got the size and color of a lab or retriever, but has a curly tail, like a malamute or an eskie. He's a good boy, and is going to need a little bit of training, and a lot of love and attention. He has already decided that I'm HIS person, and he follows me around everywhere. He can't stand to have me out of his sight right now, which means I slept on the floor next to his kennel last night so that he would stop barking and whining--he would have gone on all night. Because of his previous situations, he isn't sure about men in general, and so isn't sure about Steve in particular, but I'm confident that as soon as Steve has a Saturday to spend all day with him, Copper will be thrilled to have two new people of his own!
Moose is furious about the situation at this point. I don't know that I've ever seen him so mad. He'll hopefully settle down soon and decide to at least tolerate Copper. For the record, Copper is terrified of Moose so far. If I'm upstairs and Copper is down stairs, but Moose is on the stairs, Copper will sit at the bottom of the stairs and whimper, but doesn't dare try to pass by Moose to come up. He's over 4x Moose's size. It's funny.
Copper is only somewhat potty trained, as he was mostly kept in a kennel outside all the time before now. He also has a lot of seperation anxiety, as I noted, and whines, howls and barks if he's left alone outside or in his kennel at night. I'm wondering if anyone knows of a good dog-training book or DVD that I can get to help me train him to be a little better. If those of you who have dogs have any tips for me, I'd love to hear them.
Cheers!
posted by Allie at 11:31 AM
5 Comments:
Cuteness! Congratulations.
Oh my goodness!! I am in LOVE with this dog! :) I am glad that you saved him and I KNOW that you and Steve will be a wonderful family for him! I listen to 97.1 zht in the morning and they have 'Ty the Dog Trainer' on Tuesdays. I really like listening to him as I think he knows a lot!! His website is: http://www.communicanine.net/. I've never been there, but hopefully that will help!!
I've met the newest memeber of your family and I think he is a really sweet dog. I think after everyone gets used to the transition, it will all be fine.
Well, now isn't Steve just pleased as punch.
Congrats and welcome sweet Copper. Can't wait to meet you.
He is a GORGEOUS dog, and kudos to you for rescuing, too. In my opinion, it's the only way to go. We also rescued Cookie, our little border collie mix, from a situation where she was kept outside in a wooden box on a very short tight leash all the time. She is such a great dog and I just can't believe that people that had her before didn't see it in her. She wasn't really trained when we got her, but we took her to obediance school and it was amazing. It really brought out the best in her. I would highly recommend taking Copper to obediance classes and working with him under the guidance of a professional. They will be able to give you great tips to help Copper work through his fear of males, as well.
Best of luck to you, and congratulations!
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