March
22, 2004
Hello!
We
have been so busy enjoying our new dog that we have neglected
to share how wonderful he is with you all! Copper is great!!
He has a wonderful personality, is very smart and eager to
please.
Copper
is no longer upset about spending time in his crate. We took
everyone’s suggestions on how to make him feel better
about it, but I think it was the crate training ‘blitz’
that finally did the trick. In the course of three days I
put Copper in his crate every opportunity, only letting him
out for potty, meal and play breaks. He quickly got used to
being in the crate when we were home, outside, gone completely
and for no reason at all. The first day he got sprayed with
a mild water/vinegar mix when he barked or pawed at the crate.
Covering the crate completely with a sheet helps, as well
as leaving him with a peanut butter filled Kong toy. At this
point you would never know he had issues with being left alone.
Copper
did exceptionally well at obedience school and recently graduated
from the eight week course. He is a pro at most of the commands,
his only weakness is being put in a sit stay and one of us
walking away from him. Copper is not a fan of being left alone,
always wanting to be at your side. He favors the down position
and can actually fall asleep if left in a down stay for an
extended period of time. He received many complements from
the trainers during class and we think he was probably ranked
first in his class if they gave such rankings! He does enjoy
asserting his dominance with certain dogs giving them a growl
when they stare, but most times he ignores the glares. I guess
he is comfortable with his success! Matt plans to take an
advanced course in a few months just for fun!
Overall,
Copper is wonderful! He is good with kids, loves to play in
the backyard, loves to go for walks and is sweet to people
who come to the house. Most of the time during the day he
is in the same room I am in, lying at my feet. In the evening
he is happy with the activities and attention, often catching
up on time with Matt. He still lies at the foot of Julia’s
bed when she gets books read to her and stays there until
she falls asleep. We are eager to play in the water with him
this summer after seeing how silly he gets when Julia takes
a bath! He has some really good habits that we will continue
to encourage, such as not eating food off the floor (or at
least not diving for it when it hits the floor). He also has
some nasty habits we continue to discourage, such as eating
his poop when left on his own in the backyard (this does not
happen all the time, but enough to gross us all out).
I
will email a few new pictures of Copper and let you see how
happy he is! He is a sweet, loving, handsome and personable
dog that has a permanent spot in our family!!
Take
care,
Stephanie G. (& Family)
