Puppy Play

Kooper and our grandpuppy Reggie are getting along, some of the time. Going for walks Reggie zigzags stopping to pee and sniff the ground. Kooper goes straight and steady, unfaltering in his stride until he’s back home.

Reggie is as quick and crafty as a fox. He teases Kooper into chasing him. Kooper is a little clumbsy. He is losing his chubb and his legs are stretching.

Reggie is like an annoying hyper little brother whereas Kooper would just as well plop on the floor like a rag doll, or snuggle up and cuddle like the furry bear cub he appears to be.

They can be best friends one minute and be in a tug of war growling match the next. I really have a tough time watching when they fight. No skin has been broken and they still have ears and eyes intact. It is interesting to see their bonding with eachother develop.

 

More lake photos

This gallery contains 3 photos.

Kooper At Strawberry Lake

Kooper and his buddy Reggie were a bit nervous on the way to the lake. Kooper, because it was his first car ride since he was brought home, and Reggie, because of his recent traumatic Vetinarian visit.

They both had their new harnesses and leases. Walking down to the lakeshore, Reggie waded right in. That is, until the waves lapped towards him and frightened him. Then, he decided that was not happening again. Kooper tried to drink and bite the waves, getting dunked a few times as the crested.

The shoreline was littered with weeds which they both tried to knaw on before deciding they didn’t taste as good as the weeds at home.

Suddenly, the other dogs visiting the lake bounded up to greet the pups. A hurried frenzy of barking and the human owners’ chasing and retrieval ensued.

Barbecue, lunchtime settled the humans down while Kooper and Reggie whined for a more familiar setting and their food.

Going exploring on a walk went better. The pups were unleashed in a deer fenced enclosed tree orchard arena. The dogs chased eachother full speed. Reggie, the older pup sped faster like a fox, weaving between the trees. Chubby, younger Kooper, like a clumsy bearcub, got a few captures in on Reggie, as Reggie slipped out, and ran circles around Kooper.

The bonfire fascinated both dogs. Kooper appeared calm with the nearby boom of fireworks, whereas, shaken Reggie, had to be cuddled tightly and reassured of his safety.

On the way home, the dogs rested. They were happy upon their arrival home, and their familiar stomping grounds.

 

Kooper, 1st day at home.

Kooper liked to lay with his back to the couch. I led him out to the deck and taught him the steps. Going down went smoothly, but going up, he pulled with muscles he hadn’t used much yet. He caught on fast. He was pretty much house-broken, too, as he deposited his waste on concrete instead of in the grass.

Reggie was very curious with his new housemate. He did well sharing his food, water and bed. Toys and knawing bones are a different story. Reggie is a much more hyper dog than Kooper. This first day Reggie ran circles around Kooper, and Reggie showed some jealousy.

I had a plastic brush from my hair color kit, and brushed Kooper’so thick fur. He moaned like a content old man getting a back massage. Sometimes, too, as I held him to show him off to the neighbor, he purred.

Rick realized that Kooper liked his belly scratched lightly. Kooper would stop, drop down, and roll onto his back whenever Rick would gesture tickling.

Rick gave Kooper his first bath. Kooper calmly enjoyed the water and the rub down with the towel afterwards.

He started to try chasing Reggie more and more, not quite catching up.

We went to purchase more toys, teething bones, shampoo, flea collars, a harness for Kooper, and braided leases for both pups.

A security gate made a perfect enclosure of our hallway as a better alternative than a kennel. They have their bed, food and water, and a pad if needed. We only use it when we go on a quick trip to the store. Oftentimes, they’ll go back there when the gate is open just to rest.

Kooper

 

We started to “puppy sit” for our grandpuppy, Reggie, a 7 month old chi-weinie in June. My 23 year old boomerang kid, Josh, flew out to Seattle to visit his sister for 10 days.

We had just returned from our 1st wedding anniversary motorcylet ride to Spearfish Canyon.

My husband Rick is a true dog lover and began to get attached to Reggie, so he thought we should adopt a puppy of our own. He quickly found our little guy on- line.

He was born on a ranch in North Central South Dakota. We rode down on a Thursday evening arriving before sunset. On the way there we tested out names and decided that “Kooper” best suited the Miniature Australian Shepherd pictured on-line.

Kooper and his sister were in a round fenced enclosure when we arrived. I held his sister for a bit while Rick picked up Kooper. He was very chubby, much heavier than Sis. The lady gave us some of his food and exchanged papers while we paid and signed his adoption papers.

Kooper had been eating a buffalo and salmon mixture of a natural pet food.

He erpped twice while we held him. Otherwise, he cuddled up sweetly into our arms. Rick took some beautiful sunset photos of the trees and the horses, including a 3 day old colt.

We left, Rick holding Kooper, and me driving. Driving Northward, Rick started using his phone, but I asked him to keep a look-out for deer. As I drove, I intermittently kicked on the brights as the road was curvy and hilly with occasional oncoming traffic. A deer appeared suddenly seconds after I turned my brights on, just in advance of a small town. Kooper erpped once more in the car on the floor mat. We figured he must’ve had a belly-full, that and the nervousness of unfamiliarity.

When we got home, Reggie and Kooper met for the first time. They were both tired so things were pretty tame.