Cooper’s milestones so far

Woof!

Cooper’s adjusting well in his almost 3-week old home in the mountains.  First milestone: he doesn’t shiver outside anymore.

During his first week, he had a pretty difficult time coping with the unmelted December snow and altitude.  His bubble jacket was practically useless, and he’d always shiver during his morning and evening walks.  Beagles and most dogs in general though, physiologically adjust to climate change.  For instance, their fur thickens during winter and it eventually sheds during warmer seasons.  A week and a half later, Cooper successfully adjusted, and now, he doesn’t shiver anymore and actually spends more time outside than ever before (helps with the exercise).

Speaking of staying outdoors, another milestone is that Cooper has finally made friends with our neighbor’s two shi tzus, who initially alienated him, competing for the alpha dog position.  This is a great avenue for Cooper, who’s still a kid, to be his energetic self; he doesn’t exactly have enough room to run around in our apartment.

Back in the adoption house, Cooper had to share a kennel with several other dogs.  Everything was basically communal, including their meals.  Whoever the alpha dog was, the alpha dog gets more of that communal property.  Unfortunately, Cooper wasn’t the alpha dog.

At first, Cooper would wolf down his food in seconds, perhaps out of fear that something or someone else would finish it before he does.  Now, with yet another milestone, I noticed that he’s starting to nurse his meals more and more each day.  He chews more now, which is a great improvement, and during snack time today, he actually left his unfinished food bowl for a few minutes to play with me!

Favorite snacks and treats

Cooper loves apples and baby carrots.  For his size, I slice them in bitesize cubes and make sure to remove all the seeds (apple seeds have toxins that are harmful to dogs).  He also enjoys the pepperoni beef strips… A LOT.  We don’t encourage it though.  Most pre-packaged dog treats are okay, just as long as your animal companion consumes them moderately, since most of them are also high in calories.  We monitor Cooper’s weight; obesity in dogs really affects their mobility and energy levels.

During guardians’ (mom and I) meal time, it’s not necessary to keep Cooper in the bedroom anymore (he usually investigates and tries to get human food when present).  Although it required a lot of patience, we made it a habit to push him away and say “No” out loud, until he finally got the command, staying in his corner while his guardians ate.

Another update up at my Tumblr.