HAPPY BIRTHDAY - Cooper turns 1 today!!!!

I cannot believe that this time last year I was at the vet with Cooper’s breeders, watching his mum, Lara, give birth to 7 beautiful pups – one of which is now such a big part of our family. Wow how time flies!

We only took Cooper home at 8 weeks of age, which means we have only actually had him for 10 months. It honestly feels like he has been apart of the family forever. Plus I think I have about 10,000 photos of him already!

I thought I should take this big milestone as an opportunity to look back on the last year and take you through a few key thoughts:

What’s been the easiest part?

·      Toilet training. It took Cooper about 2-3 days to be almost fully toilet trained. It was all about not letting him make a mistake and taking him out after each time he slept, ate and played. Plus he learnt to use the doggie door on day 2! I was a proud mum!

What’s been the hardest part?

·      He is a naturally boisterous pup and at 32kg he knows he is stronger than me!

·      He still slightly pulls on the lead, but the improvement has been amazing, it is now mainly when passing other high-energy dogs or when he enters new environments that he still pulls.

·      The recall. Again he is great at this in quiet environments but bring other dogs into the picture and it’s a bit tricky but we are working on this every day.

Favourite thing about Coop

·      The unconditional love we get from him every day. He makes us so happy and is just the best company.

·      He doesn’t have a mean bone in his body!! The worst thing he would do is lick you to death.

·      He loves to play fetch - something I always wished my old dog would do.

·      He is very content being left alone to play with a toy or take a nap.

·      He gets stopped on the street all the time because he is just so good looking.

Most frustrating thing he does?

·      He is the only dog who always manages to find that one little puddle of mud wherever we are.

·      Choosing to be disobedient when wanting to play with other dogs. I love that he loves dogs so much but it can get frustrating at times!

What’s been the most rewarding?

·      Seeing him grow and mature.

·      Seeing the improvement through our commitment to training. He has been to puppy school, basic obedience and is half way through intermediate obedience training.

·      Seeing his huge smile when we let him off the lead in the park.

What’s been my greatest learning?

·      There is no one correct way of doing things – you need to find what works for you and your dog.

·      Be patient and persistent. Golden Retrievers do not come pre-trained. They take time, patience and persistence and they mature a lot older than others dogs. We have put a lot of time and effort into training Cooper and we will continue to do this everyday.

What makes Cooper, Cooper?

·      He is an independent sole who doesn’t really need cuddles and human affection.

·      He loves putting things in his mouth.

·      He smiles a lot.

·      He loves playing with other dogs more than anything.

·      He is obsessed with water and will jump into a swimming pool at any opportunity. And if he doesn’t have a swimming pool – a big enough water bowl will do.

The past 10 months have been filled with big sloppy puppy kisses, endless walks, malting hair, muddy paws, drooling, digging, pulling, doggy play dates and heaps of cooper snuggles (my favourite). It’s been exciting and challenging, rewarding and love filled – and it’s only his first birthday!

HAPPY 1^ST BIRTHDAY MR COOPER HENDRIX RITTERMAN!!!