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| Coco then! |
Hello, we hope this email finds you well.
It seems Spring has finally arrived, and Coco is very happy about being able to spend more time outside. Her weight stayed pretty much even over the winter (between 82 and 83 lbs), which is what I was aiming for. It seems like she could lose another couple of pounds, but I figure she’s close enough that we should check with the vet on a target weight before losing much more weight. I remember when we first got Coco, people we passed on walks would make comments on how much she must enjoy her food bowl or they even ask what kind of dog she was. Now we frequently get comments on what a beautiful dog she is. I’ve been trying to get a picture that shows how slim she is, but I haven’t been able to get the light to hit her in the right way. She now has a nice waist and all kinds of energy to run around outside. Somehow she knows the phrase “ready…set…go” and will get ready to run on “ready” or “set” and then race in the same direction as us on “go.” Yesterday she and my son were racing each other over and over after her walk, and of course she always won when she didn’t stop at her water bowl.
We continue training her at home and she listens very well unless distracted by a “potential threat.” During walks, she still pulls, but she does a pretty good job of passing other dogs once we shorten up the leash. Yesterday another dog owner put her dog into a sit to let us pass, and she gave us a thumbs up as we passed when Coco didn’t give her dog a second look. Coco still hates little dogs that bark at her, though, so we have to be careful when passing them. We had a minor incident yesterday on our walk when the grandson of our neighbor asked if he could pet Coco (we told him we was welcome to), but he had a walking stick and when he approached Coco, her hackles went up and growled. We immediately realized the stick bothered her, and once he put it down, she calmed down and let him pet her. I have noticed her being skittish of sticks (and garden tools with long handles), so I should have been more aware of the stick the boy was carrying.
It is very nice seeing how well Coco fits into our family. Coco and our cat (Toro) continue to get along. I wouldn’t say they are friends, but they don’t seem very concerned about each other. Most weekend mornings we spend some time on the couch with Coco next to me and Toro sleeping on my lap. They share a water bowl, and Coco even waits for Toro to finish drinking before taking her turn. Coco does sometimes get a little impatient and pokes her head at Toro, but she never bumps him — it’s more of a “hurry up, I’m thirsty!” Our son, has also grown very attached to Coco, and vice versa. A month ago he came down with the flu and threw up many times. He spent most of the day curled up on Coco’s cushion, and after one particularly bad bout, Coco was so concerned about him that she curled up next to him looking at us with very worried eyes.
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| Coco now! |