Cooper & Spicy's Kingdom : Logs and Dogs

Another week has come and gone without a dull moment. On the log home front, our future house is now starting to look like a home. Matt sent us the attached picture to which Russell added the description of the main rooms. The foundation was poured last week and the forms are coming off tomorrow. The drilling to install the geothermal closed loop will be done this week. Russell and Cooper will be going to visit with Matt this week to get an overall update on the project, and will then go to Huntsville to get pictures at the lot. I will stay at home with Maxine and have a girls day. Although we have been very busy with the dogs for the past two weeks, the construction of our log home is never far from our minds. In the next few weeks, we need to lock down the supplier for the roof and flooring. By end of year, we will firm up our appliances as well as firm up the order for the harvest table and accent pieces.

On the dog front, I have lots to report. Cooper has now been with us for almost three weeks and feels completely at home. He knows his way around, he knows our habits and most importantly he recognizes the sound of the measuring cup I use to measure his food! As for Maxine, she has been with us for almost two weeks and also feels at home. Being younger, she is more tentative about exploring our home but she discovers something new every day. She also recognizes the sound of the measuring cup!

This past week, we started feeding both in the same room. It is a bit of a challenge since Cooper gobbles down his food in less than 30 seconds, while it takes Maxine about 3 minutes. So the challenge is to keep Cooper away from her bowl. Whatever we are doing is working. Once Maxine is done eating, Cooper "vacuums" the floor for any crumbs - we were thinking of changing his name to Hoover.

Something knew happened this week: Maxine sought refuge in her crate for the first time. We have two crates set up in the dining room, and the doors are always opened. Up to now, neither of the dogs had used them. The crate is really meant to be a "den" for the dogs if they want to be alone during the day. So, when Maxine feels a little overwhelmed by Cooper, she now goes in her crate. The trick is for her to keep Cooper from entering the crate....Maxine also now hides under one of our chairs in the family room, again to get Cooper away from her! It may sound as if Cooper is always chasing her but the reality is that their puppy play can somewhat be challenging for Maxine at times, given her size, so when she's had enough, she sends him the message by hiding or retreating somewhere. To be fair to Cooper, I should add that more often than not, Maxine starts the "fight". It is really funny to watch. This is probably a good place to say that Cooper and Maxine have different personalities. Maxine is very independent and has no issues having a nap in another room, away from us, while Cooper must be near us all the time. As I am writing this blog, she is having a nap in her doughnut bed in the dining room, while Cooper is sleeping at my feet, although their preferred nap zone is the bay window where they can watch the birds, squirrels and get warmth from the sun.

We have been going for walks every day. We have also been practicing using the leash on Maxine in our backyard. She is getting more comfortable with the leash now. She goes for her second shot this coming Friday. After that, we can take her everywhere on a leash.

Last Wednesday was Cooper's last Obedience Class in Ajax. He received his diploma and also won first place in the "Fastest Sit" competition. Way to go Cooper!

Finally, on Friday, as we were coming back from our walk, Russell took a tumble in the backyard. Of course, his first reaction was about whether he had fallen on Maxine or not. My first reaction was whether Russell had hit is head on the concrete or not (I love our dogs but I love Russell more). Russell is fine although he had to get Active Release Therapy yesterday to relieve the pain in his elbow/arm. A few more treatments to come but all is good.