I remember when you posted about your dogs stroke. I hope she is doing well!

Ok, I thought this thread was going to be about Anderson Cooper but Doggie Cooper is far more handsome! What an absolutely gorgeous guy he is! I heart shepherds.

Well, Cooper was named in part after Anderson Cooper! I just think he is soooo delicious looking!!! And one of my favorite TV shows is Big Bang Theory and one of the main charactors is named Sheldon Cooper. Cooper's full name, which is used in instances like this, is : Sheldon Anderson Cooper!!!

-OUCH... GOOD THING YOU LOVE COOPER...GOOD THING YOU LOVE COOPER...GOOD THING YOU LOVE COOPER.

I worked in vet medicine for 25 years, and ran our rescue operations. I still do rescue at my home but on a much smaller scale. I've rescued/placed and trafficed many many dogs, cats and even horses over the years. Also, I've owned nothing but boxers since 1970 and all have been rescues. Some certainly take more work then others, but with patience AND TRAINING they have alll come around and are well behaved (while still retaining their silly exuberant nature) which is what I love about the breed. My father also raised and trained German Shorthairs for years.

A dog can get destructive for many many reasons unknown/UNANTICIPATED by you (especially youngsters). While it would seem unreasonable to us he may have experienced a surge of separation anxiety which can trigger highly destructive behavior. It made sense to Cooper at the time, but as the other person noted... there is a basket of toys right there. There are simply some negative behaviors you can't "love" a dog out of doing -especially since you don't know his history. If that's his first offense then maybe he just had a brain fart...but.. if he shows that to be a tendency I highly suggest you start with some crate training when leaving the room (yes...even if for 10 min). Was the den/office door closed or open? There is another method called "umbilical cord training", but if you're unsteady on your feet it might not work for you. I've used it with some rescues...and it worked well. It just keeps the dog very close in the early phase of training so you can correct any behaviors FAST before they launch into a disaster sans the couch cushion.

I never give a dog unsupervised house time until they show me reliable solid maturity - usually around 2-3 yrs old. I have seen soooo many disasters (mini-blinds torn to shreds, door knobs chewed off, furniture destroyed, sheet rock CHEWED off of walls, landscaping deeeeeestroyed, leather seats chewed off motorcycles - the list is about 100 miles long...LOL). Cooper is a powerful boy...and that mess may have just struck him as good clean fun... lol (oi-vey), but it could also be a sign of future things to come. When you first bring a dog home there is always what we call a "honeymoon" period where they are getting used to their new home and acclimatizing. Once the pet settles in their personalities and quirks can (and ususally do) come to the surface.

Go take a basic obedience class from a good trainer. If nothing else it will get Cooper thinking about being a better family member. It's a huge win win for both you and him.

Been there...seen this....LOL. It's fixable...but it will test your patience BIG TIME if this becomes a habit.
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I found this link on a quickie search. It will give you some tips that might help.
Umbilical Cord Training
http://www.dogtrainingbasics.com/PuppyControl.html

Even is Cooper is not a pup - if he missed his foundation blocks of training prior to you owning him he needs to be taken back to step ONE of puppy manners then training. If someone tells you crate training a dog is cruel they are 100% wrong. A dog is a den animal and if crating is done properly (and not abused) a dog is very happy there. My dogs are often sleeping in their crates with the doors wide open. I rarely close the crate doors, but when I do they are quiet and happy.

We are enrolling him and us in obedience training. He doesn't destroy very often. We do have to crate him when we leave the house because of his separation anxiety. The one and only time we did leave and not crate him, which was right after we got him, he tore up the linoleum and scratched the walls and door that we left out of. He generally is a very good dog, just needs to know that no matter what he does, we will never hurt him. He has huge issues with men, he becomes very submissive when out in public and a man approaches him. We took him to a groomer to get a bath after we got him and he did well with her but she pointed out all these little red round areas all over his torso and back - looked like ciggarette burns. We have no idea of his past history, just surmising from his behavior. He is generally well behaved. He walked on a leash immediately and rides well in a car. He was only 64 # when we rescued him and HR positive. He is soooo over going to the vet and the last 3 times we took him, he had to be muzzled. I can understand, he was tired of getting stuck with needles!!! We never raise our voice to him, just get a stern tone, and we never strike him. I wasn't upset about the pillow, I actually laughed. We just take his little quirks in stride. We accept him for who he is.

We found a "Cooper" running down the road in a huge snow storm one winter and brought him home til we could find his owners. He was a wonderful baby but the day we came home from church and found most of our living room furniture cushions, centerpiece from the dining room table, every shoe he could get his lips around, one whole shelf of books from the bookcase, an umbrella, and the Sunday paper all pulled through the doggie door and torn up and drug all over the yard we knew maybe our "Cooper" needed to find his forever home FAST! He was adopted by a man who earns his living driving all over the country and our "Cooper" now travels with him. I hope the man hasn't had to replace his truck seats or bed too many times! Aren't animals just so cute??? Hope your Cooper learns to appreciate the wonderful home he has and hope you continue your positve self talk..."I love Cooper! I love Cooper! Ilove Cooper
!

Yep... violence teaches a dog fear... not manners. Just like little kids.

I'm happy to see you are going to invest the time into Cooper to make him a great dog. A rescue I took on Boxer/Rot mix 13 years ago was sooooooooooooooo destructive I was horrified. I stayed "firm but loving" with her for years and about 6 yrs old she finally settled down. Gad... that was bad! I never gave up on her... I actually felt bad she had been ruined so early on. I was her 7th owner by the time she was about 18 months old.

We just lost her a year ago to cancer she was 12. It broke my heart.

Our dogs are certainly fast!

We knew when we were adopting him that he was heartworm positive and we were willing to take on that responsibilty physically, emotionally and financially to get him treatment and give him a loving home. That is a committment that we made to him and we will not fail him as it seems others have. I am currently in school going for my Associates Degree in Registered Vet Technologist (8 months to go!) We work with some of the local shelters so we have animals that we can use in our learning. Plus, these animals get lab work, xrays and spayed and neutered and it helps defray the cost for the shelters. We just had a 3-4 month old black lab puppy yesterday that had been turned into the drop box and the shelter. He was very sweet and docile. We had to take xrays of his right back leg and it has a severe break, both Tib and Fib. Will need pinning done by ortho but not sure that will happen. We can only guess what caused this break, most likely a kick. People will get puppies and then turn them in after they realize how much work they are.

How well I know that... and I'm soooo happy you are doing what you're doing. There are sooo many sad cases out there... and the current economy has so many people flailing financially things just get worse for their children and pets.

((((((((((((HUGS)))))))))))))) keep on doing what you're doing... we do make a difference in the long run! When it comes to pet rescue (even fostering) I say "If you cannot do great things... you can do small things in a great way".. and it can mean the world to an abused/abandoned pet.

Off to work...

♥
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