Coopernicus Lee

The other night, I had the worst dream for a dog-owner. Cooper died. I woke up hysterically crying in the middle of the night. Of course Cooper was peacefully sleeping in his bed next to me, but I couldn't be consoled. Even after dragging him into my bed, it took me a good 20 minutes to stop crying. Anyway, this traumatic incident got me thinking. Cooper may be very poorly behaved at times, but he is a FANTASTIC dog, and I would never wish for another. Furthermore, a lot of people tell me that he's such a stupid dog because he never listens. Well let me tell you something, Cooper is a freaking genius. So let me explain.

Cooper mad because he wasn't allowed in the bed, so to make himself feel like he was still in it, he rested his head on the side...

Number 1: I can't tell you how many times I have done a recall command to Cooper where he is supposed to run to me, sit and look up. Coop is actually very good at this, with one major caveat. He wanders over when he is ready. For example, this was a common occurrence at the dog park (before I banned us for his bad behavior). Usually, he'd look up at me from where he was standing, sniff, pee, eat dirt, trot around, and 5 minutes later wander over and sit (and expect a treat). Why is this amazing? Because the average short-term memory for dogs only lasts 10-20 SECONDS! I am baffled at how my dog can remember the command I gave him minutes after I said it, and after he's done 10 other activities. He forgets NOTHING.

Number 2: Cooper decides what he wants to do. He understands everything I tell him. However, he weighs the pros and cons before deciding how to act. Don't believe me. Ask Cooper to do something. He gives you a funny look for about 5 seconds and then either does it or wanders away. His trainer said this is one of the biggest problems with him. From her experience, she's noticed that the smartest dogs are the ones that are hardest to train. Seriously, when you ask Cooper to sit and he doesn't feel like it, he literally rolls his eyes and sighs. You can just hear him saying "this is so stupid". Let's think about it. You can train almost any animal to do tricks. But how many animals can learn tricks, and then decide when they feel like actually doing them based on what's in their best interest. Many people think Cooper doesn't listen because he is too dumb to understand. Nope. Cooper doesn't listen because, Cooper doesn't feel like it.

Cooper LOVES to watch TV

Number 3: He knows whether we are going on a run or a walk based on my clothes. When it's time for a run, I try to trick him into thinking we are going on a walk. Why? Because runs get Cooper super excited and he starts uncontrollably barking. He barks for the entire first block of our trip. It is usually not appreciated, especially at 7 am Saturday morning. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to outsmart my own dog, and he always knows when we are going for a jog.

Number 4: Cooper knows the difference in dog breeds. I have never seen a dog more afraid of German Shepherds in his life. If he can't convince me to cross the street, he hides behind me the entire time we walk by one.  Oh, and it's not just Shepherds. Cooper decided he doesn't like Chows, Shibas, or really any other large long-haired dog. I am not sure what his reasons are, but it's pretty impressive that he can categorize things. 

Cooper sleeping with "Ducky" (yes I know its not a duck). He won't destroy toys I get him, just the ones everyone else does

Number 5: Cooper gets bored. No seriously. When ever we are at my parents' house and he wants to go home, he starts walking around sighing. He does this at my house. He will even start crying if it's really bad. He can only chew on his toys for about 20 seconds before he needs to be entertained again.

And finally Number 6: This is probably, the biggest one. Cooper has me whipped. We'd all like to think that we are the owners, but seriously, who owns who.

Giving me "the face"

So maybe Cooper is a secret dog genius, or maybe I'm just attributing human traits to him. Either way, I don't care. To me, he's the best dog in the world, and no matter how smart, he's taught me more about the world than most people can.
So finally, to quote John Grogan:

"A dog has no use for fancy cars, big homes, or designer clothes. A water logged stick will do just fine. A dog doesn't care if you're rich or poor, clever or dull, smart or dumb. Give him your heart and he'll give you his. It was really quite simple, and yet we humans, so much wiser and more sophisticated, have always had trouble figuring out what really counts and what does not. As I wrote that farewell column to Marley, I realized it was all right there in front of us, if only we opened our eyes. Sometimes it took a dog with bad breath, worse manners, and pure intentions to help us see."