Cooper

Cooper – A Gentle, Loving Soul Looking for His Forever Home
Cooper arrived in our home about two weeks ago, and from the moment he walked through the door, he impressed us with how alert, engaged, and full of life he is. He may be an older gentleman, but he has the heart and energy of a dog who still loves every moment of his day.

Personality & Daily Life
Cooper is an active boy who genuinely enjoys being part of a routine. He looks forward to his 3–4 daily walks and happily trots along at your right side without pulling. He’s very tuned in to his people—recently we have been working on, if you gently tug his leash twice, he’ll look back at you, and he’s learning to sit and wait when you raise your hand. He loves practicing these little “check‑ins,” and you can see how proud he is when he gets it right.

At home, Cooper is a sweetheart. He’ll rest his head on your lap and gaze up with his warm brown eyes when he knows it’s time for a walk, dinner, or just some affection. He takes his medication without hesitation and has had zero accidents in our home. He also lets us know when he needs to go outside.

Home Behavior
Cooper has adapted beautifully to our house rules. It seems he may have been allowed on furniture or fed from the table in the past, but he quickly learned that those aren’t part of life here. He’s respectful, eager to please, and has done wonderfully when left alone to free‑roam the house.

He absolutely loves our fenced yard—roaming, sniffing, greeting neighborhood kids, and playing with dogs through the fence. Sticks, balls, and exploring are some of his favorite backyard activities.

Health & Hearing
We believe Cooper has some hearing impairment. He does respond to certain sounds—especially deeper voices or loud barks—but sometimes seems unsure of where the sound is coming from. We’ll know more after his upcoming vet visit, but his hearing challenges don’t slow him down or affect his joyful personality.

Ideal Home
Cooper would thrive in a quiet, calm home where he can relax comfortably but still enjoy the activities he loves most: regular walks, exploring the yard, and spending time with his people. He’s affectionate, loyal, and wonderfully easy to live with.

Cooper is the kind of dog who simply wants to be part of your day—whether that’s strolling through the neighborhood or resting at your feet. He has so much love to give, and he’s ready to share it with a family who will cherish him.

Cooper left yesterday for his next foster home, since we are leaving MN soon. He knew something was up. He kept snuggling up to Foster Dad, resting his head during the drive.

I realized how resilient Cooper has been. He came into RAGOM Halloween 2025 and he has been in 6 homes this year! Every change can be hard on a dog, as they have to figure out the rules of the house. Can I sleep in the bed (Cooper must have been allowed at some point.)? Do I get to lick the plates? How many plates are there to lick? Are there nice dogs around me? Or ones that caused me to have scars on my face? Do they stay home a lot or do I have to stay home by myself all day? Will they take me to the lake? How come they don't understand what I am barking at?

We met his new foster at a park and Cooper ran right up to him and assumed the position, his new foster's hand fit perfectly on top of his head. I was trying to show the physical commands to the new foster, but Cooper would not leave his side and enjoyed the petting. Resilience!

Cooper's medicines cost $200 a month, so if you have fallen in love with this boy's story, please consider a donation to offset his care. Thank you!

It is another rainy day today. Cooper took a nice long nap on his couch, despite not getting a morning walk. Midday, he wanted to play. We have been working on a new trick. I take a treat and split it up. Cooper is in a sit/stay command (does excellent), then I walk away and hide the treats. When I give him the come command, he excitedly runs around to find the treats. We reset to sit/stay and do it again. He loves the mental stimulation of this game!

We spent some time at the lake yesterday, since it was going to be a rainy day today. I threw the ball further, so he could swim more. He loves the game of throw, run back to the beach, keep away and chew, chew, chew until he is ready to do it again. 

He does have an internal clock that is Swiss made! It goes off at 5:00 to tell me it's supper time. Yesterday, at 4:59, I had to tell him it was not time yet. We had a foster dog that we had trained to this phrase - ha! Today, he tried at 4:30, definitely not supper time.

Cooper stays with us one more week and then transfers to another foster, as we leave MN soon. The great news is he will be in the Twin Cities, so it is easier for you to arrange a meeting to check out Cooper if you are in the metro area. His new foster has trained dogs with signs before and is excited to do more training with Cooper.

He is a good boy, has learned so much, is in constant need to be close to his people and show his love. He is ready for that special family that will help him out for the rest of his life. He left a special spot in our hearts these past two months! In him, we found bits of all our past boys - Tyson the Wonder Dog who trained dozens of Fosters, Chance, our first adopted foster, and Regal Jack, Hank our long term foster of 2 years and of course, Chewy, our last adopted foster who passed in May. Funny, how we find quirks or habits that remind us of the ones before. We never know when we will lose these special boys, so we make sure to provide each one the golden life they deserve.

What has Cooper been up to this week? We had company for dinner, Cooper saw who arrived and ran to get his rope. He put the rope in Harold's hand and led him to the "mat". They played tug and Cooper growled gleefully, as he and Harold played. I found a pattern, the other day Cooper wanted to play and he put the toy in my hand, so we could play tug.

In the evenings, when he gets antsy, we play keep away. I have the ball and I bounce it around Cooper, from side to side, head to toes and he follows the ball. He looks so cute, his ears are fluffed up, looking curious and inquisitive about what is going on with his ball. Then I roll it off his nose, it bounces and he grabs it to chew, chew, chew.

He loves his morning walk, if I don't get up in time, he nudges and tells me it is his time. I told him he went potty already, he gives me the look - time to walk! In the evenings, he really enjoys the downtime and snuggles, he leans in, as we snuggle on the floor and I massage his muscles.

Yesterday, we had storm damaged trees removed and Cooper watched the action from the window. He met each of the workers and sat nicely, so they could take a break and pet.  AND...he can't get enough apples, he loves the fall. Curious, he doesn't eat the apples off the ground or when they are whole. They have to be cut up and given to him in chunks! Pampered boy!

Want to read about working with a deaf dog?  A volunteer shared this RECOMMENDED RESOURCE. The need to get Cooper's attention is a basic, and the commands follow. As an example, when I leave the room, maybe to get something from the garage. I give Cooper a "come" command and he follows me to the garage. I do my thing, he does his - patrols and sniffs around the garage. When I am done, I give him the "come" command and he follows me into the house. I don't give excessive treats like the training resource. Instead, he gets a head or ear rub, as we walk back into the house. In his view, rubs are as good as treats!

Are you ready to learn something new? What could Cooper teach you? I know he will bring joy into your life. Feeling like your hand needs a furry being underneath it? That is Cooper's favorite thing, to have a hand on his shoulder or head.  He is a smart boy, he is almost self-sufficient - if your hand stops, then Cooper starts to move and adjust, so he continues to get a little petting. 

Cooper has found a new job kitchen - sous chef! He loved making wild rice soup or maybe it was just the chicken nibbles he sampled. He really appreciates apple crisp making and all the apple chunks that ended up on the floor. We pick raspberries and he is ready for a tasting. Luckily, he doesn't know he can eat them off the bush like some past foster dogs. Not for the faint of heart... he has taken up dinner clean-up, too! He knows there are two plates that need a licking and will belly ache until his work is complete.

His physical command training is going well other than "give" his ball. I have been working on "take it nice", where I place the ball in his mouth and take it out repeatedly before he clamps down. Then he chews, chews to taunt me a bit. We have been playing keep away and tug. Today, he picked up the squirrel stuffy and put it in my hand, so that I could play tug. He growls when he plays tug, part of his rough play that he learned. He is having fun, tail is wagging, even though he vibrates a growl in play.

On our morning walks, I am teaching him to stop and move to the side when a car passes. I want him to learn that he needs to stop for cars, since he can't hear them. We wait until the car drives by and then he gets a signal to proceed. He is a smart boy!

I have to say his hips are feeling better! This morning, he was wanting to do some snuggling and kept nudging. In a moment, he jumped up on the bed, I said "no", which he didn't hear! So, he proceeded to snuggle between the two of us. It lasted for a few seconds and when I directed him off, he jumped right down. So, you have your choice - bed snuggler or not, just be consistent, so he knows.

At night, we snuggle on the floor, he won't snuggle on the couch with me. It has been a work of building trust. He had his head up and panting while I pet and started to massage his shoulders, hips and knees. Wow, that felt good! Now, he leans in more and has relaxed to enjoying the nightly snuggling sessions.

Yesterday, we went to the groomer for a nail trim. I shared with the groomer his history, his deafness and the commands to use. After a few moments of sniffing, she muzzled him and a few minutes later he pranced out the door with no issue. We saw a big fluffy muff (Great Pyrenees) in the parking lot. I was going to point the dog out to Cooper, but he eventually saw him. Cooper just watched with curiosity and did not bark or react. He jumped in and out of the car without issue. He rides so well in the car. He settles in unless the windows are open while driving in town.

Are you settling into your fall routine and know you have space to continue Cooper's training? He has several good years ahead of him and he wants a loving family to play tug, snuggle, take him for walks and some lake time.

Cooper is back in RAGOM land! If you missed this handsome older guy last fall, check him out now. He has been with us for a month now, we gave him time to settle in to really understand his personality and needs to be successful in his forever home. Cooper is 11, so we do want this to be his forever family. 

When Cooper arrived, we thought he had some behavior issues, he was not listening or responding to us, not coming when called, not stopping when we said “no.” Then, I realized he was not running for his food dish at mealtime or didn't jump up when the chip back crinkled! It took us a couple of days to realize he is deaf with very limited hearing of high pitch noises. Wow, we make assumptions about dogs listening to us and understanding our language. We learned something quickly with Cooper!

Cooper is a smart dog. We have quickly found physical commands for “come” or “follow me”, “sit”, “go” or “move” and working on “no” and “give.” He picked them up really fast. We were given no history of his deafness and what his owner was using for communication. Have no fear - we will teach you everything Cooper knows!

Cooper has trained us, too - he gets up when the sun does for potty. We feed him part of his breakfast in a slow feeder for mental stimulation vs 3 seconds of eating. Then around 7:30, he nudges that it is time to go potty and our short walk before a second breakfast. Due to his arthritis, we are only doing a 2/3 mile walk and that seems to be working for him. He was walked several times a day and his owner noted it was probably too much for his arthritis. He barks when he wants to go outside, if we don't notice his pacing. He barks when he is bored, so we are working to reduce it. We live in the country and even though it is a quiet place, he still finds things to bark at.

He loves the lake! A couple of times when he left on his own (ugh!), he ran right to the lake, got his toes wet and ran right back to the door with a huge smile. Well, he forgot his ball and no one was there to throw the ball in the lake, so he decided he should head back. We trade off time in the lake or golf cart rides for more stimulation. 

Cooper has a history of reaction to other dogs on walks and his last foster was working with him on it. He has lived with dogs and has been in doggy daycare, so my guess is something to do with leash aggression. He does this quirky thing - jumps up and bites his leash, as if to take it away from me.

Cooper is a very young-acting dog for 11. He is playful, he is mouthy and this is a work in progress to help him know it is not acceptable. He plays rough, especially when I am wearing gloves, so he has some history there. I don't wear gloves around him and he does not play rough when we wrestle. He could be successful with older children who know not to get him excited and mouthy. He can run, jump up on the bed, in and out of the car just fine with his arthritic hips and knees. We started him on Deracoxib for his pain and he seems to have much better movement. You should see him flopping from side to side and rolling around after a short swim or fetching balls from the lake.

Within a few days, he was biting his feet and scratching. I started Benadryl and it did not help enough, so we added Apoquel for his seasonal allergies and he has not worn the cone for several days now. He was not bothered by wearing the cone at all. Just immediately licked when we took it off.

Cooper loves to snuggle and be near us, but will go find a quiet corner to nap throughout the day. We leave him for 3-4 hours and he naps without any issues with free roam. We wave goodbye, so he knows that he has some quiet time.

What does a successful home look like for Cooper? Ideally, a quiet, country home with a fenced area for him to roam. I always test the foster dogs to see if they will be a runner. He won't be, but there is no way to get his attention to call him back if he decides to roam the neighborhood. He is doing fine on a tie out and leash walk (he always walks on the right side). He grew up the first 10 years in a fenced yard. 

Come and meet Cooper on Saturday!

Pet Evolution - St Paul
1074 Grand Ave,
St. Paul, Minnesota 55105
Saturday, January 10 from 12:30-2 

Cooper is a very loving boy, who wants to be near, and have his head scratched. He is a particularly darling smuggler and will either lay at your feet or lay his head on your lap. He is improving on his walks as far as his reaction to other dogs. He has been doing well with redirection and a sit, and the reaction (bark and swirling) passes very quickly.

At home he plays nicely with other dogs, tails wagging!  He is also continuing to sharpen his commands - sit, lay down, come, stay and is showing growth. He has free roam while I am gone and does well, with no issues. He loves playing with his ball and his toys, which he does not destroy. 

Mr. Cooper is doing great! He had a recent vet visit and had a cyst on his neck drained, nothing of concern although the fluid may return. Otherwise, clean bill of health. He was on Apoquel and he was taken off last week, and so far so good. We will monitor for any excessive licking or itching. Also working on moving him off his current Royal Canin Vet prescription food to a regular formula.  He acts and looks younger than 11 years old, with the vet agreeing and commenting his teeth look great for his age, although his eyes are consistent with an 11-year-old. Overall, a youthful 11 years! 

This big lovable guy would be a wonderful companion and family member and has a lot of love to give.

Cooper is settling in to his new foster home and proving to be a typical golden boy looking to be loved on!

He is a great companion, wanting to hang with you and loves to play ball and take walks. He is treat motivated so we are practicing “leave it” on walks. He’s good on the leash except when some dogs get his attention he will bark and pull, so we are pulling over and working on redirection and a sit. There’s improvement but needs more work.

He is very loving and is a handsome big boy. 

Cooper came to stay with us on Halloween and two days later he celebrated his 11th birthday!  Cooper may be a senior dog but his energy level and some less than desirable puppy manners prove that he is still young at heart.  Cooper will mouth and jump on humans as he is very excited to meet new people.  

This 80lb bundle of joy could easily knock over young, wee ones or children that are not dog savvy. With that said he could also easily knock over any full grown humans that are not so steady on their feet. He has done very well with older children and is incredibly loving and affectionate.  He also is living peacefully with our resident senior dog.  They play and share space together very well.  

Now cats, on the other hand, are another story.  Cooper is reactive to the cats in the household with full on barking and lunging.  When they run he will chase.  He had a close encounter with one of the cats and it was not a teachable moment for Cooper.  So sorry folks, no cats for this old gentleman!

Cooper does have skin allergies and is on medication daily along with a special diet to help keep things under control.  He did have a skin infection when he arrived and he is finishing up his antibiotic.  He is well on the road to recovery with just a few more days of those pills!

One item on his wish list is a physical fence.  Cooper has lived his entire life with a physical fence.  He does have a strong prey drive so this is ideal in keeping him safe. 

Cooper loves to have petting or brushing going on at all times and will make sure you know that he needs attention if you are too busy playing on your devices.  His favorite things are playing ball and chewing.  He is definitely a power chewer but has been trying very hard to not destroy his favorite toys.  He walks quickly and easily on leash but can be reactive when he meets other dogs. He has been very responsive to redirection.

Now Mr. Cooper is not really a fan of the vet staff or the groomer doing things that are less than favorable to him.  While he was at his initial vet visit he did snap at the vet tech during a blood draw. He also needed a nail trim and latched onto the groomer's arm while she was using the nail grinder, but did not injure the groomer.  Going forward Mr. Cooper is going to need to be muzzled for these not so fun outings.  These can be very high stress situations for some dogs so precaution will need to be taken very seriously so that Mr. Cooper does not get himself into trouble.   

This distinguished gentleman is completely housetrained and has had no accidents in the house.  He is also crate trained.  He is an intelligent dog and very food motivated which makes him a quick learner and he will be a wonderful addition to a family that has time to dote on a velcro dog.  This sweet old guy is looking for his happily ever after - maybe it is you?