Dogs Vs. Celery

Hello, Blogosphere!

Quick update: everyone’s great! OK now that the catch-up part of this post is complete, on to the main event: a video of The Boys eating celery.

You know how parents love recording their human kids trying new foods for the first time? Human kids really aren’t my thing, but I decided I wanted in on that action. So without further ado, I bring you Oscar & Cooper’s first interaction with celery.

I love this video so much for so many reasons, mostly because this it is a great representation of each of their personalities. Cooper approaches life with reckless abandon, and is immediately trusting of anything his Person throws his way. Any time I offer Cooper a new food to try, he gobbles it up, no questions asked.

Oscar on the other hand has a much more discerning palate. When faced with a new culinary adventure he approaches it cautiously, examining every angle before diving in. The smell, the texture, and the size of the tasty nugget are properly considered before ingestion can take place. Even then, sometimes the new food won’t make the cut. (Ex: The Great Failed Raw Carrot Experiment of 2012.)

And of course when all else fails, just rip it apart!

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I Ain’t Scared…

Yoooouuuuuuuuuu guys…..I was going to do a Facebook post for you all about this, but I am just too excited and the gravity is too huge. I have news of the most epic proportions that I had no choice but to dust off this ol’ blog and share it with you. The most EXCITING thing has happened!

This dude…this adorable precious furry little ball of anxiety, can finally cross something off his “I am terrified of this!” list.

After three years, Cooper has successfully been desensitized against…

The Evil Blender.

Cue the fanfare and trumpets!

Ever since Cooper came to live with us, he has had a very long list of Very Scary Things that will send him into a barking hackled nervous frenzy. The Evil Vacuum Cleaner, The Evil Mailman, The Evil Paper Shredder, The Evil Dog Barking on TV, The Evil Next Door Neighbor’s Car Door, The Evil Lawn Mower…to name a few.  And until recently, The Evil Blender has been on this list, which was not the most conducive to mom’s morning smoothie routine.

So how did I do it? Nothing fancy, just simple good old-fashioned repetitive (very repetitive) treat training. Cooper was asked to “sit” on the rug in the kitchen while I used the blender. I would keep eye contact with him, call him a good boy, and start with very short blending bursts. At first it was just for one second. I turned it off before he could react, offered sooo much praise, lots of pets, “good boys” and most importantly if you’re as food motivated as Cooper: treats!

I gradually over (many) weeks increased how long I could run the blender without stopping and giving him a treat, making sure to go very slowly so we didn’t back-slide. Of course, Oscar was right there for brotherly moral support – and treats of his own – every step of the way.

And holy cow you guys this morning…Cooper actually got up and walked away to get a drink of water while I was using the blender. I’d call that a MAJOR win for the Coops, and I am absolutely bursting with momma pride. So with this momentous milestone, we are now officially demoting The Evil Blender back down to ordinary kitchen appliance status, and it will from here on be known as simply “the blender.”

This is a big day.

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