I'm 3 Years Old!

I just had a birthday. I am 3 years old. Mom says I am a full fledged grown up now. I guess I do feel a little different. All of a sudden I want to hike my leg on the tree. We went to the dog bark and I hiked my leg on every tree and bush around. I had to drink lots more water just to have enough to go around!

I found a new friend at the park. His name is Bentley and he is a white Boxer. We had a lot of fun together. He is 10 years old but he kept up with me just fine. We were the only 2 there and so we had the whole place to ourselves.

Note from Mom: American Bulldogs (and most large breeds) are not considered grown until they are 3 years old - so now Opie is all grown up. I am kind of sad about that. He is still a big baby to me. He still has the best personality. He loves people and he is so good with other dogs. We have never really let him play with small dogs - I am afraid he would hurt them by accident so it is so nice when he gets a chance to play with someone his size. Bentley was about 40 pounds heavier than Opie, but 7 years older. They really hit it off. Unfortunately Bentley lives in Austin and was only here visiting. 

Christmas Photos!

Last night we took bunches and bunches of pictures. My mom was determined to get at least one good shot for our Christmas cards.  Mom and dad wore matching PJ pants (ha! ha!) and tee shirts. I didn't have to wear anything except my cool bandana. We have Deer Park colors on - maroon and gold. 
Mom and Dad liked 2 of the pictures so mom picked out a card where she could use them both. Pretty neat!

 So what do you think? 

Note from Mom: Nothing like trying to take a picture of an almost 80 pound 2 and 1/2 year old! He did so good while I was setting the timer but every time I would sit down he would want to turn around and look at me. We were wrestling with him to turn around in about 25 takes. Finally we decided to just let him do his own thing and ended up with these 2 great shots of him. He is so cute when he throws his head straight back to look at us. He does this all the time so it is so him.

He looks huge in the photos!

Just Me and My Dad

My mom made a trip to Arkansas so just us guys hung out. We had a lot of fun, but I was sure ready for my mom to come home. It just isn't the same without my mom. Me and dad played ball, frisbee and hung out in the garage a lot. He bought me some goodies from Walmart that mom wasn't too happy about because she says they are junk food. I don't know, they tasted pretty good to me! She likes for me to have healthy, organic treats that we get from Barkbox every month. (They do have mighty good stuff!!)

Note from Mom: I left on Thursday morning very early and then came home Saturday evening so it was a pretty short trip. Brad bought him some of those nasty jerky type chew strips that are nothing but by-products and terribly unhealthy. I am sure Opie thought they were great. It was like giving a kid a bunch of candy at one time and calling it health food, but he felt sorry for him because he wasn't eating and he was moping around after the first day when he realized I wasn't coming home that day. I know Brad takes good care of him but no one can take care of the baby like the mom, right?

 

Home Alone Again

Well, my mom has gone back to school (work) and I am home alone all day. She comes home from 11 - 12 but she leaves at 7 a.m. and doesn't come home until 3:30. I really don't mind - I get to stay in her recliner and stretch out and sleep all day. 

Note from Mom: I realized that he has not been limping the past 5 or 6 weeks and I have decided it must be because I have been home and he is more mobile. He goes up and down the stairs with me a lot. When I work he does sleep all day and he stays pretty much in my recliner. I am thinking that because he sleeps and lays around that he is "stove up" more and that is why he limps. So - I am just going to have to make sure he is active every evening. It is just too hot right now for walks. Being a bulldog, he can't take the heat for very long. 

Today was my first full day back to work - I will miss being home all day with him. I want to be a stay at home dog mom!

Houston Dog Show

My mom and dad went to the Houston Dog Show last week and they didn't take me! Mom says that I would be overwhelmed with all the people and dogs and smells and stuff, but I think I would have been just fine. Maybe next year.

Anyway, when they got home I sniffed them all over and oh boy! they smelled like heaven to me. I could smell dozens of other dogs of all kinds. I really wasn't too happy with them petting and talking to other dogs, but they sure did smell good!

Then they brought out my surprises. Of course they bought me stuff. I got a new Jolly Ball! This one has a handle on it and I can just grab it up and toss it all over.

I got 3 HUGE treats! A femur, knee cap and some tendons, too. That made it all worth them seeing the other dogs. 

Note from Mom: I just love the Houston Dog Show. Every year we talk about letting Opie go - but we always back out. Then we regret not taking him, so we buy him a bunch of stuff to make up for it. LOL

Singing Tomorrow

I like to sing. Bet you didn't know that. I do and I have some songs of choice that I really like.

Note from Mom:
There are a couple of commercials that Opie watches that he howls as loud as he can and he sounds so pitiful! He also howls when Young & Restless comes on and they play Nadia's Theme.

I don't know what it is about this one commercial, tho. I can't figure it out. It is a commercial about preventing heart attacks and they are singing "Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I'll Love Ya, Tomorrow" and he will watch it and throw his head back with a horrible howl! I had to video it and I put it on Facebook, of course. Maybe  he is just singing.

Then there is the commercial about abused animals. I understand his howling at the sad, abused dogs.  That one makes me want to howl. But the heart attack commercial?

Maybe it is the sad sound to the songs. I don't believe it is hurting his ears or even irritating him. Music is pretty much in the background of everything on TV. We watch Dancing With The Stars - never has howled. He never howled during American Idol or The Voice. 

Opie singing to Tomorrow

Company Gone!

We had a great time! My grandma and niece were here for 2 weeks! Lilly and I played frisbee. I did all my tricks for Brooklyn. 
Here are some pics of my and Lilly. she is 9 years old. I miss her already.

Note from Mom: He is so good with kids. He really loves them. I am always watchful when ever he is around kids, but he has always been perfectly fine.