Opie - Charlie/Silas 2016

Opie at 12.5 weeks

Hello to our Snitker Friends!

Where did these past four weeks go? Our “Opie” is 12wk + 3 days today (ok, I sound like a new mom, huh? ) It’s hard to remember days now without our little Opie. However, he isn’t so small – he went from the puppy scale to the “big boy” scale and weighed in at 22.6# thee days ago. It’s probably safe to say he’s 23 # PLUS now.

What do 2 boys + 1 large pile of leaves = ? One very tired puppy!

​Our little guy still does not bark nor does he lick. He is in fact quite laid back…just as his testing indicated the week before we picked him up. He’s perfect – perfect for us. He’s still learning household etiquette and I expect we’ll need a little more time. He has learned that Mom or Dad enter the doorway first –noooo pushing and noooo pulling. Opie has learned important things like where his dad’s snack drawer is in the living room……aka where the peanuts are! Opie can hear that drawer open from another room.

Today was a day of “firsts”: rode in a car not a truck hence he could see outside; walked along the Mississippi River and climbed on the rocks; watched the noisy seagulls; walked through Riverside Park in La Crosse and greeted everybody with a proper SIT; saw other dogs running and barking (and did not pull or bark … yippie); inquisitively watched pigeons; treated to a handful of ground turkey; and lastly a real bath. I wouldn’t say that he disliked it, no squirming or thrashing, but more questioning “what ARE you doing to me? He loves the follow-up brushing and massage.

Training works best INside right now – those dancing leaves are so distracting! As we learn our manners and their meaning, we are trying to introduce ASL (American Sign Language). Opie understands the most important to him: ‘sit’ and ‘eat.’ Our walks are getting longer and more controlled. Opie can heel, but needs gentle reminders. Actually, he does better than our 8.5 yr Shih Tzu. These two have fun together and well…get into their own predicaments. At least there is companionship when discipline is doled out:

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Can we come in yet??? We'll be good!

Aww, bath time wasn't THAT bad...

Opie just before 8 weeks

​In closing, we have gone from 8 wk to 12.5 wk all too fast.

Thank you Rhonda and Stephanie for ALL the work you put forth in these wonderful dogs. We could never have made a better choice for ourselves.

- Opie's Forever Family