I can hardly believe we've had Olive for an entire year! The time has really flown by, and we can't even remember what life was like without this little dog. We officially adopted her on January 22nd, 2014, I did an update on how she was doing shortly after, and the last time I blogged about her was for her 2nd birthday (yes, we threw her a party). In case you didn't remember, she came to us very afraid of pretty much everything (people, noises, cars, etc.), and today she's a totally different dog.
I'd say Olive is still pretty timid, but she has come so far. We realized that being around other dogs is the one big thing that will make her feel confident, so we try and have play time with cousin Hank, and we also drop her off for doggy play days at Taurus. It was really hard to leave her for the first time... I almost cried to be honest. Totally ridiculous, what can I say. But, now that I see how much she loves it, and how confident she feels afterwards, I'm happy to take her there.
One thing I've noticed from looking through the pictures I've taken of her is that she nearly always has a stuffed toy in her mouth. If it's not in her mouth, it's likely under her head, because she'll rarely sleep without a pillow, which I think is hysterical.
 |
| Will you be my Valentine? |
Olive's typical day involves short walks, a couple rounds of fetch, naps, lots of pets, more naps, some kibble, tail wags, and... some more naps.
We still really haven't trained her to do any commands (does that make us bad parents?), but she already knew so much as far as proper behavior when we got her that we didn't feel much need. This girl LOVES to play fetch and will go and go until her legs are shaking! As soon as you pick up the ball, she takes off running assuming you'll throw it for her, then she brings it back and drops it at your feet. The perfect little fetcher.
She's a complete hoarder and likes to keep her favorite stuffies close-by.
She pretty much hates having her picture taken, which is weird since I have no idea how she'd know that that's what I'm doing. Catching her looking at me is a rare occasion... usually I just get this "I'm going to look away until you stop" face.
Sometimes, when she's feeling extra brave, she'll venture off of her regular couch cushion and come over and share the blanket with me.
This is her "I refuse to continue playing with this stuffie until you put the camera down and look away" face.
John is greeted every night at this spot on the couch. Her tail has to work overtime to wag because the cushion gets in the way, and then she builds up lots of static electricity. Hah!
As it turns out, Olive really likes cats, but doesn't seem to understand that they're not dogs. She'll almost pounce on them, trying to say she wants to play, and then they'll get spooked and run off. The one exception to that is this cat, who we call El Gato Loco, because he's just crazy enough to stick around and see what Olive will do to him. Usually, after they greet each other, El Gato Loco will lie down and roll around on his back while Olive gives him a good sniff.
Possibly my favorite picture of Olive ever was during her first bath. She looks like a pathetic little puppy. She's good at putting on these sad eyes when she's not actually very sad. When I posted this to Instagram, I included "#thatsnotmyarm" which a lot of people thought was funny. Turns out, this is a pretty popular hashtag. Check it out.
Woof.
She's also a great passenger. She loves to get in the car and go to my dad's or my in-laws' house. You can barely see that she has a little matching leash that anchors her to the back seat. She can just barely get her paws on the center console, but can't go any farther.
What kind of dog would she be if she didn't have a healthy love of de-stuffing her stuffies?
Because she has such long fur when she's not shaved, we've learned we have to trim underneath her paws to avoid sticker burr insanity.
"Thanks for giving me Carl the Crawfish, Aunt Steph!" (yes, I oftentimes speak for Olive)
The first time we really shaved her down for the summer, I was completely shocked at how small she was under all that fur!
John rolls around on the floor with her like he's a dog. Everrrry now and then, when she's lucky, he'll crawl. Bahaha
Fetch!
Brave girl sitting on the other side of the couch.
See? Such a good little passenger!
#hoarding
Hi Cousin Hank!
"Mommm, enough pictures already."
Gosh we love her!
Oh, and when a stuffie isn't around to use as a pillow, she'll make due with a metal lamp base.
The rescue group that we got Olive from had a reunion, and would you believe that Olive's daughter was there? It's hard to imagine, but this is them seeing each other for the first time in about a year. Bailey is bigger, and clearly blonder, but that's Olive's baby none the less!
At that same reunion, there was a sweet lady who literally started crying when she realized who Olive was. Initially, she didn't recognize her since she was behaving so confidently! That completely made my day. Heck, it made my week!
Hys.terical.
It's true that a picture is worth a thousand words. Here we have Cousin Hank, totally relaxed and rolling around hardly paying attention, and we have Olive, slightly paralyzed and not knowing where to look to avoid me. Ha!
I've said it before and I'll say it again: if this is how much I love my dog, it's pretty hard to imagine how much I'd love a little human! Disclaimer: no need to worry about that for a loooong time.
