Happy Birthday Dillon

Today is Dillon's 9th Birthday!! And he is doing awesome. It took him and us quite a while to get him adjusted to this climate and figure out what works and what doesn't. He was and still is a very good boy when we are trying experiments or changing things up on him so that he is more comfortable. Twice a day I feed him a mixture of dog food, vegetables, hard boiled egg, rice, fresh raw yellowfin tuna, (he really likes that) or chicken, along with coconut or olive oil and a vitamin E capsule in the mornings. He gets a complete bath after each beach outing, heartguard and frontline once a month, though we have seen an increase in ticks on him. He no longer suffers from bacterial or yeast infections. I groom his hair and nails. He is very fit and trim and has a beautiful coat. He is still not too keen on loud noises and fireworks, but he has learned to protect himself against annoying and/or aggressive local Mexican dogs. He has finally gotten to where we can let him loose on the beach and not worry about where he will go or who he will bother. Today we let him play on the beach while we surfed for about two hours and he found a group of dogs to run around and play with, but he always comes back to make sure we are still in the water and don't leave him. The tourists here love him and want to pet and pet him and he has no qualms about that. He certainly is not nearly as active as he once was, and enjoys just hanging with the family, preferably on the beach. He does moan and groan each time he has to get up or lay down but I am sure we all will when we are his age.  Now all we need to do is to figure out how to get him to stop shedding.

Dillon checking out the scenery

                                                     

Dillon loves chillin

                                                         

Dillon making sure no one messes with the gear

                                         

Because he likes to use it too!

                                                     

Dillon loves to be in the water with us and make sure the kids are safe when surfing

       

Alex rockin her Jolyn bathing suit while Dillon patiently waits for her to throw the ball

       

Seriously, he sat there for 30 minutes happy as can be letting the kids bury him.  He got up only when another dog came walking down the beach

           

Dillon is a happy, happy, done dog

                               

Heading home in the back of the truck after a long day at the beach