The former canine basketball and American football star now takes on the world of football, allowing the golden retriever to score on the soccer pitch.

Meanwhile, his young buddy Josh (Kevin Zegers) is this time entwined in a winsome romance, an affair that's reflected in Bud's own courtship.

There's plenty going on here but it varies from the sometimes amusing to the often rather tedious. Nippers might raise a small bark of delight.