“A man’s got to know his limitations.”
Sparky tells me that all the time. He spends too much time watching Dirty Harry movies, but I kind of agree with him. In that spirit, he can do what he wants as long as he stays within certain guidelines. Mostly, don’t wander off and don’t poop in the house.
Today, he decided was going in the creek. He goes in the upstream side all the time, but that’s only a couple of feet deep. The downstream side is much deeper.
Sparky is licking his chops as he eagerly waits for me to finish making his breakfast.
He gets half of a hard-boiled egg, and a third of a cup of buffalo. That’s what he calls it. He gets Blue Buffalo Chicken Blend dog food for old people, but it’s got a wolf on the bag, so he could probably eat a buffalo if he wanted.
That’s a bad sign.
Stacked wood attracts mice and mice attract Sparky. He likes to sniff behind the racks. When I saw the leash sticking out of one side of the rack and Sparky sticking out of the other side, I knew something happened.
Somehow Sparky slipped out of his Inspector Gadget jacket.
Sparky came back, so I let him run around naked for a little while. With the snow and cold, there wasn’t much danger that he would go on walkabout.
If you thought there is no way that Señor Piglet is going to get his fat ass under the fence, you’d be wrong.
It’s always fun to watch dogs in snow deeper than their bellies. Sparky does that leaping run, so he doesn’t have to bulldoze his way through the snow. I can’t tell if he enjoys it, or is just getting on with all the things he has to investigate and urinate on.
There are times when Sparky just isn’t into it. Maybe he’s been lounging by the fire, but has to be taken out before I leave the house. Or maybe I’m just putting this on Sparky, and I’m the guy who doesn’t like trudging through the snow. Either way, after plowing the driveway, I plowed a path through the yard, orchard, woods and church parking lot.
The powdery snow plows easily since it hasn’t melted and it’s supposed to snow for a few more days. I did the entire loop.
It wasn’t difficult, but when finished, it seemed like I might be turning into one of those people who pampers their dog.
But seriously, look at this mutt. He’s just too cute.
Cleaning up a bit, the intent was to toss Mr. Moose into Sparky’s crate. It landed on top, and he immediately went to retrieve it. Since Sparky started working from the inside, I wanted to see if he’d try from the outside when he got stuck.
If Mr. Moose is thrown under the couch, Sparky will go behind the couch if he can’t reach it from the front. I’ve seen him switch strategies when necessary, but the crate was too much. I had to coax him out of the crate and on to the trunk.
I am impressed with his diligence. Most of the video is at double speed, and Sparky was working on it for a little while before I started recording. He was trying to get Mr. Moose for almost 3 minutes, and never came over to have me bail him out.
I thought this would be harder for Sparky.
I brought Sparky home just short of 2 years ago. It was a mild winter, but I was concerned that he’d be too cold when we went on walks. He’s got that short, seal fur, but didn’t have the fat layer. I got him the Carhartt jacket.
Now that I know Sparky, it’s clear that even in the snow, he has a lot of dog stuff to work on. When we are out, Sparky stuffs his snout into the snow like this all the time.
I also know that if Sparky gets cold, he will head for the house. I could lead him on a longer walk, but he would not be reluctant to give his opinion.
After a week of use, Sparky appreciates his heating pad Christmas present. It’s on low, and keeps the back half of his bed warm. It got down to 20o F last night and we’ve been burning consistently. The bedroom was in the low 60’s.
If Sparky was cold, he’d curl up like a pill bug. If he were too warm, he’d be in the front of the crate. FYI, that’s why only a part of the bed should be heated. His eyes are open, and he stayed in bed for another hour.
My guess is that Sparky stays in bed so I have time to stoke the stove. When he did shamble out of bed and had gone out for a piss, he settled in for a comfy morning.
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