Category: Sparky (Page 15 of 18)

When I was at the gym yesterday, one of the TV’s kept playing those ASPCA commercials.  I was telling Sparky about how sad those dogs looked in the commercial.

Sparky thought that was pretty funny.  He thinks that I’m a chump and those dogs are lying their asses off.

I called bullshit on him, so Sparky showed me.

It was uncanny.  He didn’t pull out his dentures, I was watching.  Then he holds his head a certain way so his eyes look bereft of hope and his neck looks like he’s starving. 

Sparky is the dog version of Lon Chaney Jr.

Sparky enjoys novel experiences.  Well, I think he does, who knows?  He still runs like mad when we play “Chase the Moose” with the Maxx.  For all I know, he thinks Mr. Moose is being kidnapped.  With Winter coming, we need an alternative.  In snow, the Maxx breaks traction, spins around and is no challenge.  Sparky grabs Mr. Moose, and drags the RC car back to the deck.  On wet grass, we are evenly matched.

I found a 25% off Black Friday deal for an Axial Deadbolt.  It’s a 1/24th scale RC rock crawler.  For $100, it’s pretty nice for a house car.  The game is to hector Sparky as he tries to evade it.  Following the car around the house was awkward, so I put a camera on the Deadbolt and drove it FPV.

Sparky isn’t afraid of the Deadbolt, but doesn’t like when it comes toward him.  Since Sparky is much faster, I have to use strategy to try to heard him into a corner.

Sparky obviously knows something is up when he saw the camera.  On my first attempt, the Deadbolt hit the camera, so I moved into the solarium.

Most of the time, Sparky’s tail is wagging, so he is entertained.  When his tail is horizontal and still, he is on alert.  When he looks at me or comes over, he is telling me that he is in over his head.

Like a magician, Sparky never reveals how he does his tricks.

The fire had burned down in the wood stove, so this morning it was 65^o .  I put a sweater on him until the fire could be stoked back up.  By the time I’d taken my shower, he was out of it. 

Getting him into the sweater was like stuffing a sausage, I can’t imagine how he managed to take it off.

Joanne got Sparky some gifts for Thanksgiving.  Here’s Sparky wearing the sweater he needed when we were camping in Fargo.

When we go on car rides, it’s pretty clear that Sparky wants to drive.  He knows that I’ve folded on most of the rules, so will probably let him drive eventually.  Sparky figures if I can do it, driving can’t be that difficult.

Sparky looks like an attentive driver, but now he understands that driving is harder than it looks.  He couldn’t even stand like this without me holding up his butt.  Sparky doesn’t know anything about the gas and brake pedals.

I put the camera on the shed to get a better video of Sparky’s Moose Run.

Sparky needs exercise and enjoys novel experiences.  I am a problem solver and have a bunch of RC cars.  I tethered Mr. Moose to the back of a Traxxas Maxx.   Better to turn the sound down.  The audio track is on, but just RC noise.

 

 

Sparky knows the game.  He is getting Mr. Moose back whether he runs or not, but he loves the chase.  A dog of his age shouldn’t over do it, so we keep the sessions short.  Sparky would run til he drops.

I am rethinking the camera position.  Onboard the Maxx may not be the best place.

While the weather holds, Sparky thought we should go for a car ride to the Towpath.

Sparky looks all Walden Pond, but his main interest is pissing on as many things as he can find.

He does like bushwhacking because it improves his odds of finding something stinky.

Sparky has no fear of heights and likes to go right up to the edge.

Somebody across the road has a dog and some chickens, so Sparky is on high alert.

An hour before this picture, Sparky wasn’t so optimistic.

Sparky shows his affection for Mr. Moose by trying to eviscerate him.  Last Monday, he succeeded.  Mr. Moose’s chest was torn open and his squeaker was laid out like one of those Wes Craven movies.  When Sparky was tethered outside, taking a shit, I tossed out the carcass.  

I’d seen this coming, so had a Mr. Raccoon stashed away.  I went with the raccoon because Sparky loved a raccoon tail he’d found and Mr. Raccoon isn’t the same color as all of the fallen leaves in the backyard. 

For my sake, Sparky tried to play with Mr. Raccoon, but it was half-hearted.  We just went camping, and on the trip, Sparky was off his game.  Sure, he pissed on all the trees at East Harbor, but hanging out around the campground seemed to irritate him.  In the camper, his lassitude was uncharacteristic.

When we got home, Sparky was still moody.  He’s a stoic fella, so he’d come around, but it got me thinking.  I fished Mr. Moose out of the trash.  He was covered in coffee grounds and that slimy stuff from banana peels, but that just makes him more attractive to Sparky.  Being a human, I’m not living with a garbage moose and I still needed to sew him up.

While I was sewing up Mr. Moose, Sparky couldn’t hide his concern and anxiety.  It might have been frustrated enthusiasm, I don’t know.  I had to stitch him up by hand, and that material is spun mithril or something tougher.  Sparky was trying to help by attempting to jump into my lap or snatch Mr. Moose while I was trying to force the needle through the fabric.

Eventually, he just laid down to wait it out.  It got pretty tense.

Here’s Sparky getting reintroduced to Mr. Moose.

Dogs have thinking brains.  They aren’t wired up like ours, but they are wired up.  Sparky knew that Mr. Moose was gone.  He’d mourn Mr. Moose for a while, but he’d get through it.  He wasn’t going to be fooled by a stupid raccoon.

It’s good to see him smiling again.

My apple trees really came through this year.  As I was picking them, Sparky decided to get in on the action.  He likes the idea of apples, but doesn’t actually eat them.

Most of the apples will go to feeding the deer, but some looked so good, I’m making apple butter.