Sparky still hasn’t lost his wolfy roots. The neighbor’s dog, maybe a 1000 ft away, was barking, so Sparky had to set him straight. He was howling like a bad-ass.
It was good to see because Sparky hasn’t said much of anything in the three weeks I’ve had him. I was wondering if he had some kind of operation. When I brushed him or rubbed his belly, he’d occasionally make a low, contented sound, almost like purring. I sure wasn’t going to try to get him to bark.
Ten Natural Steps to Training the Family Dog by Matthew P. Duffy (2009)
In preparation for having a dog, I’ve been reading up on how to train them. I don’t want to just go by blog posts, webpages or casual suggestions. A book would explain the whole thing, and provide a coherent approach. Ten Natural Steps to Training the Family Dog by Matthew P. Duffy is the book I like the most. The other books assume that the dog will eventually be going to shows or be a fancy dog.
I am a little intrigued by the field manual, FM 7-40 Scout Dog Training and Employment (1973), but that’s beyond Sparky’s scope.
Crate training has been easy. I barricaded the solarium to keep Sparky in the tiled area. His crate is the only soft and cozy area available to him. He likes hanging out in his crate, and does it often.
House training has also been pretty smooth. When we go on walks, Sparky loves peeing on everything and is fond of shitting on stumps. As long as we go on sufficient walks, he is comfortable. We haven’t developed a good signalling process for him to tell me that he is in urgent need.
The kennel cough was irritating for him, because he’d have a deep cough occasionally. It cleared up in three days or so.
Sparky lasted about four days with the cone of shame. I took it off whenever we were together, and he wasn’t aggressive about the stitches.
Giving him his antibiotic pill has been a challenge. Sparky no longer trusts peanut butter. I tried inserting the pill into a little piece of dog treat or hot dog. He takes it, but with lip smacking and chop licking, the pill usually falls out of his mouth. I considered waterboarding to make him swallow it, but that seemed like it might harm our trusting relationship.
Beagles have a good appetite, and Sparky’s came back after a few days. My current method is to mix about a teaspoon of nacho cheese dip into is dog food. That leaves everything moist and sticky. I cut the pill in half, and mix it in. That’s worked so far, but once, he ate everything except a half-pill. I’m hoping that he can’t do that reliably.
Young Master Tim mentioned that on Facebook, he read someone in his neighborhood had a litter of beagle puppies. I should have checked that out, but didn’t.
My sister Joanne sent me a link to an article saying that 42 Beagles were rescued from Lakewood House.
That should have motivated me. My sister Susie called to tell me that all the beagles were moved to the animal shelter in Elyria.
On the Friday before MLK Day, I went over to take a look. I wanted all of them. Two puppies were howling for fun, so they were cute. Dogs laying on their cots seemed sanguine and pleasant. Dogs wagging their tails were ready to go. The process for adopting wasn’t onerous or expensive. I couldn’t decide.
On the Tuesday after, I went over with Susie to try to decide. I spent the weekend getting a crate, food, and whatever other dog accoutrements anyone could recommend.
Most of the beagles had been adopted out. The dogs left looked used up.
We talked to Greg, the manager of the Friendship Animal Protective League, and in passing, he mentioned that a beagle had come in, but wasn’t ready to be adopted yet.
He was a 9 year old male named Sammy.
You can’t tell much about a dog at the pound. They’ve been through a lot and are in jail. It’s a nice place, like white collar prison, but still. Sammy was friendly and active, with no sign of aggression or temper.
Sammy at adoption
A nine year-old dog seemed like a good idea. I can live through anything for five or six years, and the more I read about puppies, the more it seemed like too much for my first dog. I like the idea that I got this dog before he was up for grabs. Since I don’t know what I’m doing, it’s good to know that nobody else met him and rejected him.
After going through about a couple of dozen iterations on a name, I settled on Sparky.
Sparky comes home on January 18, 2023
Susie and I went back the next day to pick up Sparky. He had been neutered the day before, so he had to wear the cone of shame. I was told that he had kennel cough, and that would clear up in a week or so. His blood test showed that he had Lyme disease. In dogs, that is a bacterial infection that may not do anything for a year or so, but can attack the joints and kidneys. They gave me an antibiotic, Doxycycline, that Sparky has to take twice per day for a month.
We got him home and settled pretty easily. For everything he’s got going on, he remains good natured and friendly.
Puppy juggling in 1981 (that’s what the back of the photo said, but I’d guess 1975)
I love dogs. Have you ever noticed that dogs always look good in photos? It’s like the opposite of soccer. Soccer players in a game, even if they are doing something amazing, look like dorks. Nobody knows why.
We always had dogs growing up, but it’s not like we had them. Our dogs lived with us, but they had their own friends and activities. Poncho was a great dog, but we never trained him or walked him. He lived outside, and we’d hang out. Sometimes he’d come with us if he wanted. He didn’t know any commands, he just had a limited vocabulary.
Poncho in 1978 or so.
Dog breeds have a nature, so that had to be compatible. The dog had to be not too big to handle or so small that it didn’t look like a dog.
Porthos from Star Trek: Enterprise
Having recently watched Star Trek: Enterprise a beagle seemed like a good breed.
Back in the day, we didn’t need to get dogs. Having outside dogs was typical, and nobody spayed or neutered anything, or even took their dogs to veterinarians. Well, people did to get elderly pets put to sleep, but usually the dogs would get hit by cars before that was an issue. I’m not saying it was good, but it was fun having enough puppies around that I could practice juggling.
I don’t even know how regular people get dogs.
© 2025 Big Stick Physics
Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑