Sparky likes scrounging for food, so we have a new enrichment activity. A box was filled with a bunch of balls, then little chunks of Blue Buffalo Nudges were thrown in. The treats look like bits of Salisbury steak. Sparky would have stayed at it all day if I hadn’t called him off.
It breaks my heart to see the look of disappointment on Sparky’s face. None of the boots stayed on, but he had unrealistic expectations.
Now that the temperature is in the 20’s, Sparky is back to exploring the frozen gulch.
When it’s this cold, Sparky’s feet get cold, but he doesn’t want to look like a French whore or poodle. He asked me to come up with an innovative solution. Sparky thought I was kidding about having him wear my ankle socks.
It was -11o F this morning. We don’t do wind chill in this house, it’s really that frigid. Sparky looks like a haggis stuffed into a tube sock. When it’s this cold, he doesn’t care what he looks like. Cold feet are the biggest issue, so Sparky wants me to invent dog shoes for him.
Sparky has adapted to our cryogenic winter. It was -2o F when we went out for night recon at about 11 pm yesterday. Earlier in the day, after plowing the driveway, I also plowed the loop through the back yard, down the hill, up the hill, through the orchard, woods, parking lot and poor house, then back to the deck. Sparky didn’t care. He walked a hundred feet, crapped on the path and waited for instructions.
Everything is a trade off.
Sparky likes car rides, but is having a problem with stairs. I like Sparky, but have a problem cutting his nails in the house. We usually trim his claws on the deck, but that’s covered with snow.
Tomorrow is the second anniversary of Sparky’s liberation from the orphanage. I shot this short video today of Sparky being the best dog.
For the third day in a row, Sparky has gone down into the creek to sniff around and take a dump. He has learned to snow slide down the bank.
“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.
© 2026 Big Stick Physics
Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑