Big Stick Physics

Category: Sparky (Page 39 of 45)

Sparky tooth and claw

August 14, 2024 / / 0 Comments

 

Bullwinkle used to do that “Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of this hat” routine.  Sparky does that with baby rabbits.  He seems to have them stashed all over the place.

It’s startling when Sparky is doing his sniffing and foraging routine, then comes out of the bush looking like John Belushi in Animal House.

The expression on Sparky’s face was just like this.  I wouldn’t take a picture because I am usually concerned for the prey and the image might make you think less of my little buddy.  To his credit, Sparky does drop his prize with some coaxing, but it won’t be going home.

To be fair, WTF momma rabbits?  Childbirth is harrowing, but the best you can do is have babies behind a woodpile or under a bush?  Sparky can only get about 10 feet into the woods and there are rabbit holes all over the place.  Sparky has free rein over about a half-acre. 

After Sparky imposed order on the chaotic rabbits, they’ve been scarce on that half-acre.  They go on the other side of the highway fence or deeper into the brush.  Have babies there.  Or, cross the creek to the two acres where Sparky doesn’t roam free.

I don’t chastise Sparky for being true to himself.  The first time, he pulled three little bunnies out from behind a woodpile before I caught on.  We got a rotisserie chicken after that to make up for his lost bounty.  Yesterday, I brought him in and gave him a meaty treat, and keep him away from that spot.

Sparky comes when called.

August 11, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Sparky is a rugged individualist, but he knows the score.  In the Coyote post, I mentioned that Sparky gets to free-roam as long as he doesn’t go too far.  I am proud of him for figuring out that if I holler, he has to come back, or I have to get off my bench, chase him down and haul him in.

I am actually amazed that he comes running all the way back.  That might seem like a low bar for dog training, but for an old beagle with his own agenda and a mysterious past, it’s astounding.

The ground is tore up because First Energy contractors were in to clear brush. 

Get a dog with floppy ears.

Sparky meets a coyote.

July 29, 2024 / / 2 Comments

Sparky and I went out for dusk patrol.  Rabbits are more likely to be out at dusk and dawn, and it’s good for Sparky to get some exercise before dinner. 

With his brush anchor, he can’t go too far into the woods and the highway fence keeps him penned in on the other side.  He can free-roam all the way down to the creek, sniffing and pissing as much as he wants.  I keep an eye on him, and when he crosses the land bridge and starts to go up the hill, I call him and he comes back. 

That’s what happened tonight.  After he crossed, a coyote popped out of the woods about 30 feet away.  Ever vigilant, Sparky went after the coyote. 

When Sparky has something to chase, he stops listening.  As he ran up the hill away from me, I ran down the hill.  Thankfully, I’ve been diligent about doing my cardio, but I did a half-hour on the elliptical today, so this didn’t seem fair.  When I crossed the creek and started up the hill, I really wasn’t enjoying myself.  Croks are comfortable and convenient, but completely inappropriate for running up a hill. 

By the time I reached the top, Sparky was gone.  It wasn’t long before he popped out of the woods to tell me that he might need some help with the coyote.  We looked around for a while, and came in.

Sparky is really excited, and is going to be talking about this coyote all night.  As I was typing this, he came by to tell me about it again.

I told him that I was there and saw the coyote, but he doesn’t believe me.

Sparky’s odd training.

July 26, 2024 / / 0 Comments

I’m still baffled by Sparky’s response to the word, “crank”.  Sparky wakes up with crank. 

Sparky’s godmother, Laurie Anderson, made a art movie called Heart of a Dog featuring her dog, Lolabelle.  She says that rat terriers can understand 500 words.  Now, she just has to figure out which words they are.  It’s funny when Laurie Anderson says it.  That’s how I feel with Sparky.  I wonder what other words trigger a response and if the word is actually “crank” or something that sounds similar.

When I say the word, he responds instantly.  He doesn’t get excited or fearful, he just gets alert and walks away.  It’s happened three times.  First, by accident, and the second time, late at night when he was 70% sleeping.  The third time was when I shot the video.  That’s the only time I noticed where he went.  Afterward, he seems disappointed or vexed.  Not at me, just at the situation.  It takes him about 15 minutes to cheer up. 

Schools do a fire drill every month, but only when kids are there.  If there was a fire alarm at school on a professional development day, we’d all evacuate like we should.  If the principal announced that it was a drill to keep us vigilant, we would have the same sullen demeanor that Sparky exhibits.

I’m tempted to experiment with words that sound similar, but Sparky’s response makes me reluctant to put him through that.  I don’t want to be a crank yanker.  Coincidentally, Crank Yankers was a TV show by Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Carolla where they’d prank call people.  Pursuing this with Sparky would feel like a series of mean-spirited pranks.

I’ll never know how or why Sparky triggers on “crank”.  I’m not going to avoid using the 9 four-letter words that end in “ank”, or the 17 five-letter words, but I will be attentive to any response.

Sparky was brainwashed.

July 24, 2024 / / 0 Comments

In movies, people can be brainwashed and  given a post-hypnotic suggestion that causes them to respond in a peculiar way when they hear the trigger word.  Sparky has that.

I discovered the word accidentally.  “Crank” isn’t a word that comes up too often.  I verified it late last night, when Sparky was 70% asleep.  He wasn’t eager to get up to go out, so I said “crank”, and he responded just like this.

Here is the slow motion analysis.

Sparky takes refuge.

July 10, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Sparky’s self-support in evaluating and addressing his own emotional needs, is admirable.

Late last night, a big thunderstorm came through.  It was enough to wake me up and notice the bright lightning.  I heard Sparky licking his chops and smacking his lips, like Moms Mabley.  That’s typical, so I went back to sleep.

This morning, I found him sleeping in my closet.  Sparky has never done this before, and there is no concern that he will want to sleep with my dirty laundry every night.  He is such an adorable little pup, I’m happy that he has a refuge from thunderstorms.

After we had breakfast, I explained that the tower for the high-voltage power lines would act to neutralize much of the electrical potential between the ground and the storm clouds.  If there was a lightning strike, it would hit the 100 ft tower or the cable running along the tops of the towers.  We had little to fear from lightning.

Sparky took umbrage at my suggestion that he was afraid of thunderstorms.  He reminded me that, just yesterday, he had barked ferociously while running down a rabbit.  Nature was no threat to him. 

Sparky said that he was afraid that I might be startled by the thunder, roll out of bed, and squash him flat.  I let him know that if he was calling me fat, we could cut out the fortnightly rotisserie chicken.  Sparky changed the subject by asking if we could invent rotisserie rabbit.

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