I thought this would be harder for Sparky.
Category: Sparky (Page 41 of 55)
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.
Dogs succeed while chimps fail at following finger pointing
Ever since we watched Inside the Mind of a Dog, Sparky has been telling everyone that he’s smarter than a monkey because they said that dogs understand human pointing, and primates don’t.
There are times when I suspect that Sparky is stretching the truth. To start the new year off right, I challenged Sparky to demonstrate that he understands human pointing. It took some training, but he is getting the idea.
We just watched Lord of the Rings, and Sparky thought Gollum made a good case for eating raw fish and rabbits. Sparky wanted to post a picture as Sh-beagle.
Sparky wants me to feel better, so thinks I should lick his paw a bunch of times. He says that usually helps him.
We tried Search and Rescue again today, and it didn’t go the way I expected.
To foster Sparky’s intellectual development, we started a new training exercise. It’s really just hide-and-seek, but Sparky likes it better if we call it search-and-rescue. He wants me to get him an orange vest that says, “RESCUE DOG”. I reminded him that dogs can’t see the color orange, but he doesn’t care.
This time, I thought Sparky’s argument was really weak, and I had some complaints of my own.