
It’s not easy being the new guy. Rusty is friendly and eager to please. He gets affection and attention, but with Sparky around, it’s hardly fair.

It’s not easy being the new guy. Rusty is friendly and eager to please. He gets affection and attention, but with Sparky around, it’s hardly fair.

Rusty came out of his nut job well, and is the opposite of everything the vet said to expect.

That’s what I’m getting from Rusty’s expression as I take him for his nut job. He knows this isn’t a joy ride.

Turns out Sparky really likes yelling at Rusty. Since Rusty doesn’t pay attention, he will get to yell at him again.

Nothing bad. I was surprised by this scene when got out of bed.
Sparky is a good dog with agency.1 He can sleep where ever he wants. Sparky has a crate in my bedroom that he goes to when I go to bed. He is often somewhere else in the morning. Today, he was in his crate next to Rusty.

To foster a nurturing learning environment, we started joint training exercises. Both dogs are given the “sit” command or the “crate” command. If a dog gets it right, he gets a treat.
Sparky could play this all day. I gave the “crate” command while Sparky was already in his crate. He went over to Rusty’s crate to make sure he got a treat.
We’ve practiced this about three dozen times, so Rusty has a good chance, and he can just do what Sparky does. Nope. He did get one treat for sitting down, but that was probably an accident.

While at Tractor Supply to get a couple of pet gates, I picked up some balls for Rusty. This might keep him from chewing on Sparky’s toys.
Rusty appreciated it.

When I was lying in bed this morning, the radio said it was -4o F. That might have been in Akron. They didn’t make a big deal about it, so I wondered if schools are still calling off if the windchill is below zero. I doubt it. Parents don’t want to spend that much time with their kids.
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