Sparky
Updated 2/17/11
#10-124 Sparky came to GRR from a family who had purchased him “for the kids,” but the kids weren’t interested, so Sparky ended up lonely and bored in the backyard. Luckily, the owners surrendered him to GRR, and now he is living the life of a Golden’s dreams!
Well, I've been with my new forever family now for a little more than one month, and I KNOW they really love me!! I overheard them talking the other day about how perfectly I have fit in, and how they feel like I've been with them for much longer than only one month. Yay!! The love runs deep already!! We pretty much have our routines all sorted out. My new family has a lot of kids... and I LOVE it! I ride along with Dad every morning when he takes the kids to school. I have to say though, I know I really cry quite a bit when they get out of the car and I don't get to go to school with them. I just want to stay with them SOOOO badly I can't help myself!! But maybe I'll get used to it one day.
My new family has an older daughter who lives in another place with her husband, and so I haven't met them yet. But I can't wait! Then they also have another daughter who is 18 (Becca), so I get to hang out late at night with her and all of her friends. I really like to go walking on the hike and bike trail with her. She walks faster than when I go with Mom and Dad. They also have a boy who is 13 (Davis). He loves to play basketball and I could just watch him for hours. He plays the piano, and I like to help him practice. He's in charge of keeping the backyard cleaned up, and I love that he takes that job seriously! He likes to sleep in, but I think it's pretty important I push his door open and wake him up sometimes on a Saturday morning. Then there's the littlest boy—he's 10 (Dale). I'm in charge of waking him up in the mornings, and he sleeps on the top bunk. I haven't really figured out how to get up there yet, but I will one day... Anyway, Dale is in charge of feeding me. He likes to make me do super easy tricks, and then gives me treats! He has yet to figure out just how smart Goldens can be... all I have to do to make him happy is sit, lay down, cuddle on the floor with him, play tug-of-war, and come when I'm called!
I do have to say, though, sometimes it does get a bit boring when all the kids are doing homework. I try to get in the way as much as possible, but Mom always makes me move. But, when it's not a school night and the boys have a sleepover...WOW!!! That is fun! Wall to wall air matresses and boys sleeping all over them. I get to sleep right in the middle with them. I just move around and lay down wherever I want, and they all think I am really awesome!
I had a blast with all the kids when it snowed. They threw snowballs for me to catch, and then we all went to their cousins' house and I ran around the yard in the snow having fun while all the kids jumped on the trampoline. After that, we came back home and spent hours laying in front of the fireplace together. I must have looked really handsome, because they just couldn't stop petting me! It was very cozy lying all together all day.
Well, my next big fun is going to be on Spring Break. I overheard Dad and Mom talking about going camping, and I GET TO GO WITH THEM!!! I can't wait!! All the kids, the water, the outdoors, aaaaaahhhh...it's going to be a blast! I'll be sure to look extra gorgeous so Mom will remember to take lots of pictures for me to send on to all of you!
OK, bye for now!
love, Sparky
Updated 10/22/10
Well! Two months can make such a difference in a dog. Sparky has blossomed with training! While we were on vacation last month, Sparky went to a “finishing school” to help smooth those rough edges. He’s learned so much – and so have we. I took him to Lowes and Petco & he did very well meeting lots of new people. And animals, too… like ferrets, for instance, who seemed to be as curious about him as he was about them .
He has finally mastered the technique of jumping into the back of our SUV. Woohoo! (We're still working on the side doors. Go figure.) Sparky loves, loves loves the car! To him, it represents one of his most favorite things in life: swimming! He makes Esther Williams look like a rock! He often gets distracted by his leash & dives gracefully underwater to retrieve it, droping the ball he was going after!.
Sparky is a countersurfer extraordinaire!! He took my English muffin out of the toaster yesterday! I was sure I had pushed the toaster back far enough so he couldn't reach it. Wrong! He also ate the remaining muffin which I also thought was back far enough. Wrong again. Later in the week he outdid himself by counter surfing at our outdoor bird feeder (see photos). The fence is 6 feet tall so he's right at the 5-foot level. (No way is our Thanksgiving turkey being left unguarded on our counter!)
As you can see, Sparky is a diamond in the rough—but he’s been polishing his facets as fast as he can. He’ll soon be flawless… well, almost. “Flawless” is a very tough standard, after all, and not nearly as much fun!
Updated 10/03/10
“Sparky” is a great name for this young sparkplug of a “playboy.” His second birthday is October 5th, and that’s usually the year that Golden puppies start to mature into relaxed, easy-going dogs. Sparky is just getting there! He was not well socialized with people and other dogs as a young puppy—but now he loves to play, and he’s also really good at settling down when it’s time to relax and sit at your feet. It just took him some time to learn how.
He’s a fantastic swimmer. He fetches tennis balls when they’re thrown into the water for him, but he doesn’t care if you throw anything at all; he’ll just keep swimming back and forth, biting at his splashes. It looks like he makes splashes just to bite at them. It’s really fun to see.
He has become a great eater. He now devours his full breakfast and supper just like he’s learned from the other two dogs in his foster home. He sometimes whines or hovers nearby when we’re having dinner, but he stops when “threatened” with a spritzer bottle of water. He no longer drags inappropriate items around (except for every dishtowel he can find!), and he is trustworthy enough for us to leave him outside the crate when we leave the house. The pillows, cushions and furniture are all safe with Sparky now.
He still “talks” a lot. When other dogs or people walk in front of the house he growls and barks; and outdoors, his method of greeting is to wag his tail and growl. As you might expect, his “system” can lead to a bit of confusion when he meets other dogs on walks, so we monitor meetings carefully and make sure we have him under control with the lead. When he gets too excited playing with his 3-year-old foster brother, he may try to mount him—but again, he stops when corrected. Sparky isn’t aggressive or unfriendly to other dogs; he just needs practice at “meet and greet” techniques.
Sparky loves his foster family and will fit in nicely with a new family that understands his need to be cuddled, and his continuing need to learn social skills. He’s happy, friendly, and ready!
Updated 9/6/10
Sparky is a character! This long-legged young guy comes to GRR from a well-intentioned family who acquired a cute, cuddly pup for the kids—but as the fluffball grew into a lanky adolescent, they realized their home just didn’t suit a Golden pup. They didn’t have the time or energy for him. Sparky lived in the yard, and when his folks popped out to visit, he got so excited he almost went into orbit. So, as his foster dad says, we got an indication that he would need some remedial education! Of course, first order of business was to bring him inside and make him part of a family—so that, once he realized that he wasn’t going to be living alone any more, he’d actually be able to focus on learning all those good-dog-citizen skills.
His foster dad says: We had to crate him for the first few days, because both of us were away from the house for several hours at a time. But that’s over now, and I’ll be home with him during the day. He doesn’t like to go into the crate, so it’s either drag/push him in, or trick him with a dog biscuit. Fortunately, I learned that he’s susceptible to trickery! His walks so far have been a success. He doesn’t pull too much, but does like to be the “lead dog” on his walks. He loves the idea of going around the neighborhood and “dances” around when the leash is pulled out of the closet.
He started out being a picky eater, but now is consuming dry mixed with canned dog food in normal portions for his size. He usually leaves a little in the bowl, but we pick it up to teach him that he’s got a specific meal time and he can “use it or lose it.”
He had two slight poop accidents in the house, so I’m keeping a close eye on him when he wanders around! With the rain, I put an old sheet at the back door for the dogs to walk across on their way back into the house. They wipe their feet, just by walking on the king-size sheet, and then Sparky tugs a corner and drags it into the living room where he starts ripping it apart. I haven’t let him, but it’s funny to watch him. We keep a towel on the floor under the elevated water dish for the dogs. Sparky keeps dragging it into the living room to rip the towel apart. Also, three times he’s “liberated” the dishtowel from its location draping over the kitchen cabinet door, and dragged it into the living room to tease it with his teeth. Usually I am in the den doing things on the computer or watching “my” shows and don’t see him with these items immediately, so Pam can catch him. He’s already made short work of tearing apart a stuffed turtle we gave him to play with. The stuffing was all over my den, and is now being used to stuff an ottoman we’ve been re-filling. Frankly, it’s funny to know that he is so predictable. If he’s left alone for 5 minutes, some cloth item or soft toy will be in his mouth and in the process of being torn apart in the living room!
Sparky likes to bark at passersby and at dogs that walk by the front of our house when he can see them. He also barks at shadows in the backyard in the evening, and at the sound of the coffee pot going on at 6:20 in the morning in the kitchen. He doesn’t fuss during the night, so I’m thankful for that. He sleeps on the floor in the master bedroom, and is no trouble.
He and Jingles have been playing gently at “bitey-face” and just nice play since Sparky arrived here. That’s good, because Jingles is selective about which foster dogs he’ll play with. Sam, age 14, tolerates him and lets him know when Sam’s available to play a little too. That too is unusual, but Sam seems to like Sparky.
He’s a handsome blond boy, and will be adopted very quickly. I am sure he’ll adapt to being part of a loving family pack in no time at all!
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