Sparky was here

I can't believe I've had Sparky this long and have never taken him hiking. He loved every moment of it and was surprisingly good on the leash. He has the best natural "heel" I've ever seen on a dog. He trots along next to me, keeping his head in contact with my hand or thigh. That may change once he develops more confidence on the trail. Not that Sparky is a dog that lacks confidence. We met one couple with a boxer and he was bound and determined to get to him. Sparky tends to kick butt and ask questions later, so I kept them apart. Sparky was wearing a harness, but I think I'll put a pinch collar on him in the future so I can attach a short leash quickly when I need better control. We need to work on his social skills. He's generally fine with other dogs here at home after he's beaten them up one time and everyone knows who's boss.

Mostly today's hike was about marking territory. He pissed on everything he could and when he started running low on urine he did more of the kicking with his rear legs after a short piss, spreading leaves and forest debris, which dogs often do to spread their scent over a bigger area.

He was good with people we met and I let one man pet him as he passed by with his wife. I could see the look of envy in the guy's eyes. I'm guessing they have a little yap dog, or a cat, at home.

I love this dog and haven't made much of any effort yet to find him a home. He's a mixed breed, but has a pure rottie personality. He loves tactile attention and craves human contact as much or more than food.

I am without a foster shepherd at the moment and my plan is to work on placing my four non-shepherd fosters, Sparky, Brady, Teddy, and Copper.

My ambitious springtime plan is to do a pretty long hike with Sparky or another dog in the morning and a shorter walk with Emmylou in the afternoon so she will still get out to see her dogpark friends.