| My Wild Dog, Sputnik |
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Sputnik appears to be a Rat Terrier, although his dark brindle markings would disqualify him from registration with either the AKC or UKC. He is about three years old, weighs 14 pounds and stands 15" at the withers. Sputnik was from a shelter in New Jersey and nothing is known about his background. He briefly went by the name of "Jax" until I renamed him. His name comes from our mutual love of balls - mine being 1960s signs such as these and these. Sputnik's ears look very much like the spikey projections of these signs. The actual Russian translation of his name is "fellow traveler" which is also very appropriate.
Nik has boundless energy and is obsessed with balls and frisbees. He will retrieve them for as long as you can throw them. He also loves stuffed toys and squeak toys but guts them instantly. If a toy isn't handy, an empty bottle or a tiny piece of paper are a fine substitute. Nik is also overly fond of chasing/hunting for small critters and the noise/motion of motorcycles. His high-pitched screaming is luckily an outdoor phenomenon. The pitch has actually frightened squirrels right out of trees a few times. I trained Nik for agility but he didn't enjoy competition. He much prefers retrieving thrown or kicked objects. The girls think he's insane and obnoxious. |
| photos taken the day I adopted him, no muscles yet and such an innocent face: | ||||
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| Nik needs foot/leg wraps when the ground is frozen/icy or he comes home with bloody feet | ||||
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| Nik is fast and fearless in the water. He loves scaling the waves and riding them in pursuit of his ballie. | ||||
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| Nik is crazy about lure coursing. | |||
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| Nik loves Dock Diving - a fairly new competitive dog sport. It involves the dog running down a long dock in pursuit of a object thrown by his/her owner. The goal is to have the dog land as far out in the water as possible. The distance is measured to the base of the tail. Nik's longest jump thus far (he's only competed a few times) is 20' 2" which is right up there with the big dogs. There are very few small dogs with enthusiasm for this sport so Nik is a real crowd-pleaser. [photos thanks Scott Voigt] | |||
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| Any size or style of ball or toy is great! Even a piece of paper will do. | |||
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| watching for squirrels in the trees from my apartment | with Gripper | Little America, WY | |
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| with two of his namesakes |
preferred driving position,
feet on the dash face pressed flat to the windshield |
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bopping my Diet Coke bottle to get me to finish so he can have the empty to play with |
sleeping on his nose in the van |
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Nik's Agility titles:
NADAC: O-NJC (Superior Novice Jumpers), NAC (Novice Agility Certificate), O-NCC (Outstanding Novice Chances), S-TN-N (Superior Novice Tunnelers), S-TG-N (Superior Novice Touch N Go) Nik's Dock Diving titles:
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