Ken Manning and his dog Sparky love to walk through Lincoln Park even though nearly every other dog in the park is something to be barked at. Sparky is a 'Teenager who does what he wants' Manning explained.
Ken Manning got his dog Sparky who is, "supposed to be a Border Collie and Lab but we think he's really part Boxer," he said. Sparky is 18 months old and they got him from P.A.W.S in Lynnwood. His wife Ann looked him up online. She and their kids went out to take a look at Sparky and called Ken. "They said get up here because they have to meet the whole family."
P.A.W.S. named him Sparky because they did not know his name, he was a stray they had found in Mountlake Terrace.
Manning describes Sparky as "A roughousing dog. He looks like he's attacking another dog but he's just playing."
Sparky is very fond of fetching, really anything from tennis balls to rope toys but "he's still learning to bring it back."
They feed him a regular dry dog food diet and for treats Sparky, "loves those edible bones and his reward are little finger nail size bones."
Sparky is very conscious of other dogs, and vocal about it with a loud bark, but not really hostile. That comes in handy for the Mannings since Sparky is also a pretty good guard dog. He's had obedience training from Petco but it only helped a little.
"Basically he's a teenager, "said Manning," and he does what he wants. He only does anything that benefits him."
Sparky's best friend is a dog named Bogie, a Labradoodle. They played together all summer and, "You'd think they were going to kill each other but they were just playing." Sparky is an athletic dog, a pretty good swimmer and chaser of squirrels but, "He's learning not to chase our cat," Manning said.
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