First attempt at reversal processing B&W paper....

[Existing Light]

Totally understandable and fair enough. If I'd read the original post as "I think it's cool to play around with this unusual process" I'd have never suggested a paper negative or film internegative. I was reading it as, "what's the best way to get a good print from this slide of my dearly departed dog?" That might well be a different question and a different problem.

No worries

When I get the reversal process down for paper, I'll give a paper neg a shot and see which one turns out better, if there's really much of a difference in the final print at all.

Existing,
keep us updated on your progress please.

I'll do my best

[2F/2F]

Chalk me up as one more vote for the internegative route. You can use litho film in a highly diluted film developer if you are on a budget. You can go straight to the size of film that you want the print to be, and then contact print the neg. Or you can go to an intermediate size, such as 4x5. I would go with the latter route in most cases, as contact printing is more difficult than enlarging IME.