Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

Food Fight…Day One Hundred And Thirty Eight

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We’ve had a couple of incidents in our house that revolved around food; trouble is I wasn’t certain until this weekend.

I wasn’t even really sure what happened the first time or who was involved.  I did know that I had two dogs waiting for breakfast in the kitchen and one cat crying in the doorway.  I had my back to them and I heard a growl and a snap and when I turned around Sampson was on the floor, Delilah was in one corner and Bob the cat was in the doorway.  I wasn’t sure if one of the dogs went after the cat or if one of the dogs went after the other one.

The second incident happened Friday between Delilah and Bob.  I was making pizza in the kitchen and Bob was crying in the doorway for food.  I opened the pantry door and Bob thought he might check it; trouble is that is Delilah’s job (at least according to Delilah.)  She told him verbally and with her body language that the pantry was off limits.  Naturally I told her to back it down.

The third and defining incident (at least for me) happened this morning.  We feed our dogs the raw diet, which consists of ground meat at night and turkey necks in the mornings.  Because we buy in bulk, every three weeks or so I have thirty pounds of turkey necks defrosting in my bathtub; today was one of those days.  Of course the door to the bathroom has to be shut tight, otherwise Delilah would be in there eating frozen turkey necks; all thirty pounds.

I went in this morning to package up the defrosted necks and naturally Delilah came with me, but this time so did Bob.  I saw her turn and let him know once again that he was treading on hallowed ground.  That was when the light bulb went off and I realized the dogs are becoming a bit possessive with Bob about their food.  At that moment, Delilah and Bob were banished from the bathroom while I did what I needed to do. 

Now I know what is going on and as the saying goes, “Knowing is half the battle.”

I think I will try feeding Bob first in the morning so he is out of Sampson and Delilah’s space, and if necessary I will implement a “No dogs in the kitchen rule.”  We can’t have the dogs going after the cat.

If I could talk to the animals…(Day One Hundred and Seventeen)

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Vernon had a Health Fair today.  I started out at the table for the Vernon Trails system and had a lovely discussion with the Scott and a lovely older woman.  I expressed my desire for dog friendly trails where my sweeties could run off leash. 🙂

 I was excited to attend the fair as there were a number of workshops I wanted to participate in.  One of these workshops was “Creating a Bridge Between People and Animal” by Deborah Ravenwood.  If you haven’t guessed it; the workshop was about communicating with your animals.  By taking this workshop I discovered that a lot of the communication is really just speaking to your pet and trying to envision communicating your message.

When I got home I had a few chores to take care of before I could leave to take the dogs on their walk.  One of the tasks was cutting up and packaging the dogs raw meat for the week, naturally I had two very interested onlookers.  Sampson is very good (of course) and usually lies somewhere in the kitchen or right outside, Delilah on the other hand likes to be right at my heels; licking the floors and cabinets and waiting for me to drop something.  I decided I would try my new-found communications skills.

I walked Delilah over to the edge of the kitchen and said, “Delilah, I promise if you sit here until I am finished, I will let you lick the spoon.”  Then I walked back to the task at hand.  Five minutes later, she was STILL sitting there!  I was finished and so I let her lick the spoon. OMG!

I tried this again while I was doing dishes.  I brought her to the same spot and said, “Delilah if you sit here until I am done with the dishes, I will give you a cookie.”  She sat for a minute and then moved over into the spot that Sampson usually occupies, but she sat until I was done.  (Except for a quick relapse when I opened the cabinet to throw out the garbage, she rose and I said, “AICK” and she sat back down.)

Delilah sitting and waiting for her cookie.

She sat until I was done and then I gave her three green beans!  Of course when I left the kitchen she went in and licked the floor, cabinets and oven.

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