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April 8, 2006
This dog ain't no dummy
Given Maeve’s illness I’ve experienced an odyssey of finding foods that are cancer defeating yet temptingly yummy. For about two months she ate a (very expensive) high protein food. Then she started refusing it. So I went through several other options until I returned to her old high end (but not cancer defeating) dog kibble.
One of the symptoms of liver damage is poor appetite. Maeve never has a poor appetite, she’s always happy to eat my socks for example, even on a full stomach. But when you find out your dog is sick then the stakes become higher around food.
Last night we went to dog happy hour (dogs play, humans get happy) and then to our friend’s house for dinner. Maeve is usually a handful at these type of events since she can easily place her head on a dinner table and is happy to help herself to whatever is being served. And if the counter tops in the kitchen are just a little bit higher, why it’s just no problem to stand up and serve herself (this is called counter-surfing in the world of Rhodesian Ridgebacks). Maeve is a pro.
She had refused to eat her regular dog food before going to happy hour. After the dinner party we returned home and with some coaxing, finally ate her food. Revealing that her appetite is fine, she just would prefer the chicken, asparagus, potatoes, and salad that the humans were eating.
This morning she was presented with the usual dog food offerings. She turned her nose up at it. I always have a twinge of worry, is this it? Is she not feeling well and that’s why she won’t eat it? After two hours of her hounding me about my food and then sulking on the couch (her not me) I finally broke down and gave her one of the new dog cookies I bought yesterday. Of course, that is what she wanted.
My goal was to give her a cookie after she ate her food so that she would learn that eating her food would lead to the reward.
I put a few cookies in with her food. She ate the cookies and then ate her food.
She won.
And then went into the living room and did a little victory dance.
I kid you not.
Posted by maeve921 at April 8, 2006 11:59 AM
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