One difference between getting a puppy and getting a rescue.
Breakfast is around six thirty here. Dinner is around five, and second dinner is at ten. (We had to switch to three a day because Hudson vomits in the middle of the night if his tummy empties fully. And of course, it's easiest to have them both on the same schedule.) Three times each day meal times go something like this... Rudy is perfectly calm and quiet until I step toward the bowl. A look of surprise creeps onto his face...he cocks his head to the side...he's cautiously optimistic...and then he realizes what is going on, and thinks "Oh my God! Oh my God! Brother, do you see this? I think she's going to feed us! Again! Oh happy day! Wooo hoooo! Food!" And the jumping around and bum wagging overtakes him. Oh joy, oh bliss, we get ANOTHER BOWL OF FOOD. The world is a great place. Who could have seen this coming?! Who knew that we would get fed again!? (He was still happy and grateful that we fed him yesterday....dare he dream that today would include food too?) Every single time I feed him he's very happy, and still a little surprised it's happening again. And after eating I get kisses and a wagging bum. (Oh thank you Mommy. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.)  Hudson watches all Rudy's antics, and sees things very differently: "Kibble again? Seriously. I need more creative peeps....and hey, my bowl looks a little underfilled. The service around here sucks. Would it kill ya to pony up a little steak once in a while?" And there may even be a little stomping and human foot stepping on to register his displeasure. "And to think of all the energy I wasted kicking them and fussing for the last hour...they should have fed me earlier and fed me BETTER!" Of course once he realizes it's all that's on the menu he does eat it up like a little piggy, but Rudy of course has wolfed his down already, and heads straight for Hudson's bowl, further irritating Hudson, who would never growl, snap, or fight for his food, so now I have to save the little ingrate, but I still do not get a thank you.  I really do believe that rescues see things differently. He's our first, and I'd always heard that, but Rudy really is the poster child for gratitude. |
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| Your post made me giggle and get a bit teary eyed too. A daily reminder that we should all be grateful for our bowl of kibble!! |
| Traci, you have such a way with words, I always look forward to hearing about life with Rudy and Hudson. Butch is rather like Rudy in that whatever he gets is great with him, Tripper always was much more picky but since Butch came into his life he's decided it's his all his. We have to separate them just in case Butch might look in Tripper's direction. |
| That's so funny, I definitely see the same trend. Rudie and Rudy have a lot in common... Rudie literally does a happy dance everytime it's time to eat again. He loves kibble. Walter (from a breeder) needs cheese and chicken mixed with his kibble to even look at it. They both eat Fromm too and we switch up the type to keep em interested. |
Oh Tracy, that is a great observation. Rudy is such a great guy, he's certainly bloomed under your care.  |
| Gotta love Rudy for being excited about your 'cooking'. Isn't wonderful to see dogs who appear really happy, makes my heart swell. peg |
| Fun story! Very well told! I actually read it outloud to my friend here. So cute. |
| Awwwww, how cute. I remember those days so well. Fast forward 9 years and mine have all turned into Hudsons! All those years of ChefDaddy roasting chickens for the dogs that were so very thin. Our weekly conversations about dog food were: ChefDaddy: Think they want some rosemary in their chickens this week? Me: What did you give them last week? ChefDaddy: Lemon and Garlic. Me: Yeah, why not. They all seem to rub the rosemary bush all over themselves and they like to sleep under it - so why not? Then ChefDaddy would carefully create the doggy version of the cobb salad for our so very thin rescues. It is the pup from the breeder who wolfs down her kibble and cottage cheese and is so thrilled with it all. She is happy to eat and often will already be in her crate waiting for dinner to arrive. And she eats all her food. Meanwhile the sisters and the little prince scan their food with suspicion. No chicken? No pork? No steak?? Doesn't ChefDaddy work at a steak place?!? No sauce? Cottage cheese doesn't count as cheese! Then they collectively go to ChefDaddy and do their Too Cute Looks and Dance Steps. How about some of those shin bones you had butchered for us... you know, the ones you still use in the demi glace. No? Something else ChefDaddy, please... her cooking sucks! The sad thing is that everyone is now on a restricted diet. Soon, we may be headed to just plain kibble!  And the well bred pup is happy to eat whatever is in her bowl, so I don't think she will mind.So enjoy those days when the rescue is still doing their cute dog thing - before they activate the wise dog thing! |
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| Ha, that's great, I love the image of Rudy doing a food again dance for joy, you should film it. Mady is definitely in the ungrateful princess camp. We will feed her, she will sniff her bowl, then strut over to where we're eating and see what's on OUR menu. And she'll expect to get some. Only after not getting our dinners will she finally mope over to her bowl and eat her food. Mady has an ENORMOUS sense of entitlement. I wonder why that would be?  (points at Kim)Grandma doesn't help either, when we show up there, Grandma is preparing her slices of cheese with peanut butter spread on top...  |
 I dunno.... All of my dogs wolf down whatever's put in front of them and do the happy, happy dance as I'm putting it together, rescue dog and show champions alike. The joke is I could train them with pocket lint. Some dogs are just better eaters than others. Two of my fourlegged garbage disposals stayed with a friend this week while I was in NY and she was amazed by their piggy persistence. Her own rescue dog is very picky and acts like Rudy. Whatcha gonna add to make me eat this??? <yawn> Now, I'm pretty sure in her case it's because she's an only dog. She has a rude awakening every time she stays at my house because I feed everyone in the same area at the same time and it works because everyone knows they have to eat their food NOW or their neighbor will eat it for them, except the visiting rescue who thinks it will just be waiting for her. Not. I let my dogs eat her food the first meal - and, yes, I told her owner I do this  - and then wonder of wonders, her pickiness dissappears before the next meal and she eats right along with the rest of them. So I doubt the distinction comes down to rescue dog vrs dog from a breeder, but more pack dynamics, how spoiled the dog is, and some dogs just plain aren't that into food, just like some people. Not me, mind you. I'm with my dogs - I'm hungry ALL the time Kristine |
| It is funny, Charlie is our snob. He had been abandoned and was terribly underweight when we got him so we did whatever we could to get him to eat. And he would hold out... just knowing mom would add some peanut butter to his kibble or fry an egg to entice him to eat. Ted is our "happy to be alive" guy and he chomps down anything we put in front of him. Charlie has begun to eat much better watching Ted. I think he knows I will pick up the bowls once Ted has gobbled his down and he'll have to wait till the next meal. We've gone from working hard to get Charlie to eat at least once a day to now, he may skip a meal every other week and otherwise is eating quite regularly. Yay! |
| My seven are a mix of rescues, our own we've had since puppies, and fosters...and all just plain eat the food as soon as it's set down. All eat in separate spaces, so they COULD loiter if they chose to, but they all just eat it up steadily until they lick the bowl clean |
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