[Dailydrool] Hungry hounds

[Jane Hay]

Just about every hound I've ever seen thinks they're hungry ALL of the
time. They'll counter cruise and snag anything that's available and still
act like they're starving! I do think that there is too big a span of time
from 5 AM to 9:30 at night for your dog to go between meals. I would try
and shorten the length of time between meals by a good bit but I would not
be giving him people food in between meals. People food is
not nutritionally sound for our dogs (unless you're making your own dog
food and do the research so you get all the ingredients in it specifically
for dogs) and it just makes them fat. One of the biggest problems our
hounds have is becoming overweight and ending up with terrible joint
problems or horrific back problems. Some of that can't be avoided in a lot
of hounds just because they are technically dwarfs who have all the
orthopedic issues that a human dwarf can have. However, you don't want to
let your hound become overweight so stop sharing your own meals with him.
You can give baby carrots as treats and add low sodium green beans to his
kibble if he acts like he needs more food. My Houndettes get 2/3 cup of
grain free kibble twice a day and a couple get 1/4 cup of green beans added
to each meal because they think they're starving without it. The Houndettes
are not small hounds either. All of them except Shadow are over 60 pounds
and do just fine on that amount of kibble each day. We don't give them
table scraps but I do add a little yogurt to their food for their ears and
they get baby carrots in the morning for their anal glands. I also give
them a couple of cookies midday and before bed but that's about all the
treats they get.  What are you doing with your dog between 5 AM and 9 PM?
If you have someone coming by to let him out, have them give him a couple
of nutritious treats like a Kong with baby carrots and frozen yogurt or a
dehydrated sweet potato to chew on. Jake is probably younger than my girls
are so I wouldn't reduce the amount of food you're giving him but maybe you
could split his two cups of food up into three meals a day so there isn't
such a long span of time between the two meals.

You also have to remember that he's a basset hound and counter cruising and
hounds seem to go hand in hand so it's your responsibility to keep things
that you don't want him to have up and off the counters. His nose dictates
everything he does so he's going to score stuff off the counter no matter
what you do. It's not a training thing. It's just a compulsion for a basset
hound to get to whatever smells good to them. Our old girl, Jersey, has
been told for years and years not to get stuff off the counters and she
still levitates and scores anything that we're foolish enough to leave
within her reach. Honestly, that's my fault when it happens. She's just
doing what her nose tells her to do!

The Houndettes are slinging heart healing and get well drool to all in need.

Jane & the Houndettes
Jersey, Suzy & Ginger (the old woman should worry about her own weight a
little more!)
Shadow (I stay slim and trim because I don't like to eat!)
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