[Dailydrool] Reggie - gotta eat, boy!

[tcm541 at gmail.com]

James, I agree a lot with Jennifer Martin...a young dog shouldn't be catered
to unless there are allergies or other issues. (I had a dog with chronic
pancreatitis and got a very specific diet even though he was middle aged.)

What I did for Beethoven when he decided not to eat, was warm up the food.
The local Nutro rep suggested that one day when we crossed paths in the
local pet food store. And it worked. About 20 seconds in my microwave and
the food was warm and stinky. The stinky part is what helped: warming the
food increased the aroma, and the scent got him interested.

Now for Dexter, sometimes he's slow to start. Not picky, just bored. So I
have some chicken jerky treats and I cut them into bits and mix them into
the food. Once he starts, he usually finishes. 

I do confess to spoiling the buggers like royalty once they get so old that
they're senile. I've put gravy, spaghetti sauce, chicken noodle soup, all
kinds of things over their kibble to get them to eat. But I figure at 13 or
14 years (or more - Beethoven lived to be 17.5 years old!) it doesn't matter
so much WHAT they eat, but more that they keep eating regularly. They eat,
I'm happy. After all, the slightly odd diet isn't going to be causing any
trouble in the short time they have left.

Anyway, it is so nice to have two youngish boys that aren't much trouble at
all (except for when my Reggie has issues with his back). 

I hope your Reggie gets with the program and realizes that dinner time needs
to be easier on everyone.

Tim 'n Puppies