It Happens Again and Again…

Over the last several months, I have had nearly eight to ten notices about a dog that had done something that they shouldn't have done, my dogs included.  We do get many updates with photos of past pups that we once bred, most are funny and charming but one of the most serious issue is “my dog has eaten”… and fill in “your” blank because it can be anything.  I have a lot of experience about this and even a few of my dogs will try to eat anything, anytime they can.
Annie brings her utensils...

Dr. Jules Benson, VP of Veterinary Services says, “Typically, the insatiable hunger can be attributed to canine biology.”  He explains that a dog’s eat when food is presented mentality may be because of their wild ancestry. Looking at the domestic dogs nearest wild relative, the grey wolf, they are adapted to a feast-or-famine diet and can go many days without fresh prey,” Dr. Benson explains. “They achieve this through eating large amounts when food is available, food caching (may be analogous to burying bones in the garden!) and scavenging (watch out for the kitchen trash can!).”

So it’s possible your dog is not actually hungry, but eating whenever food is offered in case you stop offering it and if they don’t always get it, they will find it in a form of a cake on the table or anything on the counter.   Dutchess, is by far the worse about this.  She licks the dishwasher, gets on the table, walks the counter and begs for food to the point that we now put her outside when we eat. 

What always amazes me, you can spend sixty dollars for a fifteen pound bag of the best dog food made and they will turn their nose up at it but go outside and eat dear, rabbit and raccoon poop, like it was caviar.  I have seen dogs eat sticks, rocks, toys and last week, mine were surrounded around a dead bird in the driveway each getting a lick of it.  Once when we had company over, one of our dogs came running to the house with the rotten hind leg of a dear and was proud as punch he had gathered his lunch, which was quickly taken away.
Dutchess in on the table
One thing I found about bringing a dog home, you have to puppy and dog proof your home just like a child but I found you need to do it even more vigilant than with a young child because of the dogs determination, which we know is unlimited and Dutchess can think like us and outsmart us. 
The drive of the dog industry also plays a part in this problem because they continue to make adorable and cute toys for little “Ralphie” to play with.  We all have purchased certified “dog” toys that were “indestructible” only to find out in five minutes or less that the “parts” of the object are scattered throughout the house or even worse… missing. This is why we do not purchase or use dog toys because of the understandable craving they have.  Not every dog is like this but when they are, there is no holding back on what they will do.  Once Clancy got on top of the washer to get a leftover chicken package that we were getting ready to put in the garbage and Dahlia and Annie ate an entire unopened large package of Baklava over Christmas.  I can't think of how many times I have had to make them throw up or be on poop “patrol” watching for the evidence in the rain and cold.  

They are just attracted to anything and I've had people call about their dog eating underwear, socks, rocks, wash rags and especially toys.  I've even made a Fort Knox garbage container in the garbage, but it doesn't do any good when I don’t put the lid on.  Doc has learned this and will test the waters daily.  The good news is when it’s passed without a problem, but when it doesn’t it can be life threatening and requires extensive surgery with lots of down time.  Once, because Dutchess is resentful to give up her food, we took her on a drive on a curvy back road until the deed was done.
All in all, from experience and multiple callers please puppy/dog proof your house, yard, car, garage and anywhere your dogs can go but have a plan of action for immediate reaction because time matters. If you see me in the cold rain standing with a dog sniffing the ground, you know what we are doing… again…Ken

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