pumpkin pie

I was in a different pet store chain this weekend to look for a special "t" for the boy (we can't say "treat" unless we intend to give something to him). A lady dragged me over to a different area of food- I was looking in the bone section. She pointed out pumpkin pie (crumble, I think they call it), berry cobbler and apple pie- tiny little cans of desert for dogs! I'm thinking "oh, geez" but I look at them and realize they're made by the dog food company we prefer and they're less than a buck each. I buy one can of each and finish my errands elsewhere.



I go home, sit on Mama's bed to talk to her and I'm holding the cans in my hand. Tug sniffs them curiously and I say "these are for Tug." It's what Mama says when she's giving a special treat by hand and I think he realized there was food in there. He started pawing my hand and his eyes got wide and he even licked the cans!



I went in and opened the pumpkin pie one and spooned about a third of it into his dish. It was like me with European chocolate- don't talk to me, don't look at me, you can't have any and I'm making this LAST!! He loved it. When Mama gave him another third of the can today she heated it in the microwave first as it was stored in the fridge and the kitchen smelled like pumpkin pie! :)

picky eater

Yeah, I think I've mentioned Tug won't eat his nasty, dry food without a garnish on top- cheese, bread crumbs, crackers, biscuit bits, pancake bites, canned veggie juice...seriously, this isn't Chez Snooty but you'd never know. He will literally wait by the food bowl full of crunchies and look at you. I clocked him at over 3 minutes once and I caved.

So, here's the lowdown: it's better if it comes from our hands, or off our plates, or is dropped from the kitchen counter or even the dirt while camping. However, if it's not garnished and it's in his bowl it's invisible and odorless. He used to eat carrots and apples when he was little and then gave them up. You give him a bit of raw carrot and he takes it, ducks his head and just lets it fall from his mouth. Then he still begs for more even if that's all you have- BUT he doesn't believe it's all we have- when I'm done he jumps up and sniffs all over me and around on the table beside me to see if there's anything else!!

So, this weekend, Mama's sitting on the couch eating an apple she's peeled. She's got a paring knife in one hand and the apple in the other and she's slicing off nibble sized bites to make it last longer (must've been a seriously good apple). Tuggums jumps up beside her and freezes in position. She reminds him he doesn't eat apple anymore but he is unconvinced. (We talk to him like he's a kid and we think that's why he's so people oriented.) So she slices off an itty-bitty piece and puts in on her pants leg; she's not about to get dog slobber on her hands while she's eating. He picks it up in his mouth and chews 'n' swallows like it was cheese! Mama's so astonished she gives him two more pieces and he eats both of those, too!

I just love it when the boy makes a liar out of her. :)