Today the wonderful smells started early in the day and continued. We were certain that with all this food, there would be a little bit to spare for the dogs. But once again, we were totally neglected so we're just going to show them. Hunger strikes for us!!!
WAIT A MINUTE!!! Dad's in our room. C'mon. Plain old dog food is better than nothing. Maybe this hunger strike thing isn't such a good idea after all.
The girls watch excitedly as Dad "prepares" dinner. Yep. It's dry dog food (aka kibble). Three times a week the girls have a special treat...a teaspoonful of olive oil. They love it!
Each girl keeps an eye on her respective dish. Unlike the beds which are open to the first comer, each dog has her own dish and while the contents are identical, there is no interchange between them.
Lucy digs in immediately. Hunger strike forgotten, she wolfs down her dinner in less than a minute.
Ellie also goes at it. Most Golden Retrievers have little or no satiety center. They will continue to eat as long as you continue to feed them. There's no leaving dog food in a dish for the dog to eat at will. That's one reason you may encounter a lot of over-weight Golden Retrievers. They can become obese on dog food if it's given without restriction.
Some dog owners feel that we are too restrictive with our dogs. What's the harm in a piece of turkey with gravy once a year? There is NO HARM, but we don't see all that much benefit either. The dogs do not expect any table food so they don't really miss it. And...they are so ritualistic that it would take weeks to get over even one feeding of yummy people food. They would hang around the kitchen every evening thinking the miracle just might recur. I must admit, we wouldn't have to worry about a hunger strike with those two. Each day they eat both meals as if they are their first and last.
Don't worry mom, this is tongue lickin' good.
One thing about our dogs...they are always willing to take a snooze even if they didn't have a big Thanksgiving dinner.
I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day. Today marks the "official" beginning of the holiday shopping season. Keep in mind that our health, our loved ones, our love for one another is far more important than any physical gift. It's about the spirit, no matter which holidays you will celebrate. For those of you who actually like the crowds...take a deep breath and head back out to the stores today. I know you already made at least one round of the stores.
HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND. GIVE THOUGHT TO THOSE FAMILIES WHOSE SONS, DAUGHERS, FATHERS, MOTHERS WILL BE SERVING OUR COUNTRY OVER THE HOLIDAYS. REGARDLESS OF YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT ANY OF OUR CONFLICTS, GIVE HONOR AND PRAISE TO THOSE BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN.
21 comments:
Such pretty and well behaved girls.
I always give my critters a little taste of what I'm eating. But their main diet is kibble.
If they relied on my tastes they'd starve.
Interesting that Goldens will overeat. All of our dogs will walk away from the food dish when they've had what they want.
We were told by our farming mentor that horses will gorge on sweet feed to the point of lethal bloat -- mules will not do this -- noe will mules run back into a burning barn, as some horses are said to do. One reason mules are so stubborn is that their first concern is for their own well-being.
The five second rule was hard to enforce in a home with an open kitchen located in the middle of everything. When my Dobie was 5 months old, my brother slipped him some beef tenderloin he was slicing to plate--it was Duke's first taste of people food. While we were eating dinner, the tall Dobie went back to the kitchen counter and stole the rest of the roast. From that point forward, he was an accomplished thief and quite a mooch.
It's better your way.
That was a nice post!
I don't give my dogs any people food, but my guests do.. It always makes them sick.
I didn't know Goldens eat so much!
I love the picture of them sleeping.
Have a great day!
I think it's incredibly smart to not habituate dogs to expect food from the kitchen table. That's a habit so hard to break. Our kitty cat never goes on the table and never begs for human food. He's content with his special formula kibble and a little bit of wet food (and gravy, his favorite).
You are doing them a big favour by not overfeeding. We had to take our dog off commercial food due to his liver problems. I make his food from a list the vet gave me as he has to have a low copper diet. The liver diet kibble offered by the vet is more expensive than any food I feed our family.
It's refreshing to see slim-and-trim Goldens! We see far too many overweight, and goodness knows that leads to some awful health problems..
I think the golden girls are perfect and an absolute credit to you both. I must confess to Nella having the odd piece of meat mixed with her dry dog food. She does not worry though, as food is not a priority with her. She eats when she needs to but not otherwise. Dry food is left down for the day....what is left is discarded at the end of the day.
I learned the hard way about giving people food to my Lab. I am sure that is what caused his pancreatitis. Now he gets kibble only, except for the salmon oil he gets for his coat. He would graze all the time too if we left food out and available. You are giving your girls excellent care. Their beautiful coats show how healthy they are.
Those girls look positively thankful! They are also very smart - naps after a meal are good for digestion (not sure this is scientific, but it seems right...)
Such beautiful and honest words at the end Carolyn!
Our dogs eat 2 meals a day also and act as though they have never tasted anything as good before. **someone in my house does give them scraps on occasion...it makes me nuts and could be considered grounds for divorce!!**
I love the little area they always choose to cuddle in...they love that their backs are against the wall and the chair..security I guess. It's nice you feature them once a week! Such pretty girls!!
And a very Happy Thanksgiving to you as well. None of The Herd got any thing special for Thanksgiving either - just don't tell them.
Hi Carolyn, I love your Fridays are Golden posts. Your girls are just so lucky to have 'parents' like you two. They are pretty special dogs---and I wish that more people trained their dogs like you do...
Your girls had a great Thanksgiving just the way it was!!!!!
Hugs,
Betsy
You are so right about people food, but we did split a can of turkey food for the dogs on Thanksgiving. Great pics of the girls. Happy Holidays..
Happy Thanksgiving girls! We are glad you had a nice day :)
Looks as if they had a lovely dinner, anyway! What gorgeous ladies they are -- so healthy and happy.
Thanks for your comments, everyone.
Twisted - There's certainly no harm in doing that. It's just that our dogs will stare and beg for more if we did it.
Vicki - When we had Springer Spaniels we did the same thing...put it down and they would eat when they wanted to. Doesn't work at all with our two Goldens.
Cheryl and Gold Dog - I think that if you are going to give food it definitely should be in the dish and not from the hand. They won't become little beggars that way.
Such great pictures love them cuddling! Hugs Joey and Kealani
I sure hope you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
I love the photos of the golden girls. They are so beautiful and I'm sure they enjoyed their Thanksgiving meals,too.
Post a Comment