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ABC's of Irish Wolfhounds Puppy Tales: Find a person in your area for help and information
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Off Schedule Leads to "Diet Time"
It seems everybody needs to go on a diet when Linda and I return home after being on the road for more than two days. This applies to me, Linda and the dogs that stay at home. I often wonder what happens at home when we're gone. I know why I gain weight - junk food and heavier snacks. It seems as though the dogs on the road are the only ones who usually stay trim - new place, anxiety, same amount of food. Therefore now that we are thinking about the upcoming specialty trip, once again these questions come up. Why do the dogs left at home gain so much weight when we're gone?
First of all for the dog sitter I give a detailed description of the feeding program. I remind the sitter that the feeding routine at home is always the same. These hounds have us well trained. Linda feeds in the morning, so I'm not discussing that routine, but in the evening around 5:45PM exactly Natty starts to whine and Anna begins to talk in a hoarse wail that is only related to food. (Naturally after twelve years of ownership I speak Wolfhound fluently.) We have seven wolfhounds and one deerhound that all eat in the house and the routine is fun to talk about to other hound owners. Only that audience would understand. See if this sounds familiar: Our house is small but open. The kitchen, great room and den are essentially one large area. The bedrooms on each end have Dutch doors which make separation of the dogs easier. First to be fed is the deerhound, which needs a place of her own. She needs to gain a little weight, but will play musical bowls and not get much food when left to her own devices. Then the two puppies (10mo and 8mo) eat in another part of the house with the smaller one in the bedroom and Rio , a young male, in the den area. Rio gobbles his food and would eat the younger Kit's if we weren't able to isolate her. So there, we have the big problem eaters out of the way. Now the adults: Race, being the "main man", gets his food next in the entrance foyer. From there he is able to watch the front in case someone interrupts his repast, keeps the bird company, and can be the first out the door if he wishes. I know they say alpha male are to be fed first, but because he is such a gentleman and the others are such heathens, his feeding comes in the second phase. Then the middle girls, Footsie and Sugar get their rations near the kitchen and Florida room. Footsie is usually jumping up and trying to get us to spill her vittles. She and Sugar frantically eat and then swap bowls and then try to abscond with any bits of kibble they can find from the other bowls.(Remember I told you these were the easier adults ) Ha! Finally Natty and Anna, our mature ladies, eat in the kitchen area. They eat ravenously with one difference and that is that they just dare anyone to come near. No one does. Now isn't that as clear as it can get! Now who couldn't understand the routine? Why should things change when we go a trip? When we are gone, however, it is difficult to guess what happens. Maybe you know. We try to make the directions as to whose bowl is whose and the size of portions as close as possible. I have even gone so far as to package meals. Needless to say, whoever feeds must look at the size of the dogs and assumes that the single pouch of food could not possibly be enough so two would be better. Perhaps the hounds act in such as way that the dog sitter is convinced that the directions just couldn't be right. The plot and the bowls thicken. Now we have been told by sitters that Race won't come in the house when they come to feed, so his bowl is placed outside. Anna is suspicious and avoids people too The puppies and deerhound frisk all visitors for sandwiches. The result is everybody gets fat when we are gone. When we return from a trip then comes diet time and everyone feels abused, including me. "What do you mean only one scoop of kibble? No more milk bones? Where's the popcorn?" Some of the most fascinating things about wolfhounds are the things they teach us. They don't like to live alone and some (the deerhound especially) will take bedding outside, and furniture is fair game for nervous chewing especially when young. Most of all are the lessons we learn when we see what happens with a change in routine. They tease the sitter with questions of uncertainty, such as, "Whose bowl is that? Mine is smaller with the wide rim." They say hounds are creatures of habit but I think they secretly like to play games on strangers. Sure they will take advantage of us but especially the pet sitter must be fun and games when we're gone. Like when," the folks are away, the hounds will play". Behaviorist tell us that dogs like routine, but sometimes I'm not convinced they don't like a change too. Of course the stories could go on and on. Our" housemates" are such loving creatures, but it is hard to explain our living arrangements to "outsiders". They don't understand. Perhaps they think it couldn't be real. You readers and I know better. We also know that in spite of all of the rules of management and the difficulties we may have, our hounds are still so much easier to deal with than people. ~~ Sam Ross
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