Every morning I follow the same routine when feeding the dogs. They are used to seeing me going back and forth between the laundry room and “their” fridge where I keep some of their food - and back to the kitchen. Call it a patience game. One that Deuce has become very good at and one that Rioja is still struggling with - her voracious appetite is getting the best of her.
I have also tuned in to Deuce’s level of interest for breakfast. If he comes a.s.a.p. to lay on his bed in the kitchen it means that he is hungry, most likely he will finish his meal. However, if he lingers around the living room then most likely he will eat a bit or… now I am on to him… he is deliberately playing a game during breakfast with Rioja. But frankly, I am not sure if Rioja is “in on his little game” or Deuce is kind of playing by himself.
So this is what I observed yesterday morning- just a little background first: Both dogs are fed in the laundry room when I feed them off their plates. Deuce gets to eat at the far side of the laundry room and Rioja gets the “aisle seat”- next to the door to the laundry room.
Rioja always finishes waay before Deuce does and exists the laundry room to wait just an earshot away so that she can come and (hopefully) finish whatever food Deuce has left on his bowl. Of course, this never happens (and she has not learned this either) because I watch them like a hawk so that she does not pig out, which she would without supervision.
I have made a conscious effort not to get "hung-up” on the fact that Deuce sometimes eats and sometimes… plays with his food. I watch them as I step in and out of the laundry room while I sip coffee or read emails. If I see that Deuce has not touched his food or abandoned his bowl, I remove it. You get another crack at dinnertime, bud, I tell him as I pick his bowl up.
Deuce waits around his food, not eating just hanging and watching as Rioja eats hers really fast (she even has a special bowl so that she learns to slow the heck down). Now Deuce has food and she does not! Let the fun begin…
Rioja exists the laundry room and waits and waits for Deuce to hurry up and move away from his bowl so that she can go and investigate his bowl. As I am going towards the laundry room to see if Deuce is eating, I see that he is waiting just outside the laundry room door and looking – mouth open, with pricked ears at Rioja. I wait: What is going on??? As Rioja sees him at the door she dashes in a hurry to the laundry room only to find Deuce standing again at his bowl, not eating but just standing there and preventing her from getting any food.
This routine goes on for at least three times. I crack up, realizing now that Deuce is really not that hungry- today was one of those mornings he was going to pass until he “thought” of a way to terrorize Rioja. Ha! Good joke Deuce! You got her where it “hurts”. She is all yours and you know it.
As I removed his bowl I got to thinking about dogs and their (potential?) sense of humor. It is impossible to know what is going through a dog’s head so I am walking on thin-ice here.
However, research does point to animals being able to enjoy themselves – especially at the expense of other pals. Is it possible that dogs get to “tease” others once they get to know one another and can “milk” those weaknesses just to get a (fun) reaction?
Living with more than one dog does allows us to get glimpses into their souls - to see their unique personalities and their differences. These nuances remind us that they are one-of-a-kind and precious in our eyes.
I have also tuned in to Deuce’s level of interest for breakfast. If he comes a.s.a.p. to lay on his bed in the kitchen it means that he is hungry, most likely he will finish his meal. However, if he lingers around the living room then most likely he will eat a bit or… now I am on to him… he is deliberately playing a game during breakfast with Rioja. But frankly, I am not sure if Rioja is “in on his little game” or Deuce is kind of playing by himself.
So this is what I observed yesterday morning- just a little background first: Both dogs are fed in the laundry room when I feed them off their plates. Deuce gets to eat at the far side of the laundry room and Rioja gets the “aisle seat”- next to the door to the laundry room.
Rioja always finishes waay before Deuce does and exists the laundry room to wait just an earshot away so that she can come and (hopefully) finish whatever food Deuce has left on his bowl. Of course, this never happens (and she has not learned this either) because I watch them like a hawk so that she does not pig out, which she would without supervision.
I have made a conscious effort not to get "hung-up” on the fact that Deuce sometimes eats and sometimes… plays with his food. I watch them as I step in and out of the laundry room while I sip coffee or read emails. If I see that Deuce has not touched his food or abandoned his bowl, I remove it. You get another crack at dinnertime, bud, I tell him as I pick his bowl up.
Deuce waits around his food, not eating just hanging and watching as Rioja eats hers really fast (she even has a special bowl so that she learns to slow the heck down). Now Deuce has food and she does not! Let the fun begin…
Rioja exists the laundry room and waits and waits for Deuce to hurry up and move away from his bowl so that she can go and investigate his bowl. As I am going towards the laundry room to see if Deuce is eating, I see that he is waiting just outside the laundry room door and looking – mouth open, with pricked ears at Rioja. I wait: What is going on??? As Rioja sees him at the door she dashes in a hurry to the laundry room only to find Deuce standing again at his bowl, not eating but just standing there and preventing her from getting any food.
This routine goes on for at least three times. I crack up, realizing now that Deuce is really not that hungry- today was one of those mornings he was going to pass until he “thought” of a way to terrorize Rioja. Ha! Good joke Deuce! You got her where it “hurts”. She is all yours and you know it.
As I removed his bowl I got to thinking about dogs and their (potential?) sense of humor. It is impossible to know what is going through a dog’s head so I am walking on thin-ice here.
However, research does point to animals being able to enjoy themselves – especially at the expense of other pals. Is it possible that dogs get to “tease” others once they get to know one another and can “milk” those weaknesses just to get a (fun) reaction?
Living with more than one dog does allows us to get glimpses into their souls - to see their unique personalities and their differences. These nuances remind us that they are one-of-a-kind and precious in our eyes.
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