Rob v. Penny
It's like this: Rob loves the dog. Let me rephrase that: Rob LOVES the dog. Only all-caps can explain it.
He talks to her all the time, throws her little bits of whatever he's making for dinner, even the meatballs which could have killed her being that they were full of onion, takes her on walks every day (where he claims they "talk"), gets up at 5am to feed her every morning, etc. Rob wants the dog to sleep on the bed with us, which I have forbidden. He routinely says "Penny, I just love you. You're an important part of this family." Then I roll my eyes and tell her to get off the bed.
But it's also like this: the dog loves me.
No explanation. I like the dog, but it's nowhere near an all-caps situation. More of a tentative, lowercase italics type of thing. Mostly she pisses me off because:
1. She stinks.
2. She forgets that she's potty trained from time to time
3. She WHINES
4. She stinks.
5. She tries to beat up on dogs 10 times her size.
I yell at her a lot. It sounds like this:
"Penny. You're disgusting. You smell like a trash can."
Doesn't matter. She LOVES me. If she gets up on the bed, she instantly makes a beeline for me and curls up right beside me. I mostly ignore her. If I'm feeling charitable, I'll pet her a little bit. Until she tries to lick me with trash can mouth; then all bets are off. Rob then says "Penny! Penny!" and pats his chest. She stares at him. "Come here, Penny!" She turns her head the other way, lays it on my back, and stares out the window. This morning when I got up from bed, instead of switching over and lying next to Rob, she just decides to get off the bed.
So we're laying there, and Rob has spent the last 10 minutes or so trying to get her to come lay by him when he suddenly just stops.
It should be said that Rob and I have been together for 9 years now, and I know where he's going with something about 2 seconds after he does.
I say "You're trying to ignore her, aren't you?"
Silence
I say "You think that if you ignore her like I do, she'll start loving you."
Rob says "I don't know who you're referring to."
10 minutes go by. Rob says NOTHING to Penny. It's like a world record, considering that Penny is the true love of Rob's life. Penny seems okay with it.
So anyways, there's a stand off now. Rob is not speaking to Penny. Penny doesn't even notice. I know that Rob's serious because he later took out a bag of lunch meat to make a sandwich and DIDNT GIVE HER ANY. I also know how it's going to end, though:
"Penny! Penny! Want to go on a walk? Come here Penny!"
He can try, but you just can't deny all-caps love, even if it's unrequited.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
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6 comments:
His love for her is unconditional!! You can't ignore that. You rock Rob!!
Aunt Dawn
What is it about onions? Dogs eat poop and dead animals. They drink out of the toilet. Why would eating onions effect them in a negative way? Onions will give a dog bad breath or stinky gas, but they still live to be very, very old.
Brandy, our old dog, was seventeen when she died. She ate onions on a regular basis. She really liked them in her omelettes with hash browns and mushrooms. Brandy also liked popcorn and "treats" out of the kitty litter box. That is why we have a kitty door into the kitty litter room in our basement.
Finally, Rob needs to understand his place in the family. His role, like mine, is to serve. Penny is letting him know in unsubtle terms what his true role is in the family. Nothing he does will change that.
Anonymous - Jen's Dad
Onions are toxic to dogs. It causes "Heinz Body Hemolytic Anemia." Which basically means that red blood cells self-destruct and leave behind obnoxious shrapnel that can damage other things. But, the toxicity is dependent on the amount of onions ingested and the size of the dog...so, if any of the stars of Beverly Hills Chihuahua ate some onion...they'd be at more risk than a Penny-sized dog. And Beethoven would have to eat a whooooole lot of onions to cause a problem.
I just took Toxicology last semester, so I'm sharing the love.
Sincerely,
Dr. (in 2 years) Andrew Woolcock
You are so informative, Dr. Woolcock. Why do dogs eat their own poop? Not a joke, serious question.
Why Dogs Eat Poop: Definition of Coprophagia
Coprophagia is the ingestion of poop that is neither accidental nor incidental. It is deliberate and habitual.
Other abnormal canine eating issues include pica (eating of nonfood material), psychogenic water drinking (consuming more water than necessary for regular daily use), anorexia (starvation to the point of extreme, and deadly weight loss), and gorging (serious, unhealthy overeating).
The focus here is on coprophagia and why dogs eat poop. But, you’ll see that dogs can have a variety of other eating problems. Interestingly, you’ll probably also notice that several of these eating problems are also found in humans, such as anorexia and gorging. We’re kind of like our canine friends sometimes, aren’t we.
Below there are 20 reasons listed why dogs eat poop. In addition, at the end of this article you’ll see a summarization of the reasons. Hopefully you will understand exactly why dogs eat poop so that you can solve the problem or take some action to improve the situation.
Why Dogs Eat Poop: 20 Reasons
1. Your dog might be hungry. If your dog doesn't have access to food, he might eat poop.
2. Some dogs will eat poop to clean up an area like a housekeeper. This is most likely if your dog is confined to a crate or kennel, or when he's chained up or otherwise restricted. He's taking care of his space.
3. If your dog likes to carry poop, and then eat it, it could be genetics. Some dogs have instincts to carry stuff in their mouths.
4. Your dog might be eating poop because of parasites or worms. They can suck nutrients out of your dog, driving him to eat poop. It might also leave him extra hungry because of the lack of proper fuel.
5. Your dog might be eating cat poop or other animal poop to get key nutrients and minerals not available in his own food.
6. Some dogs will simply eat poop to pass the time. Dogs will eat poop because they are bored or lonely. It can be a sign of neglect.
7. Your dog might eat poop because he's anxious, nervous or otherwise upset. Stress will drive animals to do odd things.
8. Some dogs will eat poop to hide the evidence. If you punish your dog for pooping, he might eat it to stop you from getting angry.
9. If your dog has puppies, she might eat puppy poop. This is an instinct to hide the poop from predators. Poop is evidence. Getting ride of it keeps her puppies safe.
10. Some young dogs and puppies will eat poop as a novelty. That is, they'll eat poop as an experiment. They don't know better.
11. If your dog watches you pick up poop, he might learn to do the same. This is called allelomimetic behavior. Your dog observes you and learns from you, by putting the poop in his mouth you put poop in a bag.
12. Your dog might see others dogs eating poop. From this, they learn to eat poop too.
13. Many dogs simply like the taste of poop. This obviously doesn't make sense to dog owners but that's irrelevant. Some dog like to eat it and that's that. It's warm, moist, and very much like what your dog was given as a very young puppy.
14. If your dog food lacks key nutrients, he might eat poop. Your dog is trying to get "food" with nutrients any way possible, even from his own poop.
15. Sometimes dog poop seems like dog food. This can happen when dog food is low quality and includes materials that are easily passed and not absorbed by your dog. When the dog poops, it seems to be very much like the food he just consumed!
16. In some cases, dogs will eat poop if they are given too much food. This is especially true if your dog's diet is high in fat.
17. Some dogs will eat poop to gain attention. Many dog owners get very upset when their dog eats poop, which means the dog gets attention. This is a wonderful opportunity for your dog to interact with you, although it is because of negative attention.
18. It is possible that some dogs will eat the poop of other, more dominant dogs. Your dog might be more submissive than other dogs, resulting in strange poop eating behavior. This seems to occur more in households with multiple dogs where dominance and submission is a factor. Obviously this doesn't explain much about dogs eating cat poop or other animal poop.
19. It is possible that your dog wants to eat more than one time per day. If you only feed your dog once per day, and your dog eats poop, it could be an indication they want to eat more frequently.
20. In some cases, your dog will eat poop by accident. Dogs are curious and will try to eat almost anything, including poop. Dogs explore the world through taste and smell, much more than humans.
Summarization: Why Dogs Eat Poop
So, now you have seen 20 reasons why dogs eat poop. It could be a signal for higher quality food, more food, less food, or more frequent meals. It could be related to your dog’s desire for more attention and interaction. Your dog might be eating poop out of instinct whereas in other cases it might a learned behavior from you or by watching other dogs.
This was taken from http://www.pet-comfort-products.com/why-dogs-eat-poop.html
Anonymous - Jen's Dad
P.S. - Benji is not happy he can not have his chocolate covered onion rings anymore.
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