Eat 'em and Weep

Observe the little fellow chowing down on that strange red object. That, my friends, is one of the greatest inventions I've come across for dogs and their owners. Our trainer (thank you!) introduced the Kong to us, which is a rubber hollow toy which you can stuff with treats and their actual meals (canned food or dry food and canned mixed). You can find it at most pet stores (especially Petco). The size we got (small) was about $9, but I think it's well worth it because they last and last. We've had this one since July and it hasn't changed a bit. It comes in different sizes: xx small (for dogs up to 5 lbs), small (for dogs 1-20 lbs), medium (15-35 lbs), large (30-65 lbs), x-large (60-90 lbs), and xx-large (85 and up).

More importantly, Maxie loves it! The trainer (let's call her E) had suggested we freeze it so that it takes him even longer to eat it. When we first brought Max home, we realized that he had quite the appetite. I mean, he can eat all day long if you let him (if it was up to my dad he would be eating all day, but that's another story). Initially, we had gotten a regular food bowl to put his meals in. I couldn't believe the speed at which he gulped the meaty food down! He inhaled it and I thought that could get dangerous. So, luckily the trainer had a solution. Anyway, that portion (stuffed to the brim) twice a day plus all the treats for training is more than enough. At least I thought so, until I read one of the books I had gotten...

The first book I read is called 101 Essential Tips: Dog Care by Dr. Bruce Fogle. It's a cute little book with literally 101 tips about care ranging from handling to feeding to exercising the dog. The book has a section entitled "Healthy Feeding" which I questioned because of the following. There is a chart for the daily feeding requirements for adult dogs arranged by weight and type. The disclaimer is that it is "an approximate guide only." I figured because the one for a dog listed as "very small,"a Yorkie, was supposed to get "1/3 to 1 can" of canned food. Whoa there! Easy! Someone tell me if we've been wrong but I feel like that is way too much for a dog of Max's weight. That made me wonder if I wasn't feeding him enough. I think it's ok because of the amount of pieces of chicken and treats he gets during training.

I don't know why, but I was a little thrown off by the sponsorship on the cover of the book advertising "a simple way to protect against fleas and heartworm." Anyway, it was a very light read with advice ranging from the slightly more detailed to the general. The pictures were helpful and illuminated tips that I was already aware of, such as how to handle a large dog (useless here as Max weighs a grand total of nine pounds). The tip before that was regarding how to hold a puppy and that was more of Max's size (no offense big guy). I need to do more research on small dog syndrome because I think our friend Max here has a case of that. We'll see...