Dog Food Dilema

Shortly after the 18 month milestone Holly got to the end of a bag of dog food. I automatically bought a new 15Kg bag, and then wondered if that had been a sensible thing to do.

15Kg of dog food lasts Holly around 2.5 to 3 months depending on activity levels and how much the cats eat, yes the cats love Holly's dog food and think it the perfect treat. Holly also likes the cat food but thinks I am incredibly cruel, mean and miserly by only letting her have one or two bits as an extra special treat a couple of times a month. So would Holly be around to eat a whole bag?

I've had the same dilemma a couple more times with food and also with how big a bottle of pills to buy. The pills would need throwing away but any excess food could easily go to any of my friends or relatives who have dogs. So with that in mind I have continued to buy 15Kg bags of dog food. So far I have not had to buy any more of her pills as I bought big pots on a buy one get one free a while ago. But if you see someone in Holland and Barrett dithering about how big a tub of Vitamin E, Fish Oil or Brewers Yeast tables to buy do say hello.

The cats and Holly are fed on Burns dry biscuits (http://www.burnspet.co.uk/) the cats also get a teaspoon of pilchards in tomato sauce twice a day and officially Holly gets a few vegetables or a bit of fruit or some yogurt or a little bit of watered down gravy from the Sunday roast. In reality Holly is a dustbin, a waste disposal unit on legs and will eat anything and just about everything she can get hold of. She is not allowed chocolate, onions or dried fruit and only gets one grape from every bunch. She is not keen on bananas, oranges or lettuce. But everything else is OK according to her taste buds.

I think two of the most valuable command I have taught her are "Leave" and "Hot"

Leave means "You cannot have that, do not touch it". We went to a friends house and Holly was all for diving into their dogs food bowl and eating his breakfast, but I told her to leave it. My friends thought it highly amusing that she didn't touch any of the food in the bowl but ate all the bits she found on the floor and a bonio that was in his bed. You see I had told her she couldn't have what was in his bowl, so she didn't touch it, but everything else had not been declared off-limits so was consumed.

Hot means exactly that. Whatever it is it is hot and will hurt so don't touch it just yet. Mostly this is applied to food that escapes out of pans and off baking trays, but also keeps inquisitive noses from being burned on baking trays, oven doors and fires.