Saturday, July 18, 2009

I've created a monster!

Or two.

Green beans are recommended for dogs as a low-fat, healthy treat you can give a dog who's convinced he's starving--without adding a lot of calories. About a week ago, I got a bag of frozen green beans, and I started adding a handful of the frozen beans to the dinner dishes for the dogs.

The first night, Jacey gave me an uncertain look, reluctantly tried her first green bean, looked thoughtfully at me after she chewed it and swallowed it, then ate the rest of the beans and her kibble. Sam, of course, never hesitated: he instantly went nose-down in his bowl and gobbled down everything. One good thing was that both dogs actually had to chew the beans: they're cut a little large for the dogs' usual habit of swallowing food whole.

And since then, the dogs have had a handful of beans every night and have eaten them all.

Tonight, I was tired when I got home, and wasn't really thinking when I fed the dogs. I just scooped out a cup-and-a-half of kibble for each dog and gave them their bowls. (I did remember the dogs' pills: thyroid, fish oil, glucosamine.) The dogs ate their dinner just fine.

For the next two hours, if I went near the kitchen, if I even looked toward the kitchen, both dogs came to attention, Jacey usually running to the kitchen door to wait for me.

I finally got the message: I gave each dog a handful of frozen green beans.

Now the dogs are blissfully stretched out, sound asleep.

And I need to stock up on more frozen green beans. If I forget, I'm sure someone will remind me.