The Dogs Are Onto Hick's Tricks

Poor Hick. He can't even outsmart Jack and Juno.

 

Hick bought the dog food they don't like. Granted, our fleabags are finicky. They used to LOVE the cat kibble I gave them as a treat. With no cats, we have no kibble. That stuff had multi-colored nuggets in the mix. So Hick thought he was doing the dogs a favor by buying dog food with multi-colored nuggets. 

 

Several times over the past couple years, Hick has bought the multi-colored dog food. I don't know the brand. Hick dumps it in a plastic trash can with a lid, then throws away the bag. Every time he buys this food, I have to point out that the dogs don't like it. Won't eat it. Hick is in denial.

 

"When I leave for town, they both have a full bowl! They are not eating the dog food. They don't like that kind."

 

"They eat it. When I come home around 5:00, their bowls are empty."

 

"That's because the squirrels eat it. And the birds. It takes them all day. With the old food, it was gone when I left."

 

"They DID used to start eating it as soon as I put it out. They must not be hungry in the mornings when I put this food out."

 

"They don't eat it! You need to get them regular food like they've been eating. Juno is old. She's got stick legs! She only looks normal because her fur is matted. It's her molting time."

 

 Hick would not admit defeat or wrong-doing, but he DID buy dog food a few days ago.

"I got their other food."

"Oh. So are you going to give away the kind they don't like?"

"No. I'm mixing it together."

Sounds reasonable in theory. But Hick is forgetting that dogs have a pretty good sense of smell. And Jack and Juno are still not eating their food. It was there when I left on Sunday.

 

That's Juno's bowl. Technically, it's the pan Hick uses to scoop the dog food, sitting IN Juno's bowl. Juno gets a full pan, and Jack gets a half. Which is still too much food. Even when they eat it, some is left for the squirrels to scavenge. Even the squirrels don't care much for this food, for so much to be left in that pan midday. You can see two kinds of food. But dogs can't pick out what they like. When I got home, Jack's small food bowl was empty, but I suspect it was eaten by Copper Jack, who lurks on our porch most of the day.

I guess Hick needs to readjust his ratios if he wants to trick those dogs into eating food they don't like. In the meantime, I'm doing him no favors by doling out hearty treats at the kitchen door. They enjoyed their half-thawed chicken burritos greatly.