Feeding The Princess

(Indy as a baby--isn't she cute???)

I've written about this before, but it begs repeating: My dog is a picky eater. She hasn't always been, but since she was diagnosed with kidney disease in 2009, the list of acceptable foods has grown smaller and smaller, until now, where it is shockingly limited. After she was diagnosed with cancer in 2006, we switched Indiana to a completely raw diet. That went GREAT, until the kidney debacle. So now raw is out (and we've done both commercially prepared and homemade). I've always heard that next best is either cooked fresh food or canned. She won't eat homemade food with vegetables, but she will (usually) eat plain, cooked turkey. She'll also eat a limited number of canned foods, and they have to meet specific requirements. (Chunky or shredded is one of them) Oh, and the bowl must be porcelain, not stainless. (We don't use plastic)

On some really tough days, I've given her grain-free kibble. GASP! I know! But food is food, and she has to eat. We also know that some foods must be eaten off of a spoon, while others are acceptable if the bowl is held at the proper angle. She also has to be sitting in the right place (and only she knows where that is), and she has to be comfortable. If she isn't comfortable, she won't eat. She also won't eat if Isis is too close or is staring at her too hard. Of if she hears a strange noise that distracts her.

Some days I do want to pull my hair out. I try to play by her rules, I really do, but she isn't playing fair. She changes the rules mid-game. I suppose she wants to keep us on our toes and make us really work for it. She's worth it though, and I know she's not doing it on purpose. She has a method to her madness, and it is my honor to, each and every day, three times a day, figure out what that method is.