Lucy has always been a strange eater.  She is not like all of my friends’ dogs who wolf down their food the minute you pour it in the bowl.  She tastes it one kibble at a time.  She spits some on the floor.  She lets it sit for hours and then comes by and licks the bowl clean.  She always eats it, just on her terms.

At some point about a month ago, she went on a hunger strike and decided that the current food was completely unacceptable.  Rejected.  She would flip the full bowl over with her nose and demand something else.  So we went and got different dog food. Maybe this old stuff is becoming something she is allergic too and she just doesn’t like it any more, we think.  She has allergies to food.  Who knows.   We buy a tiny bag of new stuff, which she eats up like it is the best thing she’s ever had. We buy another tiny bag just to make sure she isn’t allergic to this new stuff.  All is good and wolfing it down.  Scoop the old rejected dog food out of the bin.  Buy a new giant bag of the new stuff.  Put the old dog food into a paper bag and hope to give it to a friend instead of throwing it away.  Park it in a corner of the kitchen til we get together with friends.

A couple of days go by.  The new dog food has lost its magic.  It is no longer the greatest thing ever, but just ho-hum and back to the old routine of ignoring, spitting it on the floor and leisurely snacking.

Here is where dog logic steps in.  The photo you see is Miss Thunderpaw with her entire head in the bag of initially rejected dog food, chowing down.  But only if no one is looking.  If you notice, she wanders off.  If you scoop it out of the paper bag and into the dog dish, it is rejected.  If you mix it with the new stuff, it is rejected.  It’s only good if it is sneaky and you are getting away with it.  Then it is delicious.