Finickety Squeaks

I cross my arms and shake my head in disbelief and exasperation, but he doesn't care. He simply looks up at me as if to say 'what?'

Well the 'what' is that I have just spent time preparing his own special food, complete with fresh organic ingredients, and he won't eat it.

About a year ago, Keani's bloodwork showed elevated ALT levels in his liver. Needless to say, I went on a panic blitz. After all, my little man is only just over a year old. Our vet presented us with a couple of options - things like putting him on pills for the rest of his life which, besides being expensive, would make for an unpleasant start to the day each morning. Keani greatly dislikes being forced to do anything. Admittedly it is sometimes necessary.

Our neighbor, however, suggested we put him on an organic homemade diet. That way we could lower the amount of protein intake and make sure that only the best ingredients were going into his food, in the hopes that it would help his liver recuperate.

So that's what I've been doing. At first it was great. He loved it. Our other dog, Icewind, got to share in the bounty for a time, but Ice is one hundred pounds and eats six cups a day. So he gets his raw treats, but not the whole shebang.

Once that started happening, the 'grass is greener' syndrome set in. Suddenly Icewind's dry dog kibble started looking so much better. It is, admittedly, top grade stuff. But when Keani himself was being fed the same food, he was definitely not so enthusiastic.

Now, though, whatever is in Ice's bowl is better than whatever is in his own, and he will stretch as high as he can, hook his paws over the top of Icewind's food stand, push his neck forward and filch the kibble bits.

Now comes the exasperation part. Worried that Keani wasn't eating enough, I made him a couple of boiled eggs. He loves eggs. This is a fact. So I shelled them, broke them apart, put in a bit of 'healthy powder' (also homemade) and put them in front of him. Instant bliss!

Ten minutes later, he came into the family room where I was and cried.

I have to admit, I am a sucker for his crying. I know, I know. It's bad, and he's spoiled. He really is, and I freely admit it. I am not as ashamed as I thought I would be, either. I've stopped guilt tripping myself over it (I will put the whys and wherefores in another post.)

Anyways, I went into the kitchen. The egg was all gone, oh, yes, except for pieces of egg white. No matter how much I cajoled, he wouldn't touch them. So I put them in Ice's food dish.

That's right. Five minutes later, there Keani was, stretching as high as he would go, to pilfer pieces of egg white that he wouldn't touch when they were in his own bowl.

Aaargh!