[nagdu] Re Annoying Behavior

[Tamara Smith-Kinney]

Yeah, me, too.  Made me remember to be sure to compliment the chef, who
loves feed people as much as love to eat his cooking.  /smile/

And I've been watching my delicate eater in a new way, too.  I've gotten out
of the havit of being with her while she eats -- I used to do stretches
while she was taking her time over the dinner bowl, but lost the habit when
we moved in here.  So I remembered praise her and give her a pat while she
was eating.  Which made Daisy remember that routine, so then they grumbled
at each other over the food bowl and I ended up dancing the food dance with
them, which made me remember why I got out of the habit of sticking around
while the two of them eat together.  /lol/

Still, I think Elizaeth is on to something.  The poodleness does seem to
prefer for me to be with her over dinner, which I guess is fair enough,
since she likes to share my dinner time with me.

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Pickrell, Rebecca M (TASC)
Sent: Wednesday, May 26, 2010 9:39 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Re Annoying Behavior

This is beautifully written. I'm not the person that started the thread
but I love this.

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Elizabeth Rene
Sent: Tuesday, May 25, 2010 2:56 PM
To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
Subject: [nagdu] Re Annoying Behavior

I was touched, yesterday, by the story of the German Shepherd dog guide
who 
didn't want to eat her dinner without her human companion nearby.

This seemed so sad to me as I thought of my seven Labrador guide dogs.
The 
owner needed to be busy outside the kitchen at feeding time, and found
her 
dog's refusal to eat alone to be a problem.

NB: If this story is about you, gentle owner, I apologize for not 
remembering your name.  You deserve to be addressed directly.  Let me
just 
tell you about my own experience and thinking about feeding dogs.  If
you 
want to write directly to me, please feel free.

I love to cook and to feed people.  It gives me great pleasure to savor 
their company and enjoyment of what I've made, and to express my
fondness 
for them through food and a relaxing evening.  For most of my
professional 
life, I have worked a 50-60-hour week, and have known what it is to be
busy. 
So these evenings of cooking and entertaining have been oases from
stress 
for me.

My Labradors have all wolfed their twice-daily meals, and have not
minded if 
I stepped away as they ate.  But they've all wanted me near while
drinking 
water, to the extent that they've  stopped drinking if I moved away.

Each of them has shown me some way--by stopping to lick me, by flipping
me a 
splash of water, or by washing me when they were done--that they wanted
to 
share the experience of "dining" together.
I've always seen this to be a tender and sweet expression of my dogs'
love 
for me, and have found deep peace in these moments.

Though sometimes I'd like to be doing something else, I've learned that 
mealtimes and watering for my dogs signify nurture just as much as they
do 
the slaking of hunger and thirst.

And so I try to consciously offer my dogs' food and water with praise,
and 
with the same loving attention that I give my friends.  And I do so with

gratitude.

Praise and regular attention to their needs is all our dogs ask from us,
and 
they work so hard for us in return.

How lucky we are that our dogs communicate so clearly that we matter to 
them, and that they want us near.

Best to all busy humans and your dogs.

Elizabeth



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