Of all my children Molson is the least finicky eater! This could be attributed to the fact that he is…a dog but none the less I like to think that all my children have discerning palates. Something that surprises most people when they walk into my home is seeing the raised dog dishes one side filled with water (that isn’t what surprises them) it is the over flowing dish beside it filled up to the top with dog food.

I would have thought that because Molsie was abused and neglected as a puppy, literally starved he would have become a pig when it came to food. That never became the case, he was a nibbler, or more like a calf grazing when the urge hit, eating only when hungry and just until he filled up so I always made sure his bowl was filled. My husband and I constantly start to laugh after he gets off the bed in the middle of the night (with one of our help of course) and wanders over to his food bowl for a little nosh and slurp of water. My husband thinks it is great that he still has his own mind and knows what he wants…me…I’d like him to sleep through the night!

When he came into our lives as a young skeletal pup I literally had to teach him to eat. I would sit by his bowl and feed him; eventually he would take the food by himself. It was almost as if he was scared to be so bold as to place his face in a food bowl and eat. He slowly became more confident and would start eating relaxed enough so I could get up and walk around the kitchen always keeping me in his sight. He also I quickly learned, would stop eating the moment I left the room and would resume the second I walked back in. I figured out that I had to stay within eyeshot so he could comfortably finish his meal (or as much as he wanted) and only leave the room once he was completely finished and settled. Over the years he has gotten much better but he still prefers to eat when I am around and quite often will stop if I suddenly walk through the room and resume once I step back in.

Until very recently because his hind legs won’t allow him to stand comfortably in one position for anything longer than a few moments Molsie and I had a ritual. In the morning Molson gets his glucosamine and chondroitin and as the years progressed along with his hip dysplasia medication came into the scenario. I would prepare my morning coffee, something I dream about when I go to bed at night and I would slice a bagel in three pieces. I toast them, then after buttering them cut them into bite size pieces and sit at the table with the newspaper.

Molson would assume his position and either sit or stand by my elbow depending on his mood. I would take a sip of my coffee, put one piece of bagel into my mouth and then hand Molson a piece of bagel for his mouth. If ever the rhythm got slowed down because I was savouring my sip of coffee too long or got caught up in a newspaper article (ok who is kidding, I was probably  studying the comics too slowly) Molson would place his head under my arm and hit my arm so if I wasn’t careful the coffee would go flying. Or to pick up the pace he would give me a nose butt in my back! I have to admit I sometimes slowed down on purpose just to feel that impatient nose butt!

Anyways this routine of one bite for me, one bite for him and sip of coffee took place daily for 13 plus years. If ever I went out of town my daughter, bless her would do the exact thing to keep his routine up. It even continued during the year he turned 12 and for some reason everything he ate gave him diarhea, he turned his nose up at everything but his beloved morning bagel. Just a note after trying every special diet food, at the vets and regular stores, after cooking meals for him the one thing that made his stomach normal and that he liked was Purina Senior kibble and Senior Milkbone Cookies, along with his morning bagel of course. And whatever works for Molson is AOK with me, so for that year only the kibble cookies and bagel, no home cooking for him. Now he eats the senior kibble plus.

What I also have learned through the years is that he has definite likes and dislikes when it comes to food. He makes his preferences known quite emphatically! Who hasn’t seen their dog put something eagerly into their mouths only to get that sharp look up with wide eyes and then the slow opening of the mouth and unfolding of tongue and plunk at your foot the offending morsel lands.

Bagels are a given, chulah or egg bread is a little slice of heaven, white bread…are you kidding me? No sugar/no fat whole wheat bread…please I’d rather lick my…but 12 grain sprouted bread …you go girl! Seriously you can’t slide anything past him that he doesn’t like; he will suck off the topping and unfurl that pink tongue! Turkey, chicken, roast beef…oh my… cooked salmon, canned tuna…yum.

The one thing that trumps everything is cookies, good old fashioned Milkbone cookies. My husband firmly believes they slip drugs in the cookie formulas to get them addicted, but that is just his theory! Originally the regular adult ones, then the senior and now because our baby’s mouth is softer (although bless his heart, he has all his teeth and his gums look pretty damn good) it’s just that his jaw does this little tremble when he bites down on senior cookies even though they are softer that adult, so now he happily munches puppy cookies.

As an added bonus the cookies are great incentive to exercise him. I hold out the cookie and he follows me around the dining room table, through the kitchen into the living room…you get the idea.

Now that pills have come into the picture on a regular basis plus liquid in his Metacam medicine it is becoming interesting. At first the pills were put into Kraft cheese slices and worked like a dream, and then the ol’ unfurling tongue came into play. Brie, camembert, you name it we tried it, each would work great for about three months and then that tongue action appeared. What we finally realized after trying all of these fancy cheese if you want to get Molson to take a pill without question, cream cheese, good old fashioned Philly works like a charm. The liquid, that is a bit trickier but making a slice in his bagel or toast and filling the pocket with the medicine and sealing it with cream cheese works pretty good.

My baby puppy boy is almost 15; he is losing weight and shrinking like my 94 year old grandmother had in her last year of life. My husband keeps reminding me that if you times 15 by…you get senior citizen dog. My vet and I decided not to investigate why the weight loss is occurring because as he said if I take the blood test and we find something then what. And he is right, if there is an underlying disease causing his weight loss besides old age what would we do?

Because of his Tramadol he is in no pain, pain management bless you! He has an appetite, he constantly goes by his bowl for a little graze and more importantly I start his day off now by sitting on the floor with him and giving him as solid meal of some sort of meat or fish and a piece of his favourite bread and cream cheese with his pills. And we don’t take a break because if I should answer the phone he may decide he is full and thank you very much, you eat it! So as long as it is a constant breaking off of bread and putting his chicken or turkey or whatever on it, he eats his whole plate up. Eyes lit up, ears perked and him giving me an air nose butt if I should slow down too much because these days I slow down so he chews and swallows his food properly. No inhaling for him! To signal breakfast is over I always let him lick the plate and then kiss his forehead.

Even with all of his medicine and his lack of exercise, his change in routine he is doing great. He now finishes my bowl of fruit with cottage cheese at lunch and has something else to eat later to bolster his daily calorie intake. Did I mention his pooh is perfection? Regular and beautifully shaped?

So now instead of sharing our breakfast, I share his joy in what he is eating. We no longer go for a walk right after breakfast. Instead I change his diaper (yup found something that works) I put on his warm soft sweatshirt material paddock jacket and lay down a towel over the carpet on our front porch and help him get settled to watch and bark at passer by’s. Then I go into the house to eat my bagel, sip my coffee and read my comics trying not to think about the day when there won’t be that forehead to kiss.

Source: Molsie's Blog of Animal Assistance Products, creator of the Hip Hammock and Barrel Booster.

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