Please, may I have a bite? ©voyager, all rights reserved
We had guests for dinner last night, and we served a roast chicken with homemade stuffing. It was delicious, and everyone enjoyed the meal, including Jack and Angus, who had a few tasty tidbits on their kibble. Did it satisfy them? Well, yes and no. They ate with great gusto, but both dogs wanted a bit more. Angus barks when he begs, which is annoying and not effective at all, but Jack has begging down to a fine art. He simply turns up his charm to maximum volume and sits quietly beside someone until they notice him with his goofy smile and big eyes that say, “Please, may I have a bite? I am a poor, hungry dog, and I will be eternally grateful.” It’s a very effective strategy, and it doesn’t seem to matter that I tell people not to feed him at the table. People are helpless to resist, and even I give in once and while. Poor Angus doesn’t seem to learn from Jack, he just barks more loudly and seems confused that no-one offers him anything. Twice I forced Angus to hush for a bit and rewarded him with a bite, but the lesson didn’t stick. He’s a guard dog by nature and barking is his go-to mode. Jack, on the other hand, is a lover by nature and guarding isn’t on his resume. I don’t mind. All that chocolate brown love makes me happy and brightens my days. It might even help me to be a better person, and who could ask for more than that?
Someone once said “the outside of a dog is good for the inside of a man.” It may have been Teddy Roosevelt, I forget. It’s true, but don’t try inverting it and making dog lotion.
Cats can be worse, though. At least my cat can be worse.
Do you remember this sweetheart? She’s a beggar too and her strategy is to jump onto a chair and place herself between our back and the chair’s back and scratch the seat, or if that isn’t possible climb onto our shoulders and lean herself against our neck. She will then curl her tail so that it touches our face. When someone finally gives in and throws a tidbit she will jump to the floor, sniff disapprovingly unless it’s shrimp, and try her luck again. Yes, she begs for food and then rejects it. I don’t get it. Does she expect people to eat shrimp everyday?
Some dogs are just better at oozing goodness, eh Jack?
Our male cats are like Jack. In a previous residence we had a small kitchen, with a small stool at the end of the kitchen island. In order to stay out from underfoot our oldest male would ask for treats and then go sit on the stool and wait patiently for his reward (Temptations). He soon learned to just go directly to the stool and wait. Two residences later, that stool is still the go to place to ask for treats when we are in the kitchen. Our youngest male quickly learned the trick, and will wait very patiently for his treats, even for 5 minutes or more, even when I am going in and out of the kitchen.
We also cat sit our daughter’s male cat, and he quickly learned the same trick. Now there is teamwork between all three males when he is here -- when one sits on the stool they all seem to hear, and come into the kitchen to sit and patiently await their treats.
The oldest male, when we are not in the kitchen for an extended time period, will also come up to me and whine, and lead me to the kitchen for treats.
I should also note that I am noted for being soft on the cats and giving them too many treats. How can I resists such polite asking?
Our friends and their dog (you may remember Charly the dog) spent New Years Eve with us. As passionate Pokemon players we always joke that the attack “puppy eyes” deals quadruple damage to Mr.
Though that dog simply eats everything. I fed him my leftover tamales and he ate it with the same delight he eats doggy treats.
Our doggie did not beg. He just sat there, looking up wiht soulful eyes….