Bedtime Snacks

Many, many years ago, when my toy poodle was just a wee little thing, the groomer who I normally took her to told me that little dogs require more than one meal a day...preferably one in the morning, and one sometime later during the day, to keep their blood sugars from dropping.  Somehow, this evolved into an excuse for me to feed my dogs 2 meals a day, which gradually got further and further apart.  Eventually I made the exciting discovery that dogs, like people, sleep better on a full stomach, and thus the tradition of bedtime snacks was born.

It is a tradition that I have since come to regret.

My initial concoctions were of the simple variety...perhaps a bone or some other kind of dog snack. They then graduated to more elaborate plates of snacks, and then to full-fledged meals.  Why? Because my dogs insisted upon it.

Bedtime for Prince (photo by SCB)

I have to give Prince credit for at least being polite about it.  When I approach him at night, he initially stares at me in an expectant manner, at least giving me the chance to produce the snack without his demanding it.  If this approach fails to work, he will begin to shadow me, and finally sniff at my pockets in an expectant manner, staring at me intensely the entire time.  Failing to produce a snack will result in his failing to do whatever I want him to do, until the snack is produced.  Since I would rather cajole than command, whenever possible, his approach usually works.

Isabel is not nearly as polite about it.

Bedtime for Isabel (photo by SCB)

She, too, will stare at me as bedtime approaches, but in a far more expectant manner, as if she cannot imagine that I would not grant her wishes.  If the snack does not meet her approval, she will either snort loudly or refuse to bestow upon me her treasured good night kiss.  She also has another, more ominous method of getting exactly what she wants (sometimes used even after receiving a satisfactory snack).  This technique can only be described as hounding.

For the rest of the night, whenever I get up, for whatever reason, she will get up, too.  After I have finished whatever errand prompted me to arise, I will return to find her sitting in the middle of the dining room floor, refusing to go back to bed unless another suitable snack is provided for her.  She will do this as many times as she desires, and yes, I admit, I always give in.

Unfortunately, I have created a monster.  Now, after receiving her first or second snack, she actually has to be locked into the bedroom at night to prevent her from insisting upon a never ending supply of bedtime snacks.

Bedtime for Scrappy (photo by SCB)

Oddly enough, the real beneficiary of both Prince and Isabel's behavior is Scrappy.  He never asks for anything, and for some odd reason, always seems to end up with the most of everything.  Persistence does pay, but patience really is the best technique of them all.