Gustavo has entered a new phase in his development best described as reverting to completely feral when in the presence of food he can’t have.
Last night at agility class, this included garlicky pizza, cesar salad, and cake. Two different kinds. Oh, and the liver crack dog brownies.
What. You don’t have that at your agility class? I am pretty lucky to be in my dog class.
This has started happening when Gustavo is around food that’s better than his food. Like meat. His limited diet, limited to things he’s not really crazy about, seems to be getting to him. His feral regression looks something like many dogs on first day of their very first agility class ever. With brand new handlers. Who have never trained dogs.
Gustavo 1.0. Mortifying.
I tried to pull out the ringer and run her, but something wasn’t right with Otterpop. She didn’t seem totally happy. Not having great startlines, not running at top speed. She wasn’t slow, but usually in class she gets really going. Nothing but super fun speed. She was holding back last night, then between runs looked crabby. Didn’t want to jump up to sit on her box.
Well, not sound this morning. A bit lame in one of her fronts. Not too terrible, but it’s there.
So no ringer. Otterpop is sidelined for now to see if whatever this is goes away quickly and all on it’s own. Get well soon, Otterpop. I need you.
So that leaves me with Gustavo as my agility dog right now. Food is just a distraction, and apparently I have another new training hole. Number one rule of agility, have a dog that will play with you anytime, anywhere. This has always been a work in progress with Gustavo, and now we have a new layer to it. We’ve worked on training with nearby deer. Squirrels. Border collies.
Now it’s just boring old food. He just wants what everybody else has. And no way can he have it.
I guess that means I need to become Top Chef for Limited Diet Vegan Dogs. Because right now, there’s no cute Gustavo playing with his frisbee if there’s a hamburger within 2 miles of him. Weave poles, a thing of the past. We are back, once again, at the basics.
Wonder if it would help if you just dropped a few garlic gloves in the bowl with the veggies, sealed it up for a few hours to let the "aroma" soak in. Same with a chunk of some really aromatic cheese. Not to feed him, but just change the scent up a bit. Would that be allowed on his vegan diet?
Virginia in Texas, who understands what it is to want food you can't have!
Yes, this is my new way of making healthy, boring things seem more meaty. Locking them in a ziploc with the meat for a while. A special form of vegan hell. So they are pretending to be meat. He can have a little bit of cheese which he used to love, now he can have a tiny bit of meat scented cheese. I think this does help. Just still not the same as a big, juicy bone.