The Eating Machine

We have a new issue in dog-ville. Well... it's not so new, we are just realizing it is not going away and we need to do something about it.

Last night, Ryan made a sandwich and was carrying it into the living room, about to sit on the couch. Rusty jumped up and tried to grab said sandwich from Ryan's hand, getting a bit of finger in the process. Needless to say, Ryan was pppppissed. What DOES need to be said is that, in Ryan's anger, he started yelling and smacking in the general vicinity of the dog and used the sandwich as a weapon and THREW it at him. I was trying with all my might not to laugh, and Ryan said, “It’s not funny, this is a problem, we can’t have a dog that lunges at food all the time.”

I responded, laughingly, “I complete agree with you and support you, you are totally right....” and I burst into giggles... it was too absurd. Ryan said, “Maybe I shouldn’t have used the sandwich as a weapon, but still.”

And while I am laughing as I type it, but it really is an issue. He is too obsessed with food, and we are researching the interwebs and there is a ridiculous amount of information out there, all of it conflicting, on how to address it. I just do not ever want Rusty to come across a little kid with a candy bar and think it is okay to steal it out of her hands. I also want to eat dinner in peace.

Because he is so little now, it is kind of cute when he jumps up and eats the entire piece of cake in one gulp off of Ryan’s Grandmother’s plate (we did warn them!), but when he gets big, it will not be so cute, it will be annoying and scary. So we are making a concerted effort to address this. He is such a good dog in all other respects, he is training well, and is affectionate and listens, unless someone has a potato chip in his vicinity...