I hope you are having a great 3-day weekend and enjoying some fun time with your family and 4-legged friends.

My husband Ben and I just got back from a nice lunch with my cousin, Anna and her husband Jeremy - conspicously not in attendance was Lola.

When I mention Lola to folks not acquainted with her, many immediately start humming the Barry Manilow tune, from Copacabana, "Her name was Lola - she was show girl..." However, the Lola in this story is not prone to dancing with "yellow feathers in her hair or a dress cut down to there." She is, in fact, a Basenji that my cousin adopted about 6 months ago.

An adorable little dog weighing in at around 20 pounds, Lola loves long walks around Greenlake (that's where all the cool dogs "see and be seen" here in Seattle) biting the marrow out of the special bones she gets from the butcher, and knawing on my husband's arm when he visits, for no apparent reason.

(When she was unresponsive to his "NO" correction for this behavior, he made an effective correction by baring his teeth and growling at her.)

The sad part of the story is that Lola didn't get to come to lunch with us today (even though the restaurant had a dog-friendly outdoor patio) because of a bad habit she picked up while being puppy-sat by Anna's parents.

Apparently when Lola went to "Grandma and Grandpa's" house, they indulged her by letting Lola clean their plates when they finished eating dinner.

This seemingly benevolent behavior from Anna's parents ("Grandparents" love spoiling puppies, don't they!) had 2 undesired consequences.

First - it made Lola an unabashed food-begger at any meal and

Second - she gained about 4 pounds in a 1 week period at these people's home!

YIKES - can you imagine increasing your body weight by 20% in 1 week. Ohh la la! You'd have to be really living it up!

So, now Anna and Jeremy are working on conscientously denying Lola "people-food" in an attempt to get her back down to her petite former self and help her re-develop a sense of self-discipline in the face of people eating their meals.

:) I am sure you will have the opportunity to hear more about Lola in upcoming issues of Dog Lover's Digest! In the meantime, be aware of when and how you let your dog clean your plate! (Only, if you decide to indulge your pet in such decadent behavior!)

If you've experienced this problem in the past and solved it, let me know and I will share your ideas in a future issue!

Have a safe and Happy Holiday!

Emily

PS. If your dog IS the showy type that enjoys impressing the crowds with feathers, dresses, or other fun props, let her make the most of Halloween in one of these CUTE dog halloween costumes! Fast shipping is available!

Emily Cressey
POB 55824
Seattle, WA 98155
336-499-1887 Phone

Email Emily
www.Gifts-For-Dog-Lovers.com

Copyright 2007, Emily Cressey.

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