Plummy

A few days ago I had a rather fat dog.


plummy
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.
Rally had just eaten a box of uncooked macaroni and cheese. I didn’t realize what she was doing until I found her lovingly licking the remains of the powdered cheese from its foil packet. At that point the box was neatly ripped into tiny pieces and all of the dried pasta had been consumed.

This was of course my own fault. I had left a bag containing several macaroni & cheese boxes on the floor by the pantry. I really didn’t think it would attract the dogs’ attention. Boy was I wrong. It just goes to show how sensitive a dog’s nose can be. Normally I can leave a case of uncooked pasta on the floor for days and the dogs will exhibit no interest. However, the addition of one tightly sealed packet filled with powdered cheese changes the whole thing. It might smell of only cardboard to me, but to Rally, it was an invitation to lunch.

When I removed her from the scene of the crime, her stomach felt tightly packed and her belly hung down. She always had a plump little tummy, which resulted in my calling her plummy. But this was entirely different.

I briefly considered trying to induce vomiting, but it never works with Rally. She has the digestive system of a goat. Usually after one or two teaspoons of Hydrogen Peroxide most dogs will comply, but not my girl. One time, after the second or third dose (I don’t remember which) all I got was the tiniest of burps. Once it goes down, it stays down. I wasn’t too worried; I just wished she hadn’t eaten so much dried pasta at one sitting. I made a mental note NOT to feed her dinner and went on with my day. Of course I forgot all that when I fed the dogs later that day. Rally sucked up her kibble with gusto and then I remembered that I wasn’t going to feed her. Oh Well, apparently her appetite hadn’t been affected by her little snack.

I have always taken pride in the fact that I have never gotten “the fat dog speech” from the vet. I may have found them to be a bit chunky at times (whenever I had a child in a highchair), but our vets has always been happy with their weight. A nice achievement with a breed that is notorious for over eating. As I like to point out, there is a reason why canister vacuum cleaners are shaped like a dachshund.