Tricks and Treats
No, this isn't an early ode to Halloween. Although...Holy cow, is it really mid-September already? Oy.
Wait, what? Where was I?
Right. Tricks. And treats. No, not a Halloween story. This is a Devil Pup story. Long time since we've had one of those, huh? It isn't that she doesn't do amazingly adorable stuff anymore. She's still the silliest most devilish princess pup I've ever known. Just I rarely have my camera available to capture her goofiness.
So. To set the story up:
Since she was a baby (puppy. whatever.) I've given her a certain brand of dental sticks to help her with her disgusting breath and such. They were sort of a long thin green raw hide thing with a minty flavor. The kid (dog. whatever.) LOVED them and so we sort of made a game out of it. I always referred to it as "brush your teeth" and she'd go wild if I so much as muttered the words "brush" or "teeth" no matter if they were in the same sentence together. Like, I can't say "brush" when referring to my hair. Otherwise, she thinks I'm offering her a "toothbrush." haha
I never gave them to her on a daily basis. I was afraid she'd get burned out on them and they'd no longer be a treat. Also, they were sometimes hard to find. They'd sell out and not get re-stocked for a while so I'd ration them out.
Well, a couple of months ago I gave her one and within minutes her face puffed up and she got all itchy and restless and looked utterly miserable. At the time I wasn't sure what was up. All I knew was that my baby girl wasn't feeling well and I didn't know what to do. Fortunately, I had some pain reliever left from when she had an ear infection so I gave her a dose of that and it cleared up in not time. It was only after the crisis passed that I put two and two together and thought, Huh. Maybe it was the dental stick that she had a reaction to. Although she'd been eating them for YEARS and never had any sort of negative reaction. But keep in mind that this was around the time that several dog treats made in China had been recalled for being poisonous/allergic/whatever.
Turns out, those dental sticks (Dingo brand) are indeed, made in China. I spent a good thirty minutes in Wal-Mart the following Saturday trying to find some dental treats that AREN'T made in China. Even the Hartz brand which has been around for YEARS is actually made in China. Ugh. Anyway, I finally landed on Pedigree dentasticks--made in the good ol' USA--and brought them home and introduced them as her new "toothbrushes".
Boy, this explanation is getting long. Ugh. Sorry. I'm getting to the funny part. I promise.
So, apparently she omigoshLOVESthesemorethananything. Seriously, as crazy as she went for the old ones, these, she'd probably throw me in front of a bus to get to. She loves them SOMUCH that she's got this new trick that she does.
Instead of waiting around for me to ask her if she wants to "brush her teeth" she tells me when she wants to "brush her teeth." Seriously. I'm not even joking. It actually took me a little bit to catch on but now it's an every night thing.
See, I have all of her food, treats and bowl in one corner. So now every night around 6:30 or 7, she gets down from my lap and goes and stands in front of or beside her "food center" and just stare at me. Used to be, she'd get down and stare at me only when she needed to go outside. But ever since we moved into the house, we've gotten her "outing" routine down to a science. So I the first time she did it, I knew that wasn't what she wanted.
I asked her (because she is too a real person!) what she wanted and she stuck her nose to the food container. So I put some food in her bowl. She sniffed the food, snorted and stared at me. That wasn't what she wanted. So I asked her again, "What do you want, baby? What's wrong?" She stuck her nose to her food container again. "I just gave you food. Tell Mama what you want." THEN she stuck her nose directly to the jar where her "toothbrushes" are kept.
And they say CATS are the more intelligent species of the two. What. Ever. My Libs is a freakin' genius.
Greedy little thing. But genius nonetheless. ;-)
Wait, what? Where was I?
Right. Tricks. And treats. No, not a Halloween story. This is a Devil Pup story. Long time since we've had one of those, huh? It isn't that she doesn't do amazingly adorable stuff anymore. She's still the silliest most devilish princess pup I've ever known. Just I rarely have my camera available to capture her goofiness.
So. To set the story up:
Since she was a baby (puppy. whatever.) I've given her a certain brand of dental sticks to help her with her disgusting breath and such. They were sort of a long thin green raw hide thing with a minty flavor. The kid (dog. whatever.) LOVED them and so we sort of made a game out of it. I always referred to it as "brush your teeth" and she'd go wild if I so much as muttered the words "brush" or "teeth" no matter if they were in the same sentence together. Like, I can't say "brush" when referring to my hair. Otherwise, she thinks I'm offering her a "toothbrush." haha
I never gave them to her on a daily basis. I was afraid she'd get burned out on them and they'd no longer be a treat. Also, they were sometimes hard to find. They'd sell out and not get re-stocked for a while so I'd ration them out.
Well, a couple of months ago I gave her one and within minutes her face puffed up and she got all itchy and restless and looked utterly miserable. At the time I wasn't sure what was up. All I knew was that my baby girl wasn't feeling well and I didn't know what to do. Fortunately, I had some pain reliever left from when she had an ear infection so I gave her a dose of that and it cleared up in not time. It was only after the crisis passed that I put two and two together and thought, Huh. Maybe it was the dental stick that she had a reaction to. Although she'd been eating them for YEARS and never had any sort of negative reaction. But keep in mind that this was around the time that several dog treats made in China had been recalled for being poisonous/allergic/whatever.
Turns out, those dental sticks (Dingo brand) are indeed, made in China. I spent a good thirty minutes in Wal-Mart the following Saturday trying to find some dental treats that AREN'T made in China. Even the Hartz brand which has been around for YEARS is actually made in China. Ugh. Anyway, I finally landed on Pedigree dentasticks--made in the good ol' USA--and brought them home and introduced them as her new "toothbrushes".
Boy, this explanation is getting long. Ugh. Sorry. I'm getting to the funny part. I promise.
So, apparently she omigoshLOVESthesemorethananything. Seriously, as crazy as she went for the old ones, these, she'd probably throw me in front of a bus to get to. She loves them SOMUCH that she's got this new trick that she does.
Instead of waiting around for me to ask her if she wants to "brush her teeth" she tells me when she wants to "brush her teeth." Seriously. I'm not even joking. It actually took me a little bit to catch on but now it's an every night thing.
See, I have all of her food, treats and bowl in one corner. So now every night around 6:30 or 7, she gets down from my lap and goes and stands in front of or beside her "food center" and just stare at me. Used to be, she'd get down and stare at me only when she needed to go outside. But ever since we moved into the house, we've gotten her "outing" routine down to a science. So I the first time she did it, I knew that wasn't what she wanted.
I asked her (because she is too a real person!) what she wanted and she stuck her nose to the food container. So I put some food in her bowl. She sniffed the food, snorted and stared at me. That wasn't what she wanted. So I asked her again, "What do you want, baby? What's wrong?" She stuck her nose to her food container again. "I just gave you food. Tell Mama what you want." THEN she stuck her nose directly to the jar where her "toothbrushes" are kept.
And they say CATS are the more intelligent species of the two. What. Ever. My Libs is a freakin' genius.
Greedy little thing. But genius nonetheless. ;-)
Comments
And honestly, it is difficult to find anything in this country not made in China. Has been for a decade or more, and makes me glad for the "Made in America" refocus the past couple years.
I didn't used to care too much about the whole China thing but now that they're poisoning toys and pet treats, I think it's time to let China go from our store shelves. Just can't trust 'em.
LOL Jen, I know, right? :-D