This is Chuck. Chuck is a handsome fellow, wouldn't you agree? Well, in fact, it resembles Chuck. He’s a Bouvier des flandresish, yet with swirls of brindle running through his coat, there’s obviously a touch of something else…making him a bit of a mess. Don’t tell the owner, Tammy I said so. Handsome nonetheless.
If Chuck isn’t feeling 100% secure, he’ll vomit his breakfast, lunch, or dinner. No matter how long ago he ate, whole pieces of food spurt from his mouth like chiclets from a gumball machine.
Wasn’t quite sure what Tammy meant by Chuck’s “need to feel secure” in order to keep his dog food down.
“He can’t be watched while he eats.” she states, “Don’t think you can peek around the corner, he’ll know.” Could be he even understands that you’re THINKING of watching him! Yeah, right.
He has to have his food fixed the same way every time; exact amount of dry salmon-flavored Taste of the Wild kibble (1 level cup) wet salmon-flavored Taste of the Wild (1/2 can wet, cut into bitesize pieces) canned cat food (1/3 of a can of Wellness Complete Seafood variety, which is exceedingly tricky to divide and scoop) hot (not warm) water (3 T) and a long pump of room temperature coconut oil.
He’s gotta eat at 6:00pm on the dot.
He can’t and won’t eat away from Home. This is as serious as a person who can’t poop in a public stall, friend’s bathroom, or anywhere else but their own toilet.
You have to put the clean ceramic dish in the same spot on his washed and dried "Chuckie" placemat. Don’t clink it against his stainless steel water dish or it’ll startle him into ignoring his food.
Put his bowl down and walk away saying “Up!” in a loud commanding tone.
Leave the room and don’t come back until you’re SURE he’s done.
I didn’t believe Chuck was so damned choosey until I experimented with just one day - two measly meals. I was severely warned, if Chuck didn’t eat or in fact vomited his food one-too-many times, he’d go for days without eating and has to be EXTRA-coaxed, begged even, to please, please, PLEASE EAT. He loses weigh very fast and can become emaciated easily. Sounds scandalous and a bit over-the-top, I think to myself. He looks like he could lose a pound or two and nobody would know the difference.
In a bit of a panic, I ran through the obvious options available to me:
A. Call Tammy and fess-up. I didn’t run the tap long enough to heat vs warm the water, forgot to add the coconut oil until after I stirred the food, and damned if I neglected to say “Up” at the right time. In any case, I failed her.
B. I could claim the Postal Worker showed up with a package that needed signing and interrupted the meal. (Minor detail, there ISN’T a package to show for it.)
C. Chuck just didn’t take to me and refused to eat after I did everything right.
D. Another dog ate his food. (Now I need to locate another dog.)
E. All of the above.
Instead, I decided to take another stab at the meal instructions.
After those inexplicably rejected meals, I did exactly what I was told to do for breakfast the following day, and Chuck ate.
He kept every single subsequent meal down, didn’t succumb to rapid weight-loss, and I never second-guessed Tammy again.