Stannis

Stannis is our 2-year-old Belgian Malinois and he's a picky guy.

All of my adult life I've had Pit Bulls and Malinois. All of them ate anything that wasn't nailed down. If it was nailed down, they would eat around the nail or perhaps even eat it as well. All of them ate like starving beasts up until the day they died. I didn't realize how lucky I had been.

After our last Pit Bull passed away, Stan no longer wanted to eat. At first I assumed grief. He had never been an only dog before. Soon I realized that wasn't it. He was getting fussy. He'd get excited to eat and dance around, but then when you offered it to him he'd look at you like, You have GOT to be kidding me. Many times we would find the bowl dumped and the kibble pushed into a pile in the corner as though it were rubbish. I tried different foods. I've always gotten him high quality foods, but no. All yucky.

He was taken to the vet. Was he sick? It's sick dogs that don't eat, right? Nope, clean bill of health. In fact, he stayed there for a few days while we were out of town. He ate fine while there. It occurred to me that perhaps he was a better eater when we had another dog due to competition. In the boarding area at the vet clinic he ate fine. I briefly considered carrying his dish of food out next to the pen where our neighbor keeps his neglected, outdoor-only dog. Competition! Then I realized that I didn't want to make the poor dog feel any more miserable than he already was. I'm sure he is fed cardboard in a bag. How rude would it be to make him watch the neighbor guy eat something tasty then go back inside with his people? Fortunately I considered this before doing it. I'm the queen of terrible ideas.

A friend suggested canned food. I resisted. I didn't want to make him even MORE fussy. But, a Malinois needs an astronomical amount of calories to maintain, and he was starting to look like a famine victim. We live in the middle of nowhere without any pet stores, so I buy my food online. I didn't want to buy a whole case, so I got him something cheap at the grocery store.

Stan's first encounter with K9 Fast Food was a life altering experience. He danced for his dinner and happily gulped it down. But, I felt guilty. How could I feed that junk to my dog? I'm sitting here with my daughter eating Doritos covered with melted cheese, but how could I feed that to my dog? So shameful. I half expected members of my dog club to come and liberate him from my irresponsible ways.

The same friend who mentioned canned food also said that she used this stuff called Honest Kitchen. I decided to give it a go. It would alleviate my guilt, and the cost was quite reasonable. I placed an order online for some Thrive and it arrived a few days later. I mixed it up, let it sit, then offered it to him. At first he looked at me like I'd lost my mind, but then he took a little nibble. I swear I saw his pupils transform into throbbing hearts. He gobbled it down, and he has gobbled it down since.

I look forward to trying other formulas. It is perfect for a dog like Stannis. High caloric content and YUMMY!

Thank you, HK!