Dog food is for dogs!

I live with two very confused individuals. Yes, one is Braden. No, one is not Brad. The other happens to be Avery, our 3 1/2 pound toy fox terrier.

I was a little concerned when I was pregnant with Braden that Avery would have a hard time adjusting to the new baby. After all, she had been our only "baby" for the past couple of years before Braden was born. I was worried about her adjusting, but she did better than we did adjusting to the new baby!

Avery was spoiled rotten, yet we were always very cautious about her food. We NEVER allowed her to have table scraps or any sort of "people food". Well that all changed when Braden started eating "people food". Avery would sit under his chair and wait for any tiny morsel that he might drop. For awhile I got onto her and then I figured, oh well, less for me to clean up. The Braden discovered that he could feed Avery himself. He would bend over in his highchair and drop her pieces of food. That wasn't as bad as when he "discovered" her dog food.

Braden and dog food a has been a battle that we have been fighting far too long in our house. I cannot tell you the number of times that we have caught him "chowing" down on Avery's food. Avery doesn't seem to mind since Braden feeds her his "people food". I cannot count the number of times that I lectured both of them that "Dog food is for dogs and people food is for people"! It's not that I am freaking out because he is eating dog food, as gross as it may be, it is how long he has been eating dog food that freaks me out. I am just praying that this will not be a lifelong favorite "treat" of his! And I will admit that I munched on a few tasty morsels myself when I was a wee tot! (How could I forget since my brother constantly reminds me and now delights in saying "like mother, like son" every time Braden is caught feasting on dog food!)

Well this morning when Braden and I got up (Brad was still sleeping and Braden and I both love holidays since Brad is home with us!) I came into the office to check my emails (yes plural) and stalk my fellow bloggers' pages, Braden did the cutest thing. After he got tired of playing in the office, he ran into the kitchen and got Avery's food and brought it back to feed her! I kept watching him run back and bring Avery more food and I was absolutely delighted! Finally he has figured out that DOG FOOD IS FOR DOGS!!!! After about 7 or 8 trips back and forth he had fed Avery he whole bowl of dog food.....or so I thought. Apparently he decided to save the last tasty morsels for himself! And back to square one we return! After I chased him down to get it out of his mouth (apparently he thinks this is a game since he runs from me giggling every time he eats dog food) I just breathed a sigh of relief and realized that this was a small accomplishment in some sense because at least he didn't eat the whole bowl full!