A Dog's Dinner

I grew up in the days before PetSmart. Pets were not as pampered or catered to as they are today. Unless you had a purebred dog that competed for ribbons and championships, it just wasn’t high on the list to feed a dog anything other than “table scraps”. The reasoning at the time was that if it was good enough for humans it was good enough for the dog.

“Scraps” was an elastic term. It is difficult for me to like asparagus to this day because the dogs we had all liked asparagus more than I did. This wasn’t hard because asparagus was “good for you” and like most stuff that is “good for you” it didn’t have enough flavor to be really enjoyable. Every dog I remember as a pet was more than happy to help me get rid of the asparagus, a happy symbiotic relationship. I’m not sure it even hit their taste buds because it disappeared so fast. You could lose a digit or two feeding table scraps to some of the dogs that were pets over the years of my growing up.

Asparagus wasn’t the only thing in the diet of our pet dogs. Other family members saved choice pieces of meat or portions of their favorite meal like the mashed potatoes, which was a favorite with the entire family, including the dog. Who knew mac and cheese is a comfort food to both humans and dogs?!  Burgers, hot dogs, cold cuts and all manner of breakfast foods disappeared into these canine garbage disposals.

There were times when we were “in between” dogs. That was not a problem. There were always neighborhood dogs - not only was this before PetSmart, it was also before leash laws. There was always a dog willing to help. Who needed garbage disposals when Spot or Chief or Sparky would be along making their rounds of the neighborhood. Just put it in the dish out back and it would disappear in short order.

This brings me to Blacky. Blacky was a stray of uncertain parentage that found my grandfather and for reasons I still cannot fathom, they bonded. He (Blacky, not my grandfather) was a few pounds short of lean and stringy when he found my grandfather, a condition which soon changed. Whatever his lineage, Blacky almost certainly had “chowhound” in the mix. Blacky loved food. Table scraps were plentiful. Canned dog food was also part of the diet. Blacky had a skill that he plied throughout the neighborhood – he could beg. And his way of begging made him a neighborhood favorite. Blacky began to waddle but he wouldn’t change his ways.

Many people approach life like Blacky approached dinner, accepting things that were nutritious for other people. Their lives are bloated and they “waddle” through life, carrying weight they don’t need to – if only they had their own life plan.

It is ALWAYS easier to take leftovers and call it a life plan or a winning strategy. Some of what they call strategy is rich – hand-picked originally for someone else. A good strategy or life plan is never a “dog’s dinner”. Like the special food from PetSmart it is tailored to the breed and the age and takes several factors into consideration.

Now I’m curious. Have you seen people living out any “dog’s dinner” kind of strategies or life plans?  What was the result of this approach? Remember, Blacky went from agile to waddling just by not controlling his habits. It’s a matter of asking the right questions and making the right strategic choices.

Do you have a life plan or strategy that is tailored for your unique “breed”?