Dogless!

Yes, I am dogless this week. On Sunday Paul and his girlfriend pickded up the three dogs for a few days. At Paul's they become house bound as everyone is away all day at work. I thought I'd get them again yesterday but I didn't think it was fair to get the dogs as I was going to be out all evening. Now I can't get them until Sunday as I will be a class all day on Satruday. Do I miss them? Yes, but it is nice to spend time apart. I don't have to worry about them being fed and watered regularly while I am pursuing out of the house errands and classes BUT I think Paul over feeds them horribly.

While they are here, I feed them twice a day, a quarter of a cup each at a time. They also get a Greenie or another treat at midday plus little bits of whatever I eat during the day. By little bits I mean leftover milk from my morning cereal plus a half inch cube each of what I have for lunch or dinner. Not a lot and their weight is close to the desired amount. especially when you take into account that when I am home they have free reign of the ayrd and house. While they live with Paul, he feeds them three time a day at a third of a cup at each sitting. He rarely feeds them treats and never any human food. The last time Alex came home from Paul's he weighed about thirteen and a half pounds. His ideal wieght is about twelve pounds.

This feeding business has become quite a bone of contention. I insist on keeping them lean while Paul wants them not to be hungry. I must admit that hungry is what Alex is all the time so its hard to judge if he ever is not hungry! The girls have perfected the pathetic yearning look so I don't know how you could judge when they are not hungry as well.

Any advice? I am going to be away for two long trips over the next month or so and I dread coming back to tubby Dachshunds. The girls belong to Paul so their health is really in his hands. Alex, on the other hand ,spent three months in a vet's kennel when he was first rescued so I dread kenneling him alone while I am gone. I think the ultimate answer is to continue keeping pressure on Paul to feed them less and to make sure they get lots of execise when they are here... as well as a more proper diet!