Dog prefers people food

It's bad enough that we have to worry about our own waistlines. But now we're told we need to worry about Fido's girth.

According to news reports, a firm has launched what it calls the first "lifestyle" dog food. Pet owners can feed their indoor, small dogs specially formulated food that is lower in fat. The food is designed to battle obesity.

Different breeds of dogs should be fed different dog food, the company says. Poodles get sulfur-containing amino acids to help curl their hair. The Chihuahua, a picky eater, gets flavor enhancers. A square-jawed bulldog benefits from an S-shaped kibble that's easier for the dog to grasp.

And here I thought dog food was dog food.

Who knew that dog owners weren't giving the right food to their pets. After all, we're spending billions of dollars annually on dog food and treats.

Our dog, Cassie, is a Sheltie who isn't picky about people food. She looks like a show dog when she stands alert in our kitchen waiting for some morsel of food to fall off the counter.

At times, my wife, Joni, throws popcorn to the dog. Cassie loves popcorn. She also loves potato chips, bits of steak or anything else that we would eat.

Cassie will eat dog food, too. But only as a last resort.

At our house, she perks up when she sees us in the kitchen. She'll follow us around if we have plates of food in our hands.

When it comes to our food, nothing escapes her.

You can't sneak a plate of food through the home without Cassie catching on. When we have company over to dinner, Cassie stands dutifully by the dining room table in hopes we will throw a bit of food her way.

I admit I give her potato chips quite regularly. But I draw the line when it comes to steak or other entrees. I'm not about to give up my right to a good meal. Besides, I figure Cassie needs to watch her weight.

Of course, the only thing Cassie really watches is the food we eat. Dogs seem to know that what we eat is a whole lot tastier than the stuff served up by dog-food companies.

Which makes you wonder if this new "lifestyle" dog food will really draw the interest of most dogs. I'm convinced that dogs are smarter than we think. I'm not surprised Cassie prefers our meals to her food. It just looks and smells more appetizing.

Cassie would have loved a fund raiser at the Cape Central Middle School last weekend where chicken and dumplings and kettle beef were on the menu.

All this talk of the modern dog food is great. But it's only a matter of time until dog experts advise us to fix a plate of our food for the family pet. We'll probably be counseled that giving dog food to dogs makes them feel like second-class citizens in our homes.

Of course, once we do that we'll be forced to enroll our pets in fitness centers so they can work off all those added pounds.

It would be enough to make our dogs sign up for counseling. Or maybe that is just wishful thinking.

Some of us have trouble understanding Fido even in the best of times. But when it comes to the dinner table, nothing gets lost in translation.

Mark Bliss is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.