Today

Have been meaning to record the trials and tribulations of bringing up a pup as I seem to have forgotten the schemings and misdemeanors of Simba (yes, the one with the butter wont melt in my mouth look) before he became the darling that he was. In my memory, we never trained Simba, we just treated him as another family member – a more darling one of course as he almost always got all the love and affection even while the other members of the two-legged kind were more often than not, not on speaking terms. However, as my dear sister pointed out, I seem to have forgotten the brat that he supposedly was. Again since there were all of us milling around aimlessly in the house most of the time, Simba was just automatically brought up, without much effort. Evidently it is a different situation altogether now.

Its not that I am not enjoying myself, I am enjoying myself hugely. It’s just that I, alarmingly often, feel like tearing my hair. I also seem to have lost almost all my confidence in whether I am doing the right thing. So this is also more of a helpline for me, apart from hopefully being a point of reference to similar others, for advice, tips and guidance. And Reassurance of course!

The websites for diet that I have browsed through so far almost always contradict each other.
- garlic is a good tick and flea repellant, garlic is poisonous to dogs
- stick to the same kind of diet, bung in variety
- no salt, no oil, yet doggie diet recipes have salt and oil in them (not that I am inclined to make them)

The websites on training for Obedience and Respect are all commercial and therefore while mildly informative, stress more on the whys than the whats. They are all preying on the susceptibility of pet owners who hanker after The dog who will listen to them Unconditionally and Always. As you can see, I’m sold and hoping against hope that this is possible DIY. These are of course early days yet and I am hopeful to come across a site that freely doles out genuine pointers on what to do. Suggestions at this point are obviously welcome.

So, as of today, I am trying to (re)establish myself as leader of the pack. We are not Mommy and Daddy. We are at different points in time, Top Dog. I am currently trying to take advantage of Sh’s absence of a few days to gain significant and rapid advancement to the top. Especially important now that I have noticed in the past two days it is only my hands that are getting bitten and my clothes getting torn, Sh having already upstarted me to successfully negotiate his way to the top.

Of course in attempting to train it is not easy maintaining that professional demeanor and therefor to not take the sassing personally. And to switch off from Training mode to Mother mode But a note to myself: Smartass is always watching and noting. I must remember therefore in all modes, to remain Top Dog.

Since this is a site requesting technical support rather than just sharing anecdotes, here are some questions that I hope will get answers from the beyond (some answers reveal themselves zen-like as I write, but I am always open to your views):

I have veered between firmly believing I am overfeeding him to wondering whether his meals are balanced. We have after multiple towels being thrown in in despair, reinforced our agreement to give him “home food” as opposed to "dog food” (after all, dogs inhabited the earth before dog food did with their exploitative marketing tactics et al).

So, currently his four planned meals are
- 2.5 rotis and approx 50 gms paneer (half liter toned milk gives about 100 gms paneer which I am using over two days)
- 70gms mutton Keema with a pinch of turmeric and garlic, 4 beans, 5-7 pcs of lauki and half a carrot + 3 Tbsp dal, 2 Tbsp rice
- 125gms mother dairy curd (haven’t been able to crack the code for uniform setting of curd)+ 4 Tbsp rice 70gms chicken keema, with a pinch of turmeric 4 beans, 5-7 pcs of lauki and half a carrot + 3 Tbsp dal, 2 Tbsp rice or 2 rotis
In this there are, everyday, 2 meals which he is tending to skip/leave significant leftovers. So evidently I am overfeeding him? Or do I need to do something about a more stringent quality control in the preparation? (what do street dogs eat??? They don’t get even half of this variety dammit)

Have tried slipping in a bit of banana to the curd rice dish but he sniffs it, takes a step back and sits down shaking his head (no doubt thinking to himself, "O dear, Priya Priya, why did u have to ruin a perfectly good meal. What do I do with this muck now?”
At which point I go "You have to EAT it I say, because I am Top Dog, and you do what Top Dog says”
But of course, who cares about whether I think I am Top Dog.)

The question is, should I pop the untouched meals or mostly left over parts in the fridge and bring it out at the time of the next meal (there has been so far one successful event with this, so I know it will work) or should I chuck it and give him his next planned meal?
If I keep surfacing the same dish, and this war of the wills continues for 3 attempts (by which time I am worried that the food has gone bad – so should I be chucking it anyways?) won’t it affect his nutrient intake – given the food distribution above? How important is banana in his diet, given the above?

Why isn’t he eating just about anything I give him? And how to get him to do that???