I am HUNGRY!

Jib here.

I am hungry.

Sailor was fed. Zoe was fed. I was not fed. They got to eat in their dog yards. I had to Wait until Mom gave them their chicken legs. I couldn’t try to steal their supper. I couldn’t bark at Mom. I had to wait. Politely.

I did NOT want to be polite.

Mom has what she calls a new RooTeen. She says that since I work for cheese, I will be happy to work in the Ring when my cheese is on my crate. She says I will work for all my meals and snacks, too. And when it’s time to show, I will be happy in the ring thinking about my cheese. But I think I will be happy when I finally get my cheese. This is my new RooTeen, anyway, and I am beginning to like it.

Mom asks me, “Are you hungry?”

“Of course I’m hungry! I’ve been hungry since you opened the refrigerator!”

Then she feeds Zoe and Sailor. Actually, she feeds Sailor and Zoe. Sailor eats fist because he is the most polite.

She feeds me last. She cuts up my chicken legs into many bites. She puts my bowl of food on the table outside. She feeds me many bites. One bite at a time. And I have to work for my bites.

I used to eat All At Once. Now I eat one bite at a time.

And I am not supposed to jump up to my bowl. I am not supposed to even look at my bowl. But if I look at Mom, sometimes I can look at my bowl. Sometimes I can run to my bowl. And Mom gives me a bite of chicken. But I can only run to my bowl when she says, “Yes! Let’s eat!”

In the mornings, I get to eat from a spoon. Mom says it is good training for biting metal articles with my teeth.

When Mom asks if I am hungry, I have to figure out how to make her give me each bite. Sometimes she will give me the whole bowl. All at once. Sometimes it takes me many bites before I get the whole bowl.

Tonight, I had to find Heel and not look at my bowl. Then I got a bite. I had to Heel around the Bowl Table on the outside of Mom. Then I got a bite. And I had to Heel around the Bowl Table on the inside of Mom, but I kept looking at my supper. Finally when I looked at Mom, I got a bite.

And to make it harder, she kept asking, “Are you Hungry?”

“Yes!! Yes!! I am! I am HUNGRY!”

Then Mom took me out to the weave poles. They are different from the ones in class. The ones in class are fun. I can wiggle my way down the channel. Mom’s weave poles are stepped into the grass. They look different. They smell different. I am usually confused.

But tonight I weaved. I weaved all six. I was wiggly. I was fast.

And Mom said, “Yes!” and gave me my entire rest-of-my-supper.

I hope I can remember what I did right at breakfast time.