In's and Out's

This is Cabana's standard position during our dinnertime, half on her bed, half on the doormat. She lays exactly like this every night, patiently waiting until we are done eating. At 6:30, one of my daughters will enter the kitchen and open the drawer that holds Cabana's food. When Cabana hears that drawer open, her feet make a happy trot-trot-trot into the kitchen.

I always wondered why Cabana insists on laying like this, but after I took these photos, the reason dawned on me. She is facing in the direction of the kitchen, of course!

Cabana eats 2 cups for breakfast and 2 cups for dinner, which we mix with warm water. We are transitioning her from Science Diet Puppy to Science Diet Adult lamb and rice. Last night was the first time she had the puppy/adult mixture, and she hesitated a bit, probably thinking, "Whoa, what's this?! New food!"

I wouldn't call Cabana a fast eater or a slow one--she seems very medium. It takes her about 3-5 minutes to eat her 2 cups of food (I haven't actually timed her, so I'm guessing), and then she spends a minute carefully licking every iota of flavor from her bowl. Currently, she weighs 52 pounds.

Since I'm on the subject of what goes IN to Cabana, I'll say a brief word on what comes OUT. (I happen to enjoy bathroom subjects, especially since they are important when it comes to dogs--but if you're squeamish or gross out easily, click here to exit this post.)


Cabana has a very regular relieving pattern. She poops first thing in the morning, around dinnertime, and at bedtime.

One thing that my puppy group leader told me, which I found very helpful and somewhat fascinating, is that the more segmented the poop, the better the dog's digestion. So, if the poop comes out in big smooth lumps, the food is not being digested as well or as fully as if it comes out in lots of smaller pieces all stuck together. I know, I'm getting a little gross. But at least I'm able to tell that Cabana is digesting her food very well!!