Norman and Ellie live for food. But there’s a problem. Food goes in their mouths but their brains never hear about it. 

Gracie Ann Gurley here with Gracie’s Tale #5. And it’s a mouthful. Get it.

Norman is my big Lab brother and Ellie is my niece. We eat two times a day. Then we have snicky-snack time with daddy when it’s dark. I think he sometimes sneaks me extra.

Then we have momma. She doesn’t tell daddy what she gives us. And none of us will tell daddy either. Momma likes to throw food at us from her plate. Norman and Ellie love it. She loves it, too. Me, not so much. I like it when momma puts the food in front of me. What can I say? I’m pretty sure some of it is stuff we’re not supposed to have. 

And now we’re all a little pudgy. You can see from the picture I might have had more than a few extra treats. 

Daddy did some research and found out some dogs, like Labs, never feel full. Something inside them doesn’t work right. Or works too good. That’s Norman. I don’t have this problem, but Ellie definitely does. She’s a mess. 

There’s other stuff, too. It seems my great, great, great, great grand daddies and mommas were wolves. They didn’t have someone to give them food, so when they did eat, they ate a lot. That helped them for the times they didn’t eat. Daddy says dogs today still think that way. 

That explains a lot.

Daddy says dogs who weigh too much don’t live as long, so he has everyone at my house on a diet. He says if we don’t lose weight we might miss 2,000 meals. Is he joking?

But we would be really skinny!! 

Are we always hungry? Maybe not. But we’re always interested. 

Here’s my advice: Feed us good stuff, like beans, carrots and sweet potatoes. Stick to the schedule. Love us with belly rubs and walks, not leftovers and guilt. 

More from Gracie’s Tales

Tale #2: Why we lose our minds when you come home
Spins, tail wags, and the happiest moment of a dog’s day.
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Tale #7: Why apologizing is so hard
Sibling drama and the complicated art of saying sorry.
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