Does your dog like his food?

Does your dog like his food? How would you know? I think there are signs that your dog will give that tells you if he does or not. Does he try to tell you when it's feeding time? Does he follow your every step to the location of his food? Does he drool a bit when he hears the food hit the pan? Chances are, he likes his food. If your dog picks at his food, walks away before it's gone or looks at you with that expression that says, "This stuff? You want me to eat this stuff? " We tend to worry when our dogs don't eat immediately, so we try to coax them with some tasty tidbit to get them started. The next thing you know, they are picking out the "good stuff" and leaving the rest in the dish. Before you know it, you have created a monster. You know, the kind of dog that gets his owner to cook extra food so there are leftovers to add to his dish, which he eats then leaves behind the dog food. Next thing you know, he is following you around the kitchen, drooling a bit as you sit down to eat, looking at you with those big, sad eyes. A begger has been created.
The best way to avoid the whole begging dog cycle is to feed him a good high quality, palatable dog food, like Life's Abundance. The food is fresher than the store bought stuff you find on the shelves that are so full of preservatives they actually smell like chemicals when you open the bag. Feed him at a specific meal time, generally twice daily, more often for small dogs. Measure out the food with a measuring cup, not the Big Gulp cup you have in the cabinet. Put it down and give the dog about 20 minutes to eat it. If he doesn't eat it, pick up the bowl and don't give it to him again until dinner time. Repeat the process at dinner time. Generally, the all day snacker will figure out if he wants to eat, he will do it when it's offered or it's gone. It normally only takes a few days. Don't give in and add scraps to get him started, no matter how sad he can make himself look.