Twinkie Rehab

My husband Tom and I have no human children, so a black cocker spaniel
named Nipper has become the perfect, furry embodiment of our love.

I’ll admit it. We are absolutely wild over this dog and nothing is too good for him. We are those eccentric dog people that non-pet owners roll their eyes over. And if the old adage, “We are what we eat” is true, then Nipper has become a Hostess Twinkie.

It all started because Nipper, has suffered from ear infections all of his life has had to take various medications, mostly in pill form.

And guess what? It’s hard to give a dog a pill. So, through the years we
have tried hiding them in dog treats, peanut butter and everything in-
between.

At first, during Nipper’s puppy hood, Tom was a bit more pragmatic. So for awhile we tried the “tough love” pry-open-the-dog’s-mouth,-toss-the-pill-into-it,-hold-his-muzzle-shut-and-blow-on-his-nose-until-he-swallows-approach. Uh-huh. It sounds good in theory, but doesn’t work.

Look at it from the dog’s point of view. All he has is time on his paws. This is a great game. Why would he be in a hurry to give it up?

That brings us back to the current problem. The ear infection is under
control. There are no pills left but Nipper still expects his morning Twinkie.
It’s classic Psych 101 stuff.

This can’t go on. I’ve made up my mind. Tomorrow morning…no
Twinkie. I’m staging a snack cake intervention and putting Nipper into
rehab.

At least until the next ear infection flares up.