When to Perform the Puppy Heimlich Maneuver

It’s been a while since I’ve written anything on this blog and a friend reminded me of that a couple of days ago.  He said that he missed my dog stories, so this post is for him.

I need to keep slim
so I watch what I eat

Lola, the Chihuahua, is a very picky eater.  I’d say about 50% of the time, she doesn’t eat her breakfast and about 25% of that 50% requires me to sit next to her while she eats, or she’ll sit and growl at the pugs.  I’m like her little Chihuahua bodyguard.

Is it time to eat?
NO?
Talk to me when you've got kibble.

On the other hand, the pugs, Nefi and Rampage, LOVE to eat.  I think that is what keeps them going through the day because the rest of the time they nap.  Dinner is their favorite meal because they’ll get some yummy chicken or bacon mixed with their kibble.

Here’s the problem with the pugs… they gobble their food like it’s their last meal.  And it isn’t because I don’t feed them well.  They are always balancing on the border of healthy weight and overweight.   

When we first got Rampage he was severely underweight from being starved.  We had to feed him handful at a time so he wouldn’t get carried away.  And forget giving him “people food”.  He would take the entire bowl of food in his mouth and then promptly regurgitate it.  He’s gotten a lot better, but on occasion he’ll still over indulge.

Nefi isn’t that bad, but she doesn’t breathe while she eats.  She’ll power through her bowl of kibble until it’s gone.

So the other day, I fed them and sat down on the couch.  All was going normally until Nefi started running in circles.  This is unusual because Nefi is REALLY lazy.  I think she may be part sloth, so to see her running around caught my attention.

Then I realized that she wasn’t snorting.  You can usually hear where she’s at in any part of the house from her breathing.  It was then when I noticed her face. 

Again, they were wanting food.  Surprise.

Pugs have bulging eyes; some have less bulgy eyes than others.  Look at the difference between Rampage and Nefi.  His eyes bug out quite a bit more and they look in different directions.

Yet right now, she looked a little something, like this…

Marty Feldman, eat your heart out.

Picture this face as a fawn pug and with a little more panic.

I jumped off the couch and tried to catch her but she was still running.  I finally grabbed a hold of her legs and while trying to get a better hold of her, I grabbed her midsection.  This served as a version of the doggie-Heimlich maneuver and the kibble – about 6 large pieces – came shooting out.

Now able to breathe she danced with joy… and then ran over to the spat-out kibble and gleefully ate it… in one bite.

Some dogs never learn.