Dog isn't eating enough

[tessa_s212]

What do you WANT from me! Fine, I am *such* a horrible dog owner? Is that good enough for you?

Obviously you never had to grow up with parents that were not educated about dogs. Sometimes you just have to make and take compromises. Sometimes with parents you just have to take what they will give, and *slowly* ask for more.

[kazkirkpatrick]

Originally Posted by tessa_s212

What do you WANT from me! Fine, I am *such* a horrible dog owner? Is that good enough for you?

Obviously you never had to grow up with parents that were not educated about dogs. Sometimes you just have to make and take compromises. Sometimes with parents you just have to take what they will give, and *slowly* ask for more.

If you are being serious, I think you are taking her comments a little hard. They were constructive critisism, not blatent rudeness.

[tessa_s212]

When your a fifteen year old young person that cares about nothing more than your dog(s), you will always and constantly come across many individuals that doubt you and critisize you. They don't trust your judgement, and certainly don't trust that you could honestly care and love your dogs so much. They are constantly doubting your intelligence and skills when it comes to dogs as well. And...when people drop these little nit picky comments left and right, its tends to furstrate and hurt one's self, specifically when it comes from a person that I used to think knew how much I loved and cared for my dogs.

I DO care for my dogs! *I* feed my dogs, *I* make sure they always have water, *I* train my dogs, *I* show attention and love to all of my dogs. My mom is simply the role of "babysitter" while I am at school. I could go on to tell you exactly how and why I care for my dogs, but to keep this post short and sweet, all I will say is my dogs mean the world to me. When it comes to my dogs, they always come first. I am constantly continuing to try to learn more to help my dogs live a better life.

*I* am up early in the mornings to make sure Marq gets his morning run/walk, whether it just be in my own fenced in yard, or around a few blocks. *I* feed him half of his needed cups per day in the morning. When he is finished and will not eat any more, I simply take it away. I will not baby him into eating his food. If he wants it, he will eat it. If not, he will get hungry eventually.

[Novel]

I apologize Tessa if I was too critical. I thought I made it clear that I understood that you are working with your mother through this. Again, my apologies.
I know you care for your dogs, and that you do not have final say in exactly how they are treated. You are not a horrible dog owner, and I never said so, I just want you to understand that what seem like small things can seriously effect the final product. Having a dog is a huge Maturing process, and I admittedly was not mature enough to adequately take care of a dog until I was in my 20's although I've always had a dog.
I would suggest you sit down with your mom, and whomever else is in the house and have a long talk. Get this out in the open now, before you have serious problems.
Every dog deserves excellent care, but, if you are serious about showing and competing with this dog, you (or your family) will be spending quite a bit of money in travel, entry fees, etc. and you want to make sure every step is in the right direction with your dog. If one person is working against your training it could not only interfere with your dog's behavior, but in the end, really, your pocket book too!
I am sorry if you thought I was being too critical. I apologize, I thought that you knew how much I cared for dogs, and that my criticism was based purely on that love.