Sometimes I wish I could be as blissfully ignorant as my dog.
Decker is pretty smart. He recognizes specific toys, he knows dozens of words and phrases, we play brain games, hide and seek, and he rarely ever misbehaves. We could leave a garbage bag wide open with meat available for the taking in the kitchen and he might sniff it, but he won't go for it (this has been tested time and time again even while we are out of the house). He rarely counter surfs. He is just an amazing dog overall. He has his moments, of course, and he has some major attitude, but he is lovable and adorable and my favourite.
Now, Decker has a few minor medical issues. He has an extremely sensitive stomach and he tends to vomit a lot - to the point where he has actually had bad esophagitis before and began to regurgitate all food. Luckily for him (and for us), his vomiting issues have a pretty simple solution: Pepcid AC once every night.
Of course he doesn't like taking his pill. He spits it out when he can (if he takes it at all), and he has even learned how to squirrel it away in his cheek, swallow a few times so that we *think* he has swallowed his pill, and then spits it out as we walk away (as we hear a little *tink* as it hits his food bowl). Sometimes it falls on the carpet though, which doesn't make a sound, so sometimes we miss if he hasn't taken it.
Until the next day, when he vomits.
Of course he doesn't understand that one little tasteless square thing that he spits out every night actually prevents the nausea and vomiting. He is unaware that if he doesn't eat that gross thing, he will feel ill. He just doesn't like taking the pill (I mean, who actually LIKES taking pills), so he simply doesn't take it. Oblivious to the consequences.
Wouldn't it be nice sometimes to just say 'screw it', say 'I hate this pill, I don't wanna take it' throw caution to the wind and ignore what will happen.
Except I DO know what will happen - short-term and long-term. I have gone through various concoctions of medications, supplements, naturopathic remedies, physical therapy, massage and acupuncture therapy, nearly everything you can think of that is safe. Until I found the current regimen I am on, things were a lot worse. A LOT worse.
That knowledge, that fear of knowing what will happen if I miss my medication or take an incorrect dose, that's what keeps me from spitting out various disgusting medications.
(I have spit out some... not exactly on purpose but reflexively. Some medications are just plain disgusting and need to be masked... like giving pills inside peanut butter for dogs).
