Daisy's Insatiable Appetite

Daisy was super easy to train to be a livestock guard dog.  She was super easy to train commands and puppy stuff like barn training (i.e. like house training except in the barn).  Her one bad habit that we have not been able to stop is her insatiable appetite.

If Daisy ate too much dog food, treats or even alpaca grain, we would have a chance at controlling it.  Daisy unfortunately has a love for inedible objects.  It is nothing to go out into the barn and find a half eaten roll of duct tape.  She lives by the motto -if she can reach it, she can eat it.  I learned Daisy’s motto because I use to take a cup of coffee out with me to sip on while I did the morning chores.  Daisy also loves a good cup of coffee, especially the cup!   I’ve lost more “to go” cups that way.  

Daisy gets her breakfast first thing in the morning.  She’s good about devouring her food.  You just have to be sure to serve it to her in a metal dish because if it’s in a plastic dish she will first devour the food and then devour the dish. 

She is especially fond of garden hose.  More times than I can count, have I gone out to fill the water buckets only to find the hose on the ground in two or three pieces.  She even ate the plastic hose reel that hung by the water hydrant.  I think that meal took two days though. 

Her crowning glory of meals was a three foot by two food hole in the side of our barn.  It was made of translucent fiberglass panels.  It is now covered with metal and no-Daisy showed no signs of indigestion!

On the positive side, Daisy keeps our barn clean.  Stay away all of you mice, rats and cats or Daisy WILL EAT YOU!  She loves a good mouse snack when she can catch one.  We have also had the unpleasant experience of watching her swallow a baby bunny whole-no chewing required.

Daisy’s menu includes:  gloves, hats, shoes, balls, tools, cria coat, halter, leads, feed dishes, wax, paperwork, wood, squirt gun, and probably many things that we have not discovered. 

Bon Appetite Daisy!