By Leslie, Carna4 Communications

This month we dined with Rufus, a positively picky Pom Chi (Pomeranian and Chihuahua cross). In his first two years of life, Rufus kept his family hopping, while he sampled at least eight different dog foods in search of the elusive best food for dogs to meet his seemingly unattainable high standards. He finally settled on a premium dry dog food, which he tolerates. (However, he likes to indulge in dry premium cat food, when he can get his paws on it.)

Given its low priority, Rufus pauses over his blue bowl where his dog food is served in the morning and at night, slowly nibbling on it.

In spite of his moderate eating, Rufus is slightly on the heavy side. While he gets one walk a day, he rarely makes time for an extra workout and this is showing a little in his expanding waistline. Instead of a vigorous exercise regime, this pooch pursues sock toys and shoes for entertainment and adventure, followed by a cozy nap in the middle of his owner’s bed.

With his family’s nest emptying (as two of three sons have left home), Rufus has stepped up to the Alpha dog role to protect his loved ones from predators – like the newspaper boy. When lightning strikes though, the tough demur dissolves into a cowering fur ball, as he fears electrical storms.

When we put CARNA4 dog food to the Rufus test, he devoured it much to his owner Chris’ surprise. In fact, he cleaned his blue bowl of the dog food and looked up to his master for more.