YouTube Roundup: Babies Feeding Dogs

1. This video documents an obviously mutually beneficial relationship, as the baby is having the time of his life and the dog managed to snag a whole–what is that, a pineapple ring? Sponge cake? Labs will eat anything.

2. What strikes me about this one is how well-behaved Rorke (the dog) is, just standing on that rug waiting for his handout. Then the kid starts banging around and you’re like, “Maybe that’s why Rorke keeps such a polite distance.” Either way, good dog. Also, good line: “Give that one to Rorke, he had that one in his mouth.”

3. Okay, how old is that ringleader dog? Seriously, he has the thousand-yard stare going on. Either way, he means business. By the end of the video, when the dog (very methodically!) removes the plate from the frame, the baby clearly becomes the odd one out. You can see it on his face. “Oh. Okay, you take that. I’ll just watch.”

4. How many Cheez-Its can a Chihuahua eat before it explodes? Surely no more than three. That kid looks really serious about murdering that thing, but alas, limited resources.

5. Proof that baby-retriever alliances know no geopolitical bounds.

6. Okay, that cracker was definitely already in that dog’s mouth before the baby ate it. I suppose with two big dogs in the house, you take what you can get. We only have one big guy here and our house has the hygienic standards of Bangladesh on a good day. Also, check out jilted (and visibly disappointed) second dog on the edge of the frame. He folds one paw under in this very nuanced “I see how it is” manner halfway through the clip.

7. Okay, there isn’t a lot of feeding going on in this video, but I had to include it as part of this funny little sub-culture of YouTube videos made by pitbull owners. Most of them have titles like “Vicious pitbull attacks baby” and they’re like the cutest videos you will ever see in your life, I’m serious.

8. The title of the video, “This is love,” is completely accurate–this dog is a saint. That’s his food and he’s letting it be rationed out to him kibble by kibble–until he’s finally like “sorry, kiddo” and digs in. Those of us looking to be more patient and serene in 2009 would do well to emulate old Marlo.

Your moment of zen.

There are few things that are more soothing to me than the smelly and thankless task of grooming the family dog. I cut and/or combed about ten mats out of Walter’s fur, combed him out with this ruthlessly effective thing my mom bought called the Furminator (see above), and pulled a tick off his neck. In the process, I received:

1. A bug bite right at the corner of my lips that has swollen to a point where closing my mouth normally feels bizarre. And now I can’t stop poking at it. Excellent.
2. Hands that smell like dog.
3. All the expected trauma associated with extracting wriggling, swollen little blood-sucking insects from the neck of a warm-blooded mammal.
4. An ungrateful pooch who will most likely be visiting my room in about fifteen minutes to see if I’ve left anything tasty in my trash lately (Kleenex, aluminum cans, apple cores, etc etc).

Nonetheless, this is a necessary part of pet ownership–without regular grooming, Walt would have mats all over and shed like a shedding demon. It’s also one of those proprietary things that I like to do as one who at least takes some responsibility for the happiness of this dog.