Darling Clementine

Emme never begs at the table because we have never given her food from the table, ever. That is she never begged at the table until a few days ago.

Neither Emme nor Rudy get tastes of human food from our table. But when I am preparing food in the kitchen I always have two buddies with me. Both Emme and Rudy lie on the floor, doing a good "Down Stay" and after I have finished preparing food, I often give them tastes of fruit and vegetables. I am careful to give them only small pieces of carrots, green peppers, apples, bananas, grape tomatoes, cucumber. I never give them grapes, raisins or chocolate or anything that could be a danger to them. They seem to have this all figured out: tastes in the kitchen before meals, nothing from the table when people are eating. Until lately.

Recently, Emme got a taste of a Clementine and fell in love with them. The next day when we were eating a snack of Clementines at the kitchen table, Emme came up to the table, took one whiff, and whined, loud and long. She never begged at the table before. Maybe she didn't realize how good people food could be. She didn't get any taste of Clementine from the table and she hasn't begged since. Even the best doggy manners have their limit and I think that limit was passed with the smell of Darling Clementines.