Day 48: Strange habits

Part of getting to know another is getting to know and accept and even like that individual's strange habits.  If Gracie could write, I 'm sure she could easily point out mine.  She can't point out mine, but I can point out hers.  One strange habit that Gracie has is how she eats.  Though she gets excited when we go into the kitchen for her chow, wagging her tail and even licking her lips, when I put her food bowl down, she won't go over to eat.  I have to sit down next to her bowl and coax her over.  Then I hand feed her a couple bites like I was giving her a training treat instead of her chow.  She still won't go to her bowl.  For a while I thought it might be the bowl itself, but her water bowl is an identical bowl, and she has no trouble having a drink from that bowl.  Instead, I but a few bites on the floor in front of her.  As she is eating those, I put more bites on the floor in a trial that leads to her bowl.  Finally, I leave a heap of food right in front of the bowl.  Bruce has watched us, and thinks we are crazy.  But there are a lot of pluses to this strange ritual.  First of all, it is kind of playful.  Secondly, she eats all of her food in a short amount of time, which will be especially useful once fall semester begins.  It is definitely a strange habit that I am guilty of reinforcing, but I like it. Gracie likes it too.  In the end, I guess this is now "our strange habit."