We have regular routines on Miller Farm.

I get up, swim, let the dogs out, and let the chickens out. Then I feed the dogs and the humans. In the afternoon, I repeat that last part – feed the dogs and feed the humans.

Recently, Bella started barking about 5:30 p.m. and continued until I feed her supper. This was not a welcome addition to my routine so I began to pay close attention to see if I could figure out why she had started this.

I discovered that some mornings, Bella goes directly to the couch without eating her breakfast.

This was hard to discover as Bella usually takes bites of her food on the couch to eat. I had to watch carefully to see that she was simply lying on the couch and not eating.

Since her bowl was still full when the other dogs finished their portions, they ate her food also. This meant Bella was missing breakfast – the most important meal of the day.

This would explain why she was hungry and insistent on eating every afternoon.

The solution:

<a href="http://judythewriter.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/bellas-breakfast.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-4539" src="http://judythewriter.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/bellas-breakfast.jpg?w=300" alt="bella's breakfast" width="300" height="195" /></a>
<p style="text-align:center;">Bella now gets breakfast in “bed.”</p>
I’m willing to spoil her a little if it keeps her quiet in the afternoon.

The whole scenario reminded me of when the kids were little. They always seemed to be underfoot while I was fixing dinner.  I tried to have some activity ready for this strategic moment as feeding them breakfast in bed did not solve the problem with them like it did with Bella.