Blondie has a disease that causes her to be less than interested in food. So getting her to eat is a big deal in my home. Both times that I’ve had company this summer, she has stopped eating to the point where I was ready to get her a vet appointment to see if the disease had dramatically worsened and we needed to up her meds. Both times she started eating again the minute the company left. Hmmm…..let’s see if we might not have a dog using food for emotional gain. When I have company distracting me from focusing on her every need, every minute, she stops eating. This causes me to pay her all kinds of attention as I try to force some morsels down her throat. They leave, she has my full attention again and suddenly the food disappears from her dish without any encouragement from me. Yep. Just another critter in my house who equates food with love. She must have Italian somewhere in her background.