Moderation is less than you probably think

​On the feeding of donkeys... and other creatures.

I am just going to jump right in and say it:  We people tend to feed our animals too much.  Maybe it is an American thing.  I have no experience anywhere else.  But it is a thing.  That is not to say that I do not know people who follow their veterinarian's advice to the letter and measure out their dog's food with great care.  The fact that I know anything at all about the details of how and when acquaintances feed their pets -- because they went out of their way to explain it to me as if it were a matter of importance -- tells me that this is something that is hard for them.  Not hard for them to do, but hard for them to wrap their mind around. 

Let us out. We promise to practice moderation when eating the delicious grass.

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I was the same once upon a time.  I would read the suggested feeding amounts and schedules on the back of the dog food bag and scoff:  "What? My dog eats a lot more than that!"  Not that he should have, just that he did.  As if that makes sense at all.

Of course, my own eating habits were much the same.  I am pretty sure from the barrage of news headlines about Americans and obesity that I was not exceptional.

Then I moved to Oklahoma and bought a donkey.  I recognize that the things that motivate me to self-improvement are often a little unusual.  But caring for a donkey changed a lot about how I viewed diet and health.

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