Asparagus Bones

I love asparagus so much I buy it nearly every week in season. But I hate to share any with my kitchen assistant so it's lucky for me, Finn is crazy about asparagus "bones"-- the tough stalk ends that are usually tossed onto compost piles. He'll do anything for them, including another photo shoot. Though old Badger (our oldest basset hound) also loves asparagus "bones", Finn's sister Chloe (just adopted this year) didn't know what to make of this strange food at first.

Chloe didn't grow up eating apple cores or asparagus and broccoli stems. Much of what a dog eats, like humans, is learned from the rest of the pack. Finn had a great teacher--Abe who loved all fruits and vegetables so much, an orange being peeled could wake up him from a deep sleep. After Chloe observed Finn chow down, she now loves the green "bones" too.

If you have a chow hound at home these bones are perfect for low-calorie snacks, but first you have to teach your hound to eat them.