Lest you think we only torture our dogs

I thought I should share with you these pictures that show that we do also reward them for their suffering.
For example, in this photo from the doggie birthday festivities, note that all their tongues are sticking out and they are looking to their left and upward. Why is that?

Because Allyn is approaching with a package of grated cheese. Everyone loves grated cheese.

Want proof? Check out these two photos.

In the first, all three are in a scrum for the cheese that is now decorating the floor. Yes, we continued the torture in that we made them go for the cheese while still in their hats, but to be fair to us, stopping them would have been difficult once cheese entered the picture.

After Holden and Shibori had eaten their shares, they implored us to remove their hats. In the second photo, Holden's is off, and he has sprinted to reclaim his bone lest one of his domineering sisters decides to take it from him. Shibori is staring sadly upward, desperately hoping someone will remove her hat, love on her, and allow her to reclaim the few tattered remnants of her doggie dignity. (Alas, she had to wait a few minutes anyone could wade across the dog-slimed floor to free her from her cone of oppression.)

Pixil, however, as is often the case, is the craftiest of the three. She has shaken off her hat and is busily taking advantage of the opportunity the others have afforded her by getting every last scrap of cheese off the floor.

Yes, they had to endure party hats, but in the end I like to think the cheese balanced the scales nicely.