I was flipping a spatchcocked chicken in a Dutch oven with a pair of tongs. Ari, who was watching from a distance, said, “It’s a dog!”
“It’s not a dog,” I replied. “It’s a chicken.”
“It’s a dog,” Ari said.
My stomach turned — as it always does — when Ari declared that the whole chicken was a dog. Clearly, I am not a vegetarian. However, the idea of cooking a dog on my stovetop makes me bristle.
And, yes, every time I make a whole chicken, Ari says “it’s a dog.” This kid knows what dogs look like. I don’t know why he thinks whole chickens are dogs. For now, I will chalk this up to him being two years old!
Raising Literate Humans 
It’s better than him saying, “puppy”…? Oh, Ari, your stories always make me smile!
His comment makes cooking a chicken a completely different experience. Being two it’s most likely he sees the legs and skin, generalizing. Two year olds say what they think and will be a great story to share as he gets older.
Oh yeah! It might be the reason he’ll eventually become a vegetarian!
I will never be able to look at a whole chicken the same again. That Ari, what a character.
I apologize for that. I’ve had trouble preparing chicken ever since he started this a couple of months ago.
This is hilarious. Your picture of the chicken actually looks like a cartoon dog face… wings as ears, breast as face, drumsticks as front legs…
Whoa! You’re onto something!
How terrible is it that I just spent a long minute staring at that spatchcocked chicken and trying to see a dog in it? I came up with pretty much the same image as Ms Chiubooka. Maybe it’s time to try roasting chickens whole for a while?
This dog nonsense actually began with a whole roasting chicken (which is what I usually make). It’s terrible, right?
It is, and it would drive me crazy, frankly – but, heaven help me, I am laughing from a distance.
I aim to put a smile on people’s faces! Half of the situations with my kids would be funnier to me if they weren’t my kids!
I love this age! You won’t convince him! We’ve been trying to tell Rose her ears are not eyes for weeks. So fun!!
Ari went through that for a couple of months. Thankfully, he knows the difference now. (In fact, he floored me when I asked him where his wrist was and he knew.)
Adorable! Glad you saved the details of these moments–this is definitely a story you’re going to share with him over and over when he gets bigger!
That’s for sure!
This post gave me a much needed laugh!
What a cute story! I too don’t see any sign of dog in your chicken … hoping it was still tasty after having that conversation 🙂
It actually turned out dry, which was shocking. But that’s another story.
Oh, no! Hopefully he accepts the truth soon. That’s a hard one!
😂
Okay, so now I have lost my appetite for chicken. I will be making a sandwich for dinner. Thanks for putting a smile on my face. My baby is nine-years-old, and I miss the cute sayings (although, she still does say some crazy stuff).
Yeah, I know what you mean. Sorry that I ruined chicken for you.