Putin tells reporters please, don't feed my dog

MOSCOW, July 13 (Reuters) Russian President Vladimir Putin is fed up with reporters slipping his dog titbits.

''Sometimes, Koni leaves a room full of journalists with a very pleased expression on her face and biscuit crumbs around her mouth,'' he said in answers to emailed questions posted on his Web site yesterday.

''Therefore, I appeal once again, this time via the internet, to all my visitors. Please. Don't feed my dog.'' Koni is a curvaceous black labrador who made headlines by giving birth to eight puppies on the eve of 2003 parliamentary elections. She frequently sits in on Putin's meetings with foreign heads of state.

REUTERS MQA KP0937