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Can Dogs Help Us Eat Better?

Wait a minute!  How in the world can dogs help us eat better?

Here's how:                                     Page 1 | 2 | 3   

• When you exercise, you enjoy your food more and can eat more of it without gaining weight.  Dogs are always desperate to play and are a perfect vehicle for exercising.
  
  
• You can (sometimes must) take dogs for a walk or run, whereas, when by yourself, you may encounter muggers, acosters, comedians ("Hey, see that fat lady running!"), the terminally curious, etc.   See previous point about exercise.
  
  
• One reason many people overeat is to comfort themselves.  Next time you inappropriately get the munchies, do an experiment.  Talk to, pet or play with your dog instead.  The resulting endorphin high may be a satisfactory substitute, helping to control those unhealthy eating urges.
  
  
• Dogs need to be watered regularly, reminding you of your need to drink more fluids for good health.
  
  
• Dogs are always trying to lick your hands, therefore encouraging you to wash up more often, which leads to more sanitary food preparation.
  
  
• Dogs, except for the best behaved ones, will steal food that's left out unattended, therefore reminding you to store food promptly, avoiding food poisoning.
  
  
• Dogs clean up things you drop on the floor, like eggs.  If you drop things a lot, you can train one to do sentry duty, keeping your kitchen floor from getting slippery while you cook.
  
  
• Dogs love leftovers.  Forget cleaning your plate to save starving children in some foreign country (never worked that way anyhow).  Scrape contents of plates, pans and serving dishes into a refrigerator container to later add to your dogs' dry food.   They love leftover bread, salad, vegetables, egg, rice, pasta, sauces, almost anything.  Avoid a lot of fat; just as it's not healthy for you, it isn't good for them either. 
  
  
• You can enjoy many healthful choices like beans, cabbage, peppers, cauliflower and   broccoli, and then blame any resulting flatulence on the dog whether or not it's true.  (Note #1)
  
  
• Dogs love meat trimmings.  You should trim all the visible fat and gristle from your meats, and may be more likely to do so thoroughly if you know it won't go to waste. (Note #2)
  
  
• Well trained dogs will lay quietly at a respectful distance from the dining table or underneath it, where you can slip them morsels of skin, fat and gristle (Note # 3).  The sight of those sad eyes telegraphing "I'm staaaarving" will help you avoid eating these yummy bits yourself to the detriment of your health.
  
  
• Dogs' coats get shiny and they thrive on additions of raw or cooked egg yolks to their diet, so you don't have to feel guilty about throwing out part or all of the egg yolks to reduce your own cholesterol intake.  (Note #4)    Add yolks to the dogs' refrigerated leftovers container as you cook.
  
  
• Dogs help you make fabulous chicken broth.   Buy the cheapest cuts of chicken and follow the directions for this delicious flavored base.   Strain well and reserve broth for yourself.   Pick off any lean parts of the chicken you want, and save for soup, stew, stir-fry, salad or sandwiches.  If the bones aren't soft, add a little more water to the chicken remnants, bones and veggies (Note #5) and pressure cook a little more until the bones are crumbly.  Put the results through the food processor or blender, including the bones for extra calcium (Note #6) and the veggies for fiber, antioxidants and vitamins.
  
  Don't feed this stuff to your dog straight; it's too rich. Divide the resulting chicken mush into small portions to add to dry dog food.   You may freeze individual portions in sandwich bags for later use if you wish, as it will keep only about three days in the fridge.  
  
  
• Dogs help you keep sweets and treats locked away out of sight and out of mind (hopefully). (Note #7)
  
  
• Dogs will remind you when it's dinner time.  Always.
  

So you see, dogs can help in varied ways to make our diets healthier and tastier.    Keep a perspective, however.  If you have a large family and one small pup, Fido may be in trouble if you overdo the leftover additions to his diet.

Dogs are social animals, and if you are away a lot or your dog spends a lot of time outside guarding, get a second dog after your first one is trained.  The first dog will help train the new one, and they will behave better, be happier and live longer having each other for company.  Unless you live alone, you will probably generate enough scraps to add to two dogs' dry food diet, so you'll need two dogs to help the family eat better.  Enjoy!

See "Assistants" for photos      Page 1 | 2 | 3 (Notes)