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.
