Lucky Dip with the Dog

You probably know by now that I am a complete softy when it comes to animals and I have 1 dog and 2 cats that reside in my home. My dog is the softest, sweetest bundle of bouncy fun that you could possibly wish for and I’m so lucky to have him within our family.

However, there is a bit of a problem, well not a problem as such, just a personality trait that involves a very large appetite.  When his previous owner handed him over to me, she gave me a piece of advice that has stayed with me and become more evident over the last 6 months. Her exact words were when informing me about ‘Dexter’ (my dog’s name)”That boy can eat!”. And he really can, if I let him. Apparently, unbeknown to me, the Labrador breed has a tendency to chew legs of dining room furniture, they enjoy swimming at every available opportunity and really do love to eat!

Now the reason for this tale is because over the last 4 weeks I have been trying to lose weight. You know how it is ladies when you hit these periods of your life and your food supply has to become restricted, well I don’t know whether my dog senses this, but every time I sit down with my breakfast of 2 small slices of weight watchers toasted bread, he’s looking at me with those kind cute puppyish eyes and I have to give him a piece. I just can’t help it. Then for lunch, he’s there again when I eat my Ryvita crispbreads awaiting for a tiny morsel whilst salivating profusely and wagging his tail. I mean come on, Ryvita’s taste like the bottom of a bird cage, if you can just imagine eating the bottom of a bird cage. I think it’s the fact that he wants to either really get on my nerves or he’s just a complete gobbley guts!!! I think it’s the latter.

I had a slip off the dieting wagon last night and ate a treacle sponge and custard and gave him a quarter of it. If I’m not careful, he will be looking extremely rotund.

So with determination in mind this evening ( I mean he has 3 square doggy meals a day for goodness sake), I resolved to give him no more titbits. I do an immature thing for a middle-aged adult where I fill my biscuit tin with 4 or 5 different varieties of biscuit, there’s Oreos, chocolate biscuits, rich tea and custard creams at the moment. So I’m relaxing on my sofa with the Labrador at my feet, and I open the tin and delve into it, a bit like a Lucky dip. I bring out the first biscuit I lay my hands on, contemplate whether this biscuit is fancied, if not I pop it back and reach for another. It’s got to the point where ‘Dexter’ awaits for this action and either his eyes light up in recognition for my choice, or he’ll look away at the boringness of the rich tea.

It is our lucky dip Sunday, but it has to stop because I’m supposed to be dieting and so is he!

x Pip

PS: No doggies were harmed with over-eating in the making of this post. (I give him 3 or 4 a week). And he swims at a local park every morning and we walk 2 miles a day! He burns it off. Unlike his owner 🙁