Bad Habits

Sundance: Why do humans battle with portion control? I am beginning to see signs of obesity and allergic reactions in most of my human and dog friends. Do the humans think that by eating a super-sized meal they will find happiness? Or by giving their pets large amounts of treats and food they will find a happier connection with us? 


James: Great questions Sundance! Portion control is obviously a societal dilemma. Everywhere I turn, I find children and adults hoarding themselves with food and consuming meals at such a rapid pace. The need to shovel cookies, hamburgers, fries, and chips down one's esophagus is a bit disgusting. I admit, I have committed such food lust and stuffed myself. I threw portion control out the window many times, sometimes out onto the 101 freeway. 

Sundance: But why would you and anyone do this? 


James: I suppose it lies within human nature to be so greedy and to lust for more. It is one of our greatest failures. That, and manufacturers have been upping the sugar, fat, and salt, and connecting sugar-fat-salt to happiness and to positive emotional states. So now people are learning from a young age that what they put in their mouths is tantamount to love, joy, peace, and a fulfilled life. Also, since the recent generations were raised by parents who were to busy while trying to live up to artificial ideals of parenthood, those poor over-stressed parents resorted to the refrigerator as a source of love and comfort for us children. So of course we grow up and do the same for our children--our dogs. 


Sundance: I've seen some owners get their dogs so excited, stimulating the dog's food drive to the point that not even one kibble was chewed. Instead, it's vacuumed into the black hole only to escape out the other end with urgency. 


James: Yes. I strongly believe that our human problems are migrating over to our canine friends. Our stress levels. Our allergic reactions. Our dairy intolerance. Our gluten indulgences. And our carb overload of sweets and refined grains. It's no surprise!


Sundance: Well you know how I see it? I'm a dog, and I've been bred to work. I love to work. And after I work, I'm hungry. I eat a couple cups of food, take a break, then eat a couple more cups. Then I'm done. I've replaced the calories I needed to replace to refuel me, and no more. Then when people offer me those sugar-fat-salt treats you're talking about, I just think of how good I feel, how happy I feel to be loved, and those sickening treats offer no more appeal. Why can't humans do that?


James: We can. We just think we can't. It's like when we were trying to train that crazy imbalanced dog, everyone said it would be impossible or too much work. But we knew that those old desires for imbalance were just bad habits that could be broken down, just like a tobacco addiction. And so it is with food. We're all just dogs with old bad habits who are accustomed to finding joy in food. But the real joy is found in--


Sundance: PUPPIES!!!