Our Little Man Jasper got some distressing news at the Vet this past weekend – most distressing for a Golden Retriever anyway. The Little Man has gotten pudgy. Yup – pudgy, chubby…plump. The Vet was too kind to call him fat, but nevertheless he needs to lose a few pounds. It is hard to tell with Jasper when he gains weight, as he has that golden thick and poofy long coat – totally different than our other golden, Boo, who’s coat is also thick but shorter. Whenever we give Jasper a shower and we see him with a wet coat we are always surprised how small he actually is – he doesn’t even look like the same dog! People are also always surprised when we tell them that he weighs 65 pounds – they usually guess in the 75-80 pound range.
For a golden – especially Jasper – the word D-I-E-T (yup, he knows this word – it is just safer to spell it even when I write it – you never know) can cause severe anxiety…even trauma. I am pretty sure J understood what the Vet said too. Everything was cool till she looked up from the LCD panel on the scale and quietly said, “He needs to lose a few pounds – get him down to 65”. All of a sudden his carefree, goldenboy attitude and demeanor changed. Up to this point he was totally focused on the jar of dog treats on the Vet’s counter. He immediately turned up to look me in the eye, took a couple of small steps backward, looked up at the Vet and then back at me like, ‘NOOOOOOO’! He then instinctively took a step toward me, leaned against me and nudged my hand as if to tell me, ‘She doesn’t know what she is talking about, Trish – don’t listen to her’. Judging by the look on his face, I’m sure the Little Man saw his evening frozen peanut butter Kong, mid-afternoon sliced banana snack and his 2ndlate night dinner of pumpkin, sliced cucumbers or apples and raw goat’s milk flash before his eyes AND it was not pretty sight for the Little Man.
For some reason, J always seems to have more of a problem with winter weight than the other goldens I have had. Maybe his metabolism is more susceptible to less exercise than the other goldens or perhaps it is just his bear-like hibernating nature that comes about when it gets too cold outside for his sensitive tootsies.
So is a D-I-E-T in J’s future? Definitely not. Jasper is the fourth golden I have had and I have to say I know better than even attempting to cut out his snacks. It won’t work – mostly because he would annoy his humans to the point of no end. Jasper’s day revolves around eating and I’ve come to believe that Golden Retrievers’ stomachs come with built-in alarm clocks when it comes to food. When 7pm comes around Jasper can be found in two places – 1) his head resting on one of my legs, whining and drooling all over my pants for his peanut butter Kong or 2) in the middle of a drool puddle on the floor anticipating his peanut butter Kong. It’s just not worth it.
Every golden Mom or Dad knows a Golden Retriever’s top 10 list of life priorities/objectives:
- Food
- Food
- Food
- Food
- Food
- Peanut butter
- People
- Playing
- Toys
- Napping
J is no different. I would like to think that I come ahead of food and peanut butter, but alas…deep in my heart, I know I would just be fooling myself. Food rules with goldens. Period.
So, the Little Man will keep his peanut butter and his numerous snacks throughout the day – his sliced bananas, cucumbers and apples – his green beans, carrots and sweet potatoes – and of course his beloved peanut butter. I have no doubt Jasper’s spare weight will come off with warmer weather and more activity. Now all we have to do is wait for the weather to warm up, the ice to go away and Jasper to stop sleeping 20 hours a day. We are more than ready for spring, especially after the polar vortex and snow this winter! The Little Man did manage to perk up a bit when the sun came out yesterday and willingly went out and played with his Frisbee in the backyard. Hopefully warmer weather and spring will be here soon. We can’t wait!
