When one is on a diet..

even carrots look good.

Emma was told by her vet that she needs to lose five pounds. Too many training treats, apparently.

“She should really only have one or two treats a day. Otherwise it’s like she is snacking all the time,” the vet explained. “That’s not good for humans and it’s not good for dogs. How many treats have you been giving her?”

I took a moment to mentally count up Emma’s daily treat consumption. And then I lied.

“A stick of string cheese when we are doing agility training. Some sirloin tips when we are working on name recall. A handful of banana bacon biscuits for politely watching out the window and not barking at passing dogs.”

After seeing the vet’s expression, I was glad that I did not tell the truth. Emma gets all that, and also, chunks of salmon for not chasing squirrels, bits of scrambled egg for staying on her bed during family dinners, elk jerky for walking nicely on her leash and Costco rotisserie chicken for leaving the dog beach when it is time to go home. It was clearly diet time.

Emma has always enjoyed being a trip hazard when I’m rushing around the kitchen, carrying boiling pots of water or sizzling sheet pans.

Since her diet started, however, Emma has turned into an overeager sous chef. When six o’clock rolls around and I wander into the kitchen to preheat the oven, she leaps from her napping chair and runs to position herself at my side. I start chopping on the counter. Emma rears up on her hind legs next to me, just barely able to peer over the counter. I imagine if she had opposable thumbs she would find some way to tie on a tiny apron.

Her job is keeping the counter clean of any stray cheese shreds or butter schmears. If I was a better dog trainer, I wouldn’t reinforce this behavior by laughing. But I can’t help it. She looks so cute and intense, a canine top chef, ready for the quickfire challenge.