The Puppy Dog Effect

Why Health Changes Are So Hard

Dear Dad,

There’s an inevitable question that comes up at one time or another in all long term relationships that every person must learn to answer like a reflex.

Does this outfit make me look fat or can’t you tell that I’ve lost weight?!

I can close my eyes and see many unspecified 60’s era’s day time TV shows, black and white screen, where a dopy man gets whacked over the head with a newspaper after obviously incorrectly not noticing a few pounds his wife had lost. It’s almost too cliché to believe that it happens in real life.

Well, believe it or not, I observed the real thing right in front of me in a conversation between my college roommate and his girlfriend. And I’ll never forget it.

I just happened to be sitting on the couch in the common area of our 4-person apartment and my roommate and his girlfriend where in the kitchen.

She asked, “Can you tell that I’ve already lost 5 lbs. this month?”

I cringed. Wondering if I could sneak into my room before this impending disaster. I didn’t have time.

“No.” My roommate responded rather quickly.

But his follow-up saved the day, my own embarrassment, and possibly their relationship (for at least a few months).

“Don’t worry though, it’s just because the puppy dog effect.”

The puppy dog effect, at least as I then learned it from my roommate as he explained to his girlfriend on the verge of tears, is the phenomenon that incremental changes over time are unnoticeable even when they happen right in front of you. Like raising a puppy that becomes a dog right before your eyes, there’s no clear line of when puppy life ends and dog life begins. My roommate avoided a fight by making the point that he actually couldn’t have noticed the incremental weight loss happening because the couple spent soooo much time together. Nice save.

The puppy dog effect also explains why it is so hard to change and maintain healthy habits—it’s hard to notice their benefits through the process, then all of the sudden they’re just there.

It’s unavoidable that the most sought after benefits of healthy living is generally physical, whether it be losing weight, adding muscle, running further and faster, or keeping up with younger more energetic children and grandchildren. Experiencing noticeable change in these arenas takes time and usually more time than a newly inspired health enthusiast is willing to dedicate. Moreover, the changes happen so incrementally they can be unnoticeable to the person experiencing them, until one day, all of the sudden after a year, you’re a completely new version of yourself. Such an experience of delayed gratification is not one well received in today’s day and age.

However, being healthier (and most things worth achieving) demands cumulative deposits, consistently over time, that might be unnoticeable day to day but make all the difference over a life time. Rising rates of obesity, chronic illness, and prescribed pharmaceuticals demonstrate that many struggle to withstand the process.

I fell squarely into this category for a snap shot in time. Ninth grade was the year that there was a swimming unit in gym class. As a rather pudgy freshman boy, taking my shirt off in school was not anything I looked forward to, but no worries because I had a plan. For the two weeks before the swimming unit started I would do sit-ups at night, maybe fifty or so, to tone up. My plan failed after about 3 nights with no hope of an ab muscle in sight no matter how hard I clenched in the mirror.

Considering the puppy dog effect, of course I wouldn’t notice any change checking the mirror each night. It wasn’t until later in life that I discovered the discipline it takes to enjoy the slow process of incremental positive changes The great thing is, that once the lesson of the puppy dog effect is mastered, it can be applied to health, happiness, and all faucets of life—including real puppies.

When Truman, you’re favorite grand-doggy was a pup I used to hold him in front of the mirror so he could see himself and I would ask him, somewhat facetiously, “Are you becoming the dog that you want to be?” While always making me laugh and Jenna roll her eyes, it also served as a subtle reminder to me that if I failed to be diligent in disciplining Truman, he would grow into a 70 lbs. knee high wrecking ball, rather than the loving, slobbery, cuddle-bug he became—and only occasional wrecking ball.

Long term results demand a long term vision. Don’t be fooled by the puppy dog effect and go for a walk and eat some veggies!

With Love,

JSR