In my daily work as a dog behaviourist I always cover the subject of the dog’s diet with my clients. In some cases a change of diet alone can make a noticeable difference in the dog’s behaviour.
Go in to an average well stocked pet store and you’re likely to be overwhelmed with glossy packaging and numerous varieties of dog food available. The price range also varies immensely and as a rough rule of thumb- you get what you pay for. Your dog’s diet forms the building blocks and repair material for it’s daily activities, so skimping on this critical element can not only lead to poor behaviour, but offers the potential for health issues in further life.
Many owners base their choice of food on glossy, well produced TV advertising. I personally wouldn’t offer my dog any of the brands currently advertised on TV. These are typically Bakers, Pedigree, Winalot, and Hi Life amongst others. Pick up a bag of one of these and look at the ingredients. You will see words such as “derivatives of meat”, “derivatives of vegetable origin” and cereals, which act as cheap fillers and can cause digestive allergies. When in a pet store recently I was studying the ingredients of a number of food bags. I always knew that Bakers was about as bad as it gets for artificial additives, but just look at its list:
Antioxidants: BHA (E320), BHT (E321), Propyl Gallate (E310).
Preservatives: Citric Acid (E330), Potassium Sorbate (E202), Propan -1, 2 Diol (E490).
Colourants: Indigo carmine (E132), Tartrazine (E102), Sunset yellow (E110), Poncau -4R (E124), Carmoisine (E122), Titanium dioxide (E171).
QUITE SHOCKING, I’M SURE YOU’LL AGREE!
Many of the dogs I see are already on Bakers as it does seem to be at an affordable price point and is currently heavily promoted on TV.
Now for some good news. There is a whole range of better brands available to you and your dog. These include Nature Diet (this brand gets my vote, and I feed it to my dogs) Burns, James Wellbeloved, Nature’s Menu, Nutro Choice, Joe and Jack’s, Fish 4 Dogs and Arden Grange to name a few. Other than mass produced brands you could consider a raw meat diet or a home cooked approach. These require research and a degree of planning to ensure a well balanced diet but are well worth investigating should this approach appeal to you.
Do bare in mind that every dog is different, and that you’ll need to find a “healthy” brand or feeding method that suits you and your dog.
Make any changes to your dog’s diet gradually to avoid stomach upsets or rejection of your chosen brand. I would normally recommend a careful transition between five to seven days.
As always I’m available for advice, guidance and consultations on a one to one basis and I can be contacted as below:
Nick Jones MCFBA
Dog Behaviour Specialist and Trainer
01299 404356
0775 909 3394
nickjones@alphadogbehaviour.co.uk
Nick Jones, a full time Dog Behavioural Specialist and Trainer wrote this article. You can visit his main site at www.alphadogbehaviour.co.uk for more articles and training information.
Why not visit his blog page here: http://www.alphadogbehaviour.blogspot.com
You may freely distribute this article or save to any electronic media as long as it is left intact, including this copyright box. Please let Nick know out of courtesy where and when you publish. Email will suffice. Thank you
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Diet and Nutrition for Dogs
