How Dog Food Affects Dog Behavior
As a trainer, solving behavioral challenges is such an important part of what I do. It’s the thing that allows dogs to stay in their homes and to live fuller healthier lives. So, as I started to see issues becoming more and more common I started looking for better answers. This didn’t mean just more training, it meant more complete “whole-dog” solutions. There are nutritional roots in resolution to aggression, anxiety, arousal, and every aspect of well-being. This led me down a path of deep learning in nutrition and wellness for our dogs. It is so important, all of my training programs now include education and guidance on how these key areas of health can affect behavior and longevity of our beloved pets.
But of course this isn’t just about behavior. Nutrition is the single most important gift we can give our pets
Your dog’s behavior may very well be a function of nutritional factors. I have seen time and time again, when we get nutrition balanced, address emotional roots through essential oils and energy work, our training results are significantly better — and more sustainable.
How Your Dog’s Diet Affects Behavior
A species-appropriate or biologically appropriate diet matters. It may matter to some dogs more than others in terms of how they respond with behavior or health conditions. But for many dogs what you feed your dog is not only about putting food in the belly, it’s about having them feel their best & behave their best. Imagine if you only ever ate a bowl of pasta or corn with a little protein added to it and the only vitamins & minerals were synthetic. If a body is missing what it needs to thrive, it do not behave at its peak. Manufacturers can create a so-called balanced diet containing all the vitamins and minerals needed for survival, it most certainly would not result in optimal health and behavior.
The veterinary industry can attempt to defend kibble and demonize raw, but thankfully the results from pets around the world speak for themselves
I invite you to my Nutrition website to learn more
Wendy Volhard tells us “When your dog doesn’t get enough protein or the food is too high in animal protein, or his diet is unbalanced in nutrients one or more of the following may occur:
Aggression, Reactivity, Snapping
Anxiety & Phobias
Over Excitement, Over Arousal
Chronic skin and/or ear infections
Compromised reproductive system, heart,
kidney, liver, bladder, and thyroid and adrenal glandsExcessive shedding, poor coat quality, dull.
Gastrointestinal upsets, vomiting, or diarrhea
Impaired ability to heal from wounds or surgery, such as spaying and neutering
Lack of pigmentation
Poor appetite
Epilepsy
Liver Problems
Kidney problems
Cancer
Spinning or tail-chasing
Timidity
A weakened immune system that can’t properly tolerate vaccines
Bad breath & dental issues
Eating soil, grass or other non-food items.
Coprophagia (eating feces)
Difficulty learning or retaining training
Energy level inconsistent with the breed and/or age.
If any of these issues are present in your dog we will take a closer look at nutrition as part of our approach to behavior modification.
We also know and see every day that dogs on a natural diet are calmer, more attentive, easier to train, and generally better behaved. Dogs eating a whole-food, complete & balanced, evolutionarily appropriate diet suffer less disease, live longer, smell nicer and produce less waste matter.
This is only a shortlist of the more common symptoms associated with animal protein deficiencies or excess. This is where the passion for me lies in helping you identify the pieces of the puzzle that we can use to resolve your dog’s behavior and health and longevity issues that may be at play.
Of course, we will work with your veterinarian on appropriate blood testing, diagnostics, and tracking of our efforts.
You may be amazed at the results.