There is a direct link between food and behaviour. High street brands often contain additives, ethoxyquins, colourants and preservatives, some of which affect our pets dramatically. We recommend you feed your dog a ‘clean’ or as ‘natural’ food as possible.
The most common problem is that the decision of what a dog eats is affected by the owner’s perception of what they like and not necessarily what would be best for them. Food sold in supermarkets is attractive due to the marketing of the brand and not necessarily nutritional content. Avoid brightly coloured foods; they appeal to us, as primates we are attracted to the colour of ripe fruits. However, the colourings and preservatives in feeds such as these are likely to make any dog hyperactive. Make your decision based on raw ingredients then you can be confident that you are giving your dog the best nutritional start.
Owners have the choice between feeding a dry kibble, a tinned/pouched wet food or a raw diet. Depending on your dog’s preferences and your time any of these are acceptable if the ingredients are a high quality.
Palatability of dog food is generally based on odour and not taste as they have approximately one fifth of our taste buds, 1800 to our 9000. The quality of the food vital and you need to ensure that if you feed a kibble it contains approximately 25% meat or fish content. If the kibble’s main ingredient is meat meal or animal derivatives this is simply cereal based and your dog will need to eat a lot to be nutritionally viable….which will inevitably mean producing plenty of waste!
Keep these ideas in mind for treats as well. The best treats are raw vegetables, carrots especially. Also cooked pieces of meat such as chicken or liver are ideal. Cheese is often a real favourite but should not be used in dogs that are on a dietary restriction.
When you first bring your puppy home, they are usually fed four times a day. This is then reduced to three times a day at four months old and then down to two times a day at six months old. Follow the feeding guide of your chosen brand of food to know when is best to increase the portion size and move from a puppy food, up to junior, then to adult.
