Food and behavior - Page 1

Some vets and behaviorists suggest changing dog foods for some behavior problems. The behaviorist around here likes Wellness. Any thoughts?

In general, changing food to change behavior is ridiculous. Training and conditioning and socializing changes behaviors. Unless something is really wrong with the food, the amount, or the dog can not properly absorb the nutrients, changing food is not going to visibly change behavior. Clarify what kind of behavior problem you are talking about and perhaps someone can make a suggestion. Wellness is an excellent food. There are others like Royal Canin Maxi GSD24, Solid Gold, Breeders Choice, Natural Balance. Others may also like additional foods. Thankfully today there are choices for feeding quality kibbles.

I'm not looking for any suggestions. I am an animal control officer, and was doing a quarantine recently, and the dog owner said that he had gone to the vet and a behaviorist who told him to switch foods to help with his dogs fear aggression. I think he said he was on nutro l/r and was told to switch to wellness. This was the first I had heard of this, and just wondered if anyone had heard of it?

Changing food to change behavior is not rediculous!! I have worked for some very good behaviorists that have fixed a dogs extream and unpredictable aggression by changing the food. The problem with this dog?? Undiagnosed food allergies, this dog was so allergic to the allergen in the food that is was in pain and felt sick most of the time. I know this is not an everyday diagnosis but it does happen. Once the dog was on a better food, the dog was then calm and very trainable. No more overt aggression ever.

Soy in dog food can affect thyroid function which can affect behaviour. Certain allergies or food sensitivities could also affect behaviour. Omega fatty acids and better overall vitamin profile can have an affect on a dog too. If the dog can assimmilate the food better it will feel better, which should show in the behaviour. I would not dismiss it in general. Changes in diet have shown changes in the behaviour of children. And some adults. Certain foods are known triggers for migranes, nervous conditions, concentration problems, etc. Why not in dogs too?

I responded with "In general". And in general, behavior problems are related to temperament and a lack of understanding on how to deal with dogs and their particular temperament. For what it is worth, recently a lot of the "change in diet", "minimize sugar" theories etc. to control behavior problems in children have, in fact, been studied and found to not be true. It is true that thyroid function can cause problems and with any dog who suddenly shows inappropriate behavior, it is always a good idea to get a good checkup from the vet. It is also possible that if a food really made a dog not well, the dog might manifest through behavior. But in general, I think personally people look for excuses that are simply not there. Food allergies are not nearly as common as people think. Dogs that have fear aggression have temperament issues and have been poorly socialized. But if someone thinks changing food will help, then do it. After that, then find some real help.

I totally agree with hodie. Dogs, in a way or another, are like kids. They can't explain or complain, verbally at least, if they are feeling sick or just having an abdominal pain. They just act " weird and strange" because they don't know better. All in an attempt to express this "pain", in hope to get the attention of the Alpha. Hyperness could also be related to food type and food ingredients, that could be managed through consistent exercises and workouts to consume it, or changing the diet. Aggression and insecurity are a temperament issues.

In general a top quality food is the ideal for proper well being in the dog and always a good idea. Good general health will improve overall well being and therefore behaviour, or mood. It will never cure extreme conditions, but might assist. Too much dog junk food out there, or people who do the 'too much of a good thing' and overload the dogs but won't give them the chance to burn it off later. In horses everyone knows the expression that a horse feels its oats when they are unruly. Pump it full of grain or sweetfeed and not enough exercise and you are sitting on a 1HP bomb ready to explode. The modern horse feeds have now switched from high protein to high fat, because the fat provides loads of energy but makes for more level headed horses. So yes, diet does affect behaviour. Switching to high fat food makes some aggressive, antzy, nervous, flighty, reactive, horses more managable. Some, but not all. Recent studies have also found that many horses cannot digest grains (staple of the common performance horse diet), causing all sort of physical symptoms, which are responsible for bad behaviour (if your back aches and someone bounces on it for a couple of hours each day you'd be grouchy too), and it turns out some horses do rather well on just hay and oil. Two very strong food connections and well being/behaviour in animals. Hodie, have to disagree on the sugar studies. First of all we all know the term 'comfort foods'. Because certain food make you feel goooooood! after you eat them. If it works one way, it will very likely work in other ways too. In dogs we have noticed that a change in diet for example can have an affect on food aggresion. It can disappear, just have to find what works for that particular dog. Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) which is caused by excessive sugar consumption is one of the most commonly overlooked conditions that mimic ADD. Excessive sugar consumption also increases conditions like systemic yeast infections, which also affect mood and behaviour, including being a cause for depression. A lot of the things we find out about how food affects us, comes from animal testing. So its not that far fetched. Several years ago I trained with an animal behaviourist that used thyroid meds on dogs (with help of her vet) that were pronounced aggressive/fear aggressive. Even in dogs that came back with normal blood tests. Many of the dogs experienced very significant behaviour changes within weeks of being put on the thyroid meds. Many to the point where they could lead normal lives and did not need to be put down. She had a lot of dogs referred to her that were considered beyond help. There is no substitute for proper imprinting and socialization. You can only fix so much of what was lost or never there. Food will never be a cure-all. If someone is dealing with behavioural issues every little bit will help though. Aggression and insecurity are not ingrained temperament issues. Dogs can have experiences that they cannot cope with just like people. To expect a dog to weather every mental and emotional storm that comes its way is unrealstic. Would you brush off Post Traumatic Stress in a person just as a temperament issue?

I agree with those that have said that the proper food CAN affect behavior. I don't think it's the end-all cure-all of behavior problems, but when used in conjunction with appropriate training, behavior modification techniques, management and exercise etc etc it can make all the difference in the world. I have time and time again seen it...Just a couple of months ago I worked an extremely hyperactive labrador. This dog understood all the basic commands, had a leadership program implemented, exercise program etc but still was showing weird hyper behaviors...dog couldn't stop pacing and was just generally hyper. Changed the food and it helped tremendously. If they had just changed the food without the other stuff implemented it would not have helped MUCH but it did help when combined with the other stuff. Poor food can affect behaviors like pica, and copraphagia...if it can contribute to those problems, then why to nothing else? When I'm working with a client on aggression I combine an entire program INCLUDING making sure the dog is receiving the appropriate nutrition for that individual dog. Never do I recommend a particular brand because I think individual dogs do better on individual brands, but I normally address nutrition by explaining what to avoid (in talking with trainers in various trainer organizations I ran across a study that discussed higher carbs and lower protein can help in dealing with aggression and hyperactivity, I'll see if I can find the link again). I tell them to avoid byproducts, soy, and corn if they can. And basically go over ingredient lists etc with them and then send them to do their own research. Would I state that this alone fixes behavior? nope. But it does play into it. And when dealing with aggression it's best to address as many different factors as possible. Will it change a dogs natural temperment? No, but it may help when it's not a dogs temperment that is a problem. And since the dog can't tell me that it's his temperment that is causing him to be like this, I have to address as many different angles as possible. If we didn't address this many angles and just blamed everything on poor training and temperment there would be a whole heck of a lot more dogs needing to be put down.