Nutrition tips to boost mental health and well-being of your pet buddy

Do you want a well-behaved dog? Just feed them well and they will follow a gentle behavior. Recent research on dogs has shown the influence of food on the behavior of your animal companion. Your dog’s mental health could be linked to the food he eats due to the existence of what is known as the gut brain axis. While nutritious meals help the secretion of hormones and neurotransmitters that boost your furball’s mood, eating unhealthy and poor quality diet, high in processed ingredients and artificial additives, can negatively impact the gut microbiome. (Read also | Dogs understand the meaning of some words like humans, they create mental images: Study)

It seems that switching from packaged meals to nutritious homemade meals can transform your pet’s behavior and make them more loving and calm. A healthy and diverse microbiome can boost their mental health and help them become happier and calmer.

Explaining the link between food and behavior, Pet Nutritionist, Anjali Kalachand shares: “There has been more research done in recent years on dogs and the influence of the food they consume on their behavior. This it is also known as the brain axis of the gut. While stress can affect intestinal motility in dogs, the gut is also responsible for producing hormones and neurotransmitters that affect behavior, such as and the serotonin hormone, known as the happy hormone, which is produced in the intestine.

Secret to happy and healthy dogs

Dogs that are fed fresh, and that eat a variety of meat, vegetables and fruits, have a more diverse microbiome and because the food is fresh and not processed, this allows for better nutritional absorption which in turn means that dogs do not they are not only healthier, but also calmer, happier and better behaved.

“The best foods that are suitable and organic species available are meats, healthy fats, vegetables and fruits in small quantities. While the worst foods for your mental health are processed foods with fillers such as large amounts of wheat, soy, rice and wheat to name a few. . And meat products that are not high-quality meat, but rather pieces left over from human industry,” adds Kalachand.

Agrees Dog Trainer and Behaviorist, Janhavi Kamani, who also explains that studies in recent years have linked nutrition to the behavior of domestic dogs and have seen aggressive dogs that calm down into calming beings with the right nutrition. (Also read: Dry food diets to dental chews, expert advice to protect your dog’s oral health)

“In my experience I have encountered dogs that have shown aggression around food that has been resolved by the dog receiving a more nutritious meal – switching from packaged food to freshly cooked food. Even dogs and puppies that waste without stopping in walks stop this behavior once The diet has been adjusted to include missing nutrients,” he says.

How we feed our dogs also has an impact on their behavior

“An effective type of enrichment for many animal species is ‘feed enrichment.’ This can range from spreading food around the enclosure to hiding food in interactive puzzle-feeders (e.g. Markowitz, 1982, Newberry, 1995, Young, 1997). in captivity they do not have the potential to see appetitive behaviors that could otherwise be rewarding for them (for example Spruijt et al., 2001, Berridge, 2004). The enrichment of food is known to change the behavioral repertoire of captive animals in several ways. , for example, they increase the display of appetitive eating behavior, resulting in less inactivity and reduce abnormal behaviors, such as stereotyping (Hayes , 1990, Forthman et al., 1992, Stepherdson et al., 1993, Ings et al., 1996,).O’Connor, 2000, Swaisgood et al., 2001, Shyne, 2006),” says Kamani.