What do you eat for dinner; does it have meat or fish, some type of bread or grain, what about a vegetable? If you said yes to all three than that’s great, but what about your dog? Just like us humans, dog also need a well-balanced diet to help give them the energy they need to play with us. Studies have shown that giving them a well-balanced diet can help influence their behavior allowing them to be happier and much more playful.
There was a big debate in which to give your dog a diet with no grain verses a diet with grain. Scientist wanted to find out which was better for your dog. So, they gathered 50 adult dogs and gave them three different diets. Two diets were grain free which included boneless chicken, chicken fat, dried eggs, fish oil, and different vegetables. The third diet with the grain included the same thing as the other diets but, with oats and spelt which is a type of wheat. There was a control diet which had rice, beet pulp, poultry, turkey meat and different fat and oils. The control diet is the one thing in the experiment that is never changed. They fed these dogs for 35 days. What did the scientist learn. The scientist found out that both the diets with or without grain were much better than the control diet. Both the grain free and grain diet gave the dogs much more energy than the control diet. They found out that both the grain free and grain diets aren’t just good for dogs with high energy, but also dogs with low energy.
Giving dogs a high protein diet helps with brain activity, this will lead them to being less tired and lazy. Proteins that can be great for your dog are meat, fish, or eggs. Just like humans, dogs need a well-balanced diet with different fats, grains (carbohydrates), and vitamins. Especially when they are puppies, they need enough fats to help improve their mental alertness and how well they can learn new tricks. Older dogs need more vitamins, such as fruit, this will help them think and give them more energy to continue playing with you.
You can’t give them too much of anything. Just like sugar, if you have too much, you’ll get a sugar rush which will make you feel tired and not have enough energy to play. Too little protein can make them sad and no energy to play. Some dogs don’t enough during the day causing them to feel tired and be disruptive. This can also develop a condition called pica where they eat things they can’t and shouldn’t and can be harmful to them. Dogs can also have allergies to different types of food. This will cause their behavior to be stressed and lead them to beg or even steal your food. Giving them an unbalanced diet can make them behave bad and do things that will make your parents upset such as peeing in the house, steeling your shows, or biting on things they shouldn’t.
The next time when you’re feeding your dog, make sure he has a good amount of protein, grains, vegetables, fats, and vitamins. This will make your dog healthier, happier, and the energy needed play with you. We all love our dogs and will do anything to make sure they have all the nutrients they need.
References:
Gizzarelli, M., Calabrò, S., Vastolo, A., Molinaro, G., Balestrino, I., & Cutrignelli, M. I. (2021, March 26). Clinical findings in healthy dogs fed with diets characterized by different carbohydrates sources. Frontiers. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2021.667318
Kingston, K. (2023, February 15). Could your dog’s diet be influencing their behavior? Faunalytics. https://faunalytics.org/could-your-dogs-diet-be-influencing-their-behavior/
