29 Sep FOOD: Does it affect and change behavior in dogs?

One of the first questions I ask when doing rehab/ behavior modification is: What do you feed, when do you feed and how do you feed? Food means survival to a dog. Food comes from the “Leader of the Pack” and brings security and safety. Think of what we have learned in our society today regarding how food can affect children in learning at school. They have learned that children study well when they get a good breakfast, and lunch which schools often provide, or at least they supply that option for children now. What happens when children eat a lot of sugar? Does it affect behavior? Does it affect the brain and how it functions? It does. Food affects the brain and then in turn the body for good or ill.  It also works with animal behavior.

One of the first thing wolf cubs learn in life is to nurse. They can’t see, but they smell and feel their Mother and their first instinct is to nurse. As their eyes open and they become old enough, the mother hunts, then regurgitates her food from her own stomach contents for them to eat. They learn that she is their life, she provides what they must have to live. Food is associated with the Pack Leader. Food is one of the very first instincts, the survival instinct. Food works with brain impulses to stimulate behavior, good or bad. It is that simple.

(Stay tuned for a series of blogs regarding food and why it is so important and how we can make choices that will aid not only in the health of our dogs, but with their behavioral advancement leading to a secure well-balanced dog.)