Author: Rosana Hart
Does your dog have behavior problems? I don't mean the ordinary
things any dog owner can expect, such as a puppy who isn't yet
housetrained, a dog who loves to jump up on you when you return home,
or other things of this sort. But if your dog does things which appear
to you to be abnormal, you may be concerned or even worried.
Perhaps the most common way to tackle a dog or puppy behavior problem
that seems serious is to do some training targeted at the particular
issue, and also some general dog training as well. You can learn how to
do this from local classes or trainers, books, DVDs, or the internet.
If you work at this and if you have some luck, you might solve the
problem this way.
A good next step is a vet exam to rule out all sorts of common or
obscure ailments that you might never think of yourself. And if the vet
should find that your dog is experiencing pain somewhere in his body,
taking care of that could solve the behavior problem.
Consider how much exercise your dog gets. Is it really enough? In
today's world, few dog owners give their dogs enough exercise. If you
and your buddy go out for long walks together, chances are you will
both benefit. You may notice significant diminishment in behavior
problems if your dog is tired out in this way.
Well, that's all very well, but what if none of it stops the unwanted dog behaviors?
One puppy I know about had been trained, examined, and exercised
thoroughly, yet he continued to attack and even bite the human members
of his family. The mother, who emailed me that she was at her wits
ends, after some months did figure out what was going on: if there was
beet pulp in whatever commercial dog food the puppy ate, he would
attack. When she fed a dog food without this fairly common ingredient,
his attacks ended completely. They had been caused by an allergy.
The point is not to avoid beet pulp, as most dogs are not allergic to
it, but to realize that whatever a dog eats can be affecting how he
behaves. The public is generally aware of this with regard to how sugar
can make many children hyperactive, but it is much less common for
people to even think about a dog reacting to his food.
Don't rely on your veterinarian to have the best information about dog
food and behavior. Veterinary school doesn't teach it, and the dog
foods that they sell are not necessarily the best.
Fortunately for all of us, there are veterinarians, dog breeders, and
others who have been paying close attention to these questions for many
years. They agree on recommending homemade dog food over the standard
commercial choices, and they tell you how to do it.
If you think about feeding a homemade diet to your dog, you may wonder
if you will need to become an expert in nutrition. No, you won't... you
can draw on the work done by these people. For example, one well-known
breeder has seen the longevity and the behavior of her dogs improve
over the thirty-plus years she has been feeding a more natural diet.
For any dog with behavior problems, it's an excellent idea to try a
homemade dog food diet and observe any differences that may turn up
over time!
About the Author:
How can you give the best diet to your dog rapidly and without too much work? See this page on homemade dog food and behavior for resources and links.
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