Nutritional tips to boost your pet's mental health and well-being

Do you want a well-behaved dog? Just feeding them correctly will encourage gentle behavior. Recent research on dogs has demonstrated the impact that food has on pet behavior. Dogs' mental health may be related to the food they eat due to the existence of something known as the gut-brain axis. A nutritious diet helps furballs release mood-enhancing hormones and neurotransmitters, but eating an unhealthy, poor-quality diet high in processed ingredients and artificial additives can damage the gut microbiome. It may have a negative effect. (Also read | Dogs understand the meaning of some words and create mental images, just like humans: Study)

It appears that transitioning from packaged meals to homemade, nutritious meals may change your pet's behavior and make them more affectionate and gentle. A healthy and diverse microbiome boosts children's mental health and helps them become happier and more peaceful.

Pet nutritionist Anjali Karachand explains the relationship between food and behavior: “In recent years, more research has been done on dogs and the effects that the food they consume has on their behavior. This is also known as the gut-brain axis.” Stress affects gut motility in dogs The gut is also involved in producing hormones and neurotransmitters that influence behavior, such as serotonin, known as the happy hormone. ”

The secret to keeping your dog happy and healthy

Dogs that are freshly fed and eat a variety of meats, vegetables, and fruits have a more diverse microbiome, and because the food is fresh and unprocessed, nutrients are better absorbed and the dog is healthier. Not only, however, they were calmer, happier, and behaved better.

“The best species-friendly, bioavailable foods are small amounts of meat, healthy fats, vegetables, and fruits. The worst foods for mental health are large amounts of wheat, to name a few.” , processed foods that contain fillers such as soybeans, rice, and corn.And meat products are not high-quality meat but leftovers from human industry,” Karachand added.

Janhavi Kamani, a dog trainer and behaviorist, agrees, saying that recent research has linked nutrition and dog behavior, showing that aggressive dogs can become calmer with the right nutrition. He further explained that he witnessed this. (Also read: From dry food to dental chews, expert tips for protecting your dog's oral health)

“In my experience, I have encountered dogs that exhibit food aggression, which can be resolved by feeding the dog a more nutritious diet, such as moving from packaged foods to prepared, fresh foods. “Also, dogs and puppies who would obsessively forage for food during walks stopped this behavior once they ate the food. “Their diets were adjusted to include the missing nutrients,” she said. says.

How you feed your dog also influences its behavior.

“One type of enrichment that is effective for many animal species is 'feeding enrichment,' which can range from scattering food in an enclosure to hiding food in an interactive puzzle feeder. (e.g., Markowitz, 1982, Newberry, 1995, Young, 1997).Fed animals in captivity typically exhibit appetitive behaviors that would otherwise be rewarded. Food enrichment is known to alter the behavioral repertoire of captive animals in a variety of ways. For example, it can increase the display of appetitive feeding behaviors, reduce inactivity, and reduce abnormal behaviors such as stereotypy (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.