Help, My Dog is Obsessed with Food

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Some dogs seem to be more greedy than others – or are they? Just have a wee think back to the first time those lovely brown eyes gazed at you. Our first thought may have been:  “Hey Molly, what is it that you want, do you want out?” We go to the door and open it and they simply continue to look at us. Next thought – oh you must be hungry – let’s get you a wee snack.

And hey presto! Our dogs have trained us to get up from our TV programme, go in to the kitchen, open the cupboard and feed them. They get a treat and we get a) relief from the pressure and frustration of guessing and b) a feel good factor from making our dogs happy.

Now, of course, some dogs are indeed more foodie than others. What happens with those greedy dogs? Why are they always on the hunt for food? Well science is uncovering many new reasons regarding why some people seem to need to eat more than others; why some get more joy from eating; and why some put on weight whilst others don’t. And guess, what – it’s the same for dogs. There are indeed genetic and other inherited aspects. But our brains and our dogs’ brains also develop habits.

That very first time our puppy gazed lovingly at us and we thought – oh let’s get you a snack – was the first step towards a foodie habit.

Just think. What if, instead of reaching for the cookie jar we did a little training, or played a wee game, or took them for a walk, gave them a pat or taught them to go and lie down in their bed. How would that have affected the puppy’s experience with food?

After all, it is much easier to never let a habit form than to change habits later.

So, for puppies, during their first few weeks and months (and for newly rescued dogs), simply keep temptation out of the way and don’t presume that they’re always looking for food, or get them into the habits of getting more extra treats than they need.

There are of course some dogs who do seem food obsessed. Keeping food out of reach works for them too, helped by distracting them onto other mentally stimulating activities.

Obesity is one of the top preventable diseases in dogs. Fat dogs aren’t just fat, they suffer from all of the other related medical issues that we do: joint problems, heart stress, diabetes and so on.

There's an excellent chart on measuring dog thin-fat levels here - Is my dog fat?

Is your dog bored? Look here for motivational ideas.

For help with greedy or fussy dogs or puppies or for any other behaviour problems, please do just get in touch at PawsAbility.co.uk.

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Food and Dogs and Behaviour (Microbial)

Are you having problems with dog or puppy behaviour? Have you ever stopped to wonder whether their food may be having an impact on their behaviour?

Over two thousand years ago, Hippocrates considered that the things that we put into our bodies could affect our health. Now, at the time even air was considered to be a "food" and medicine was far from what it is today.

Indeed, where would we be (or ... would we be) without Alexander Flemming's discovery of penicillin. Amazingly he made this discovery only in 1928! Not even 100 years ago.

Did anyone ever say, "Discovery is discovery itself". Does that sound strange? When we think about the time line of medicine, it's truly astounding how far we've come in such a short time. But, once a concept is available to us, our little grey cells drive us to new adventures and revelations.

And that's how we encountered the Microbiome (the term used to describe the good and bad bacteria in and on our bodies). So, from 1928, let's get in the tardis and zoom forward to 2003 when the human genome mapping sequence was declared complete. This scientific breakthrough has accelerated our ability to understand what's going on in our bodies. Up until then, yes, we knew that our bodies had good and bad bacteria and in 1930 Yakult became available, proposing to feed our good bacteria.

However up until recently, we actually knew very little about our body bacteria. We needed the human genome mapping to complete and the further advancement of technology to enable scientists to uncover the trillions of bacteria existing in our guts. Up until then, only bacteria that were easily grown in petri dishes were known about. Now, we can relatively easily and cheaply identify many more.

And why is that important?

Well, the writings on body bacteria and how to fix microbial balance are prolific. Unfortunately, much of what is written seems to have rather stretched the truth of the matter. Now, perhaps I am wrong. I'm always the first to question anything I hear or believe (believe me that's a nightmare in itself - but that's another story!). But so far as my investigations can tell, we are only at the beginnings of the revelations that will arise from continued study in this area.

Whilst we are all led down many a path encouraging us to get on some train or other and believe in and buy miracle products, the scientists are beavering away trying to keep us safe. They now know the questions to ask and the new experiments and studies to undertake and have the technology to help. So, whilst we gaily go out and buy our probiotic yoghurts and supplements, scientists are looking into

• the effectiveness of different methods aiming to change our microbes (many don't survive life on the shelf, nor the acid in our stomachs)
• the side effects of proactively increasing some microbes (can we overdose?)
•  the actual benefits and functions of each individual microbe (it's not a one size fits all thing)

Buy hey, why is a dog behaviourist even interested in this topic? Well, it transpires that our microbes don't just affect our health, but they also seemingly affect our emotional wellbeing. 

Our microbial balance is now thought to be related to not only IBD and Colitis but also Autism, ADHD, Depression and Anxiety. WOW!! Eat bugs and fix depression!! (No, don't do this please...). But just imagine a future without the need for Flemming's discovery. Instead of treating illness with penicillin we can look forward to a future of various microbial treatments.

But, here's a thought.... Just imagine if the next significant breakthrough was made on the 28th February 2028. That would be 100 years to the day since the discovery of penicillin. The discovery of the bugs to awaken the bugs that the original bug killer killed!! (Antibiotics kill more than bad bugs - that's side effects for you - and why we need to take care.) 100 years to the day - what would my numerology friends have to say about that I wonder?

Anyway, in the mean time, we need to continue with the use of our current medicines and antibiotics - thank goodness that we have these treatments available to us. Absolutely necessary. But we can also endeavour to keep ourselves happy and healthy by eating the right foods.

The brain is indeed a complex organ and as if that wasn't enough, we actually have 2 brains. The gut brain and our head brain. Both need looked after to help with our health and happiness.

The Good Dog Diet

To hear more about the effect of food and behaviour, the gut-brain axis, the epigenome and our dogs, and more on behaviour and nutrition, please sign up to the RSS feed to this blog.

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Author - Anna Patfield , www.PawsAbility.co.uk and www.TheGoodDogDiet.com - a book which clearly and simply explains food and behaviour in dogs.

For help from a dog behaviourist in Scotland, from Aberdeen to Inverness and the Highlands, please contact www.PawsAbility.co.uk

Pawsability Book Synopsis: Follow Your Gut – The Enormous Impact of Tiny Microbes. Rob Knight and Brendan Buhler.

Everyone interested in how food and the environment impacts on our health and emotional wellbeing should read this book. But, I do hope this wee summary helps to provide the basis of where we are now in our understanding of our guts and bugs and brains.

Every day in the news we see some revelation about our health and food. Whether it’s what we should or shouldn’t eat or some new super food or new regulations regarding adverts for “junk” food or new laws to cut sugar levels in drinks. It’s all very confusing and leads us either to ignore it all or blame the government “nanny state” or the scientists for “getting it wrong” all the time. The trouble is, this is simply the perception that we get from the news and social media chat that fly past our eyes.

Is it going to get better? Well, the short answer is yes, but there is still a huge amount of effort required to prove potential new cures for our various ailments. The mapping of the human genome was amazing enough in itself. However, most of us probably don’t actually realise that these technological developments enabled the advancement of significantly improved understanding of our “good” and “bad” bacteria. 

And so, the concept of the microbiome was born.

Follow Your Gut not only give us a true perspective on where scientific knowledge actually is, but it also teaches us about how scientists work to keep us safe.

Now, we probably all know that we have “good” bacteria residing in our guts. In fact, our whole body exists not just as an assortment of organs and blood and skin, but we also host trillions of microbes.

Once again however, we are being foiled and confused by the plethora of books and articles about healthy guts and what foods to eat. And no doubt many of these books do convey some element of the truth. However, many appear to have taken hold of what are simply theories and areas of investigation at this stage and written about the topic without solid evidence.

The fact is that there is more we don’t know about the microbiome than we presently know. In striving for the truth, I came across a little book called Follow Your Gut by Rob Knight and Brendan Buhler. It’s a fabulous lighthearted wee book that concisely and clearly explains what the microbiome is and isn’t and precisely what we know and don’t yet know. 

I hope you find this synopsis useful in itself and I am sure that you’ll enjoy the book too.

Synopsis by chapter.

Introduction

Our bodies co-exist with trillions of microscopic microbes that are essential for our wellbeing. There are in fact, 10 times more microbial cells in us than human cells. Different microbial communities reside in our mouths, skin and gut. Whilst each person’s DNA is very similar, their microbiomes can differ by 90%.

We know that these differences help to explain allergies, why one person gets sick, or another doesn’t cope as well with stress, or why mosquitos bite some and not others. 

It’s a hugely exciting time (really – astounding doesn’t even go half way to conveying the level of excitement!). This has occurred due to advancement of computing power and improvements in DNA reading programs. Up until recently, our body bacteria identification process was slow and costly. It is only with this DNA reading advancement that we now know that there are trillions of different bacteria happily residing within us. Whilst there is a long way to go, microbiome research is uncovering potential treatments for many illnesses including obesity, arthritis, autism and depression.

Chapter 1: The Body Microbial

The book builds in a logical fashion, starting off explain about the types, volumes and locations of our microbes. 

Interesting facts include that our microbes weigh about the same as our brains, that there are 10 times more microbial cells than human cells in our bodies and even our microbial genes out number ours by nearly 100 to 1. We are in fact 99% microbe and 1% human.

Not only does each individual host different collections of microbe, but our mouth, noses, skin, gut and genital areas have completely different populations. Even our right and left hands harbor different microbial communities. What’s perhaps even more astounding is that each of our microbiomes are sufficiently different that each individual could potentially be forensically identified.

Further, we all hear about all the harmful bacteria when food poisoning outbreaks etc. occur. But, it transpires that most of us actually carry E.Coli, Helicobacter Pylori and Streptococcus microbes.

Most of the microbes are in the intestine. Up until recently we only knew of those that proved easy to grow in a laboratory. Now, we know that E.Coli forms only a tiny percentage of the bacteria in our guts. These other microbes are important in food digestion and drug metabolism and have been linked to many issues from obesity to colon cancer and heart disease. We’re only beginning to be able to ask and answer these questions now. 

Chapter 2: How We Get Our Microbiome

It is thought that before birth we may not have any microbes and that when we are born we are coated with vaginal microbes, thus providing us with our very first microbial protection. Babies born by C-section do not benefit from this and do tend to be more likely to suffer from issues such as asthma and possibly food allergies and obesity.

Food and the environment then gradually changes our microbiome into adulthood. Children who’ve been exposed to a more varied microbial community (such as when living on farm) tend to have fewer immune problems such as hay fever. 

Different cultures around the world have different gut microbiomes and there is significant difference in those who eat high meat versus high fibre diet. 

However, we don’t yet know specifically how diet affects the gut microbial population.

Chapter 3: In Sickness and In Health

The possibilities for cures raised by the discovery of the microbiome are nothing less than awesome. And whilst we don’t yet know how to apply microbial treatments for problems like IBD, autism, MS, Ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease and depression, the ongoing studies are uncovering huge potential for new types of cures. 

But whilst we may all like to dive in and follow, as yet unproven, newest fad diet that proclaims to cure all ills, the scientific community continues to work on proving why and how the concepts work or don’t work. It’s complex!

We know for instance that the microbial populations are different in obese and slim people; in people that eat high meat / fat diets (the increase in the microbes associated with heart disease is dramatic); and within people with the above mentioned diseases. We also know that even Kwashiorkor, thought to be caused by protein deficiency is actually related also to microbiome imbalance. However, individual genetics and other factors are also involved. 

Chapter 4: The Gut-Brain Axis: How Microbes Affect Your Mood, Your Mind, and More

The microbiome-gut-brain axis is the term used to describe the interaction between our microbiome and its involvement in the digestion of food, hormone production, drug metabolism and our immune system and how that all affects our brain. Again, the possibilities for new cures for issues such as depression and anxiety are immense. 

However, whilst we do all love to latch on to new, seemingly harmless, cures and new “fads” we just don’t yet know the full story. Unfortunately, the answers and even the questions are truly complex. And whilst some potential microbial cures for anxiety and depression and symptoms associated with autism have been proven in mice, there are a significant number and variety of mechanisms that remain to be studied and understood.

A further interesting contemplation is whether the rise in inflammatory issues such as arthritis, diabetes and depression may relate to our increasing distance from the soil and clean living. (Soil microbes are considered as helpful modulators of the immune system – but don’t all dash out and eat soil!).

Chapter 5: Hacking Your Microbiome

Given that eating a high meat or high fibre diet or drinking alcohol or taking antibiotics change our microbiome, surely we can eat our microbiome back to health? Unfortunately it’s not that easy. 

Prebiotics are, most often, soluble fibres such as galacto-oligosaccharides that are fermented by bacteria in the colon and provide energy to maintain gut health. They aim to mimic the effect of high fibre diets. 

Probiotics may be provided by fermented foods such as yoghurt or as suppositories. Unfortunately, the health claims of pre and probiotics has not yet been proven. Further, there are a plethora of products available to buy that may not actually survive life on the supermarket shelves. Should we wish to treat a condition such as IBD, choosing a rigorously scientifically tested product would be more likely to help.

Faecal transplantation may also be a beneficial treatment. This involves transplanting microbes from a healthy person into the ill person. Again, the medical potential here is very exciting, but there are a number of very complex aspects to figure out.

There may also be new possibilities to vaccinate people against the bacteria that we now know are implicated in some heart issues, colon cancers or even depression. 

The potential for new remedies, as you can see are hugely exciting, but we shall have to remain patient because, as yet, we do not know which and how many interacting microbes relate to specific areas of disease and health.

Chapter 6:Antiobiotics

Everyone knows of antibiotic resistance, but we do still complain when our doctor won’t give us antibiotics when we think we need them. We should be happy for this control. It’s a fact that 70% of bacteria that cause infections in US hospitals are now resistance to antibiotics. There are two problems for our microbiome. First, the antibiotics target both good and bad bacteria. And second, the more our microbes are exposed to antibiotics, the greater opportunity they have to adapt and survive; further reducing the effect of antibiotics.

Studies have also shown that antibiotics may in fact cause obesity, especially for those who receive them early in life. Children treated with antibiotics may also be more likely to develop asthma and allergies as a result of the early disruption of their microbiome. 

The issues with antibiotics are further compounded in situations where broad spectrum pills are used or when we don’t complete the full course. Of course, antibiotics are essential in many situations and there are few other options right now. Fortunately however, technology is advancing our ability to specifically identify microbes by their DNA and thus we have hope that newer, more effective and less damaging cures will be developed.

Chapter 7: The Future

And finally, the little book summarises all of the potential benefits that the understanding of microbes in our environment and bodies will bring. Technology will allow us to know which pain killers will work best, to enable improved ways to treat illnesses related to microbiome imbalance; to potentially vaccinate against obesity and depression and repel mosquitos.

However, we don’t yet comprehend about unintended consequences of messing with our microbiome through these potential treatments.

If you do want to know more about your own microbiome, contact the Human Microbiome Project. 

Thank you Rob Knight and Brendan Buhler and TED for providing this brilliant wee book that clarifies all about what we know and don’t know on the Gut-Brain axis and other aspects of our microbiome.

 Read more of this astounding, groundbreaking science here.

Or watch the TED Take Video by Rob Knight here

If you like, you can link to this blog using this link - Pawsability Synopsis - Follow Your Gut.
If you would like to hear of further book summaries, and news on dogs, behaviour and nutrition, please do sign up for the RSS feed or follow the blog. Thanks.

Synopsis Author - Anna Patfield , www.PawsAbility.co.uk

A New Years Resolution - Check out your dogs food...

At this time of year, most of us spend some time reflecting on the year past and the year to come. We think about the happy and sad moments and perhaps review some choices we’ve made. What, if anything would we like to change?

Well, a recent Facebook discussion came to my mind. Someone asked if it would be ok to feed their dog a certain human breakfast cereal. My response was a simple, no – it’s better to feed dog food.

I was rather surprised at the outburst that ensued. Surprised, not by the outburst itself, but rather at the reason.

To explain: there is a part of the dog owning world who strongly believe that dogs should be fed raw food or at the very least, grain free food. I had responded to the question without giving it very much thought. The argument that followed went very must against the grain. (Pun intended, sorry!)  Loads of people came out in support of feeding cereal to their dogs for breakfast, surprisingly the opposite to what I’d expect.

It was actually a pleasant surprise – I’d found somewhere outwith my normal “reads”. The thing is that, there is so much information around today that we each fall into seeing only a very small portion of the world’s views. Indeed, these “truths” are reinforced every day. But we are living in a tiny bubble. We generally don’t see anything that encourages us to think differently.

Going back to the breakfast story. The group in question are feeding along “traditional” lines. They would be most likely shocked to hear the view of those pet owners at the opposite end of the spectrum. But is either camp right?

Well, evolution tells us that they both are. Dogs are a highly successful species. Their predecessors adapted to take advantage of new biological niches; their digestive systems evolved to be more able to use carbohydrates. As we humans changed our lifestyles and started to grow crops, those canines who could digest carbohydrates faired better than the others. There are now an estimated 525 million dogs in the world as opposed to possibly only a few hundred thousand wolves.

There are of course many reasons supporting the dog population explosion. But part of that is most likely due to their highly adaptable digestive system. They can survive and thrive on many types of foods from raw feeding to vegetarian diets. (Please don’t shoot me down – I’m not saying either is good or better than the other. It’s what science says.)

Once again then, let’s get back to breakfast. Should dogs be fed breakfast meals designed for humans? Traditionalists would say that it’s fine. Grain free addicts would be appalled. Human nutritionists would say that the sugar and salt in many human breakfast cereals is bad for all of us. Canine nutritionists would say that dogs should be fed dog food (or a nutritionally balanced meal).  Who’s right? Which group belief system matches our personal world view?

Perhaps we’d rather make up our own minds?

Well, several years ago I started to question the potential links between canine nutrition and behaviour. I was fortunate enough to be able to spend a significant amount of time studying the science of canine nutrition and researching the causes of behavioural problems in dogs.

The result was a book called The Good Dog Diet. The book explains the science, explores beliefs, looks at various behavioural issues, and most importantly, provides sufficient information to allow the reader to make up their own minds about how and what to feed their dogs.

Would this be a good new years resolution for you? Have a look at www.TheGoodDogDiet.com to find out more. Or of course, as always, if you have any questions, please feel free to email anna@pawsability.co.uk.

First Published in the Northern Times, Dec 17

Author - Anna Patfield 

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Help for Dogs that are Fussy Eaters

I see many dogs with behavioural problems whose owners say that there dog is a fussy eater. They’ve changed their dog’s food over so many times they can’t remember and finally found that if they mix up some chicken in the food that their dog will eat it all up. Sometimes… Sometimes they pick out the tasty bits and leave the rest. Sound familiar?

Of course the old school advice would be to just let the dog starve – when they’re hungry they’ll eat. Well that works too.  Sometimes… But I have known situations where owners have tried this approach, worrying every day that their wee pooch wasn’t eating, but sticking to this advice, only to end up with the dog eating grass instead of the food.

Whilst these two options may work and be ok, neither of these solutions is best. Adding tasty bits imbalances the diet, which may cause all sorts of problems and starving a dog may cause other obvious problems too. So, what’s the solution? Well, as per my article in May about car travel, a holistic and broader approach can help to resolve the issue.

Here’s some food for thought…..

Health:

Is your dog fit and well? It can be worthwhile getting a quick vet check. We may think that our wee pals are ok as they are eating some food, but there may be something stopping them eating less tasty food.  Issues such as toothache or an abscess could stop a dog eating, as could some other digestive upset from a mild infection to swallowing something they shouldn’t have.

Calories:

Is something else filling your dog up? Many dogs are very capable of managing their own calorie intake. Is your dog skinny, fat or just right? If the latter, then it’s highly likely that they are getting enough food without actually eating out of their bowl. Perhaps they are a tea and biscuit dog? Perhaps they get lots of doggy biscuits? Perhaps their bones and chews are filling them up. Perhaps you are using lots of treats for training? All these factors can just take the edge of hunger.
Keeping an accurate diary, with all the family being honest, will provide you with some answers.

Stress:

Many dogs, even with mild behaviour problems can be suffering from some level of stress. This may simply put them off their food a little or can have major health implications. Stress impacts on the efficiency of the digestive system and may inhibit the desire to eat. Perhaps your dog doesn’t like eating when you’re not in the room? Or perhaps they are concerned that another family dog may pester them. Or there may be some other seemingly unrelated behavioural concern.
Writing down a few situations where your dog seems unhappy may highlight a growing problem. Staying beside your dog whilst they eat may help, in the short term at least. 

The act of eating:

Many times, fussy eating is actually more about eating than about the food. For instance, dogs with very short noses or undershot jaws may find it difficult to eat from a bowl, as may dogs with long ears.  The environment may also cause difficulties: a dog who doesn’t like the noise of a washing machine won’t like to eat near it; or the clanking of their name tag on the bowl might be unpleasant.

The food:

Finally, there are of course problems where dogs are actually picky about what they eat. Sometimes this is caused by preference to their puppy-time diet, or perhaps they’ve been ill whilst eating something. Most dogs will overcome any of the above ideas if the food is tasty enough; hence leading us to the fussy eater conclusion.

So, do please have a wider think about this. The important consideration when feeding is that they are getting a balanced diet. Doing some critical analysis on the ingredients in the food, rather than just randomly trying various options, may also provide you with answers.

For more information about dog food and behaviour, please look at www.TheGoodDogDiet.com and for behaviour help, please look at www.PawsAbility.co.uk.

Author Anna Patfield, Pawsability
First published in the Northern Times, Nov 2015