Whilst dogs are in the air, so to speak, has anyone noticed behavioural changes linked to dog food? - Ages ago I stopped giving Bonios as treats because my two seemed to get a bit snippy when they ate a few. Subsequently I noticed the odd fight-ette taking place in times of very high quality (ie expensive) food - I usually go for middle of the road stuff - culminating in a couple of weeks of quite nasty quarrels (over who went where on the sofa, mostly) recently. After a week on rice for a few days followed by half rice half cheap food, peace seems to have been restored. This is not a controlled experiment (!), of course, - other changes in routine, whatever have occurred, but it's an effect I've now noticed various times - anyone else? (Makes you think of hyper-active children on Coca cola and junk food - or difficult to manage horses on high prepared mixes........).
Hi Rita,
That's an interesting question. I have a canine behaviourist friend who reckons she can tell which brand of dog food is being fed just form the behaviours the dogs exhibit!!
Some of the common brands of dried dog food contain synthetic antioxidants like BHT etc which are known to cause behavioural changes in rats. Don;t know of any formal studies in dogs though.
cath