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Anna Webb – Broadcaster, Author, has studied behaviour, nutrition and therapies with the College of Integrated Veterinary Therapies (CIVT). She lives in London and is owned by Prudence, a Miniature Bull Terrier and Mr Binks, a re-homed English Toy Terrier.
I’ve always been passionate about: ‘You are what you eat’ not just for dogs, but for people too!
In my study with the College of Integrated Veterinary Studies, I learnt so much about the fields of nutrigenomics and epigenetics. About how food really can, as Hippocrates summed up in 600 BC: “let medicine by thy food, and food be thy medicine’.
I love the field of nutrition as it’s constantly evolving. Just in the past decade or so, scientists have, and continue to reveal the impact of food on our health at a cellular level: biologically, physiologically, emotionally and behaviourally.
As an expert in nutrition and behaviour, I contribute to a host of TV and radio and have discussed the benefits of feeding an ‘unadulterated’ raw and biologically appropriate diet on Channel 5’s documentary: The Truth About What You Feed Your Dog and on ITV1’s The Titchmarsh Show.
Not least on BBC Radio London’s hugely popular dog slot, Barking at the Moon, now in its 12th year, and on my weekly award nominated Podcast A DOG’S LIFE!
Back in 2002 I brought Molly, my first Miniature Bull Terrier, home. Her breeder drilled into me that I should feed her raw green tripe (RGT) as a low fat, vitamin and mineral dense superfood that’s low in phosphorous and packed with pre and probiotics perfectly suited to a carnivorous gut.
Back then RGT was not easy to source with only two suppliers in the UK, but indeed Molly enjoyed the health boosting effects of this doggy elixir through her life.
In fact, raw green tripe is one of the reasons that I’m proud to be an Ambassador for Paleoridge. The family run business not only selectively sources only ethical British meats, but is one of a handful of dedicated raw food firms to include RGT, and the only one to use lamb’s tripe in their Classic range.
My dogs, Prudence (the successor to Molly), and Mr Binks (a re-homed English Toy Terrier), are also most impressed with the quality and consistency of Paleoridge’s Classic Range. Complementing the lamb tripe are meats including chicken, duck and turkey complement the Lamb tripe, being prepared to the ancestral ratio 80:10:10.
The science of Nutrigenomics has exploded over the past decade, and it could explain why dogs are getting porkier, poorlier and even less trainable.
As we learn more about the interrelationship of foods and our genes, it’s clear that feeding species appropriately makes a big difference! That means feeding a dog as a carnivore and yourselves as an omnivore.
Being aware of hidden sugars, and the effects of overly processed foods in contrast to fresh, unadulterated foods on your genes can promote, rather than inhibit optimum health.
Equally, an awareness Epigenetically of how the environment impacts on your dog’s health whether it’s from a lack of exercise to emotional stress or a host of hidden chemicals indoors and outdoors, which can also impact on healthy or unhealthy gene expression.
We all want the best for our dogs and it’s not a dress rehearsal! For me, feeding for optimum health and behaviour will impact positively on both the lives of pet parents and, of course, on their dogs.
Just as highly processed ‘simple’, ‘high-glycemic’ refined sugary foods like biscuits can create sugar spikes in people, similar hyperactivity and an inability to focus occurs in dogs fed highly processed simple carbohydrate foods like ‘kibble’.
Sugar highs are followed in people and dogs by sugar lows like lethargy, moodiness, and being irritable. But some pet parents mistake these behaviours as being ill-mannered or uncooperative, rather than attributing them to their dog’s food.
There’s also evidence that dogs fed on an overly processed diet, typically featuring 30-70% simple refined carbs, can exhibit hunger-related behavioural issues.
Simple carbohydrates digest and absorb quicker, leaving dogs feeling hungry again quicker. Triggering undesirable begging behaviours, or munching on inappropriate ‘foods’ like your designer Chelsea boots or your antique table leg.
As rescues see the aftermath of the ‘pandemic puppy boom’, re-sales of young dogs are soaring online. Could making a choice to feed a healthy raw balanced and complete diet like Paleoridge reduce dogs being abandoned for ‘bad’ behaviour problems?
It’s ‘food for thought’?
Guest Blog: Anna Webb
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