This time our focus is on food and eating as this has a massive impact on dog behaviour and long term health.  Dogs of all ages can steal food, eat what we consider to be inappropriate food (starfish, horse poo, tissues etc) as well as some dogs eating dangerous things such as chocolates in wrappers, rat poison – all scary stuff.

Dogs have evolved and adapted over millions of years to be opportunistic scavengers. Whilst classified as carnivores (due to their teeth), they are omnivores and will literally eat anything. Research on free roaming dogs (i.e. those not owned as pet dogs) shows that these dogs have access to free choice/activity of their choosing, spend a lot of their day walking from place to place, observing, exploring the environment, hanging out with their dog friends (including sleeping socially and having short play sessions) and searching for food sources by using their sense of smell and sight. They eat a wide range of foods – pretty much anything they can get hold of. There is very little predatory hunting behaviour but where this does happen, dogs stalk for a long period and then sprint and grab prey over a short distance. They spend very little time running hard and almost no time engaging in prolonged play sessions – they have lots of rest breaks and engaging with the environment (exploring, sniffing and observing).

Compare this to pet dogs – they have the positives of living socially with humans (and sometimes with other dogs), they have warm, safe and comfortable homes, access to water, toys, walks, love of people, medical care, access to playing etc. However, we do keep them confined (whether this is in a crate or just shut in a room), we choose what they can lay on (some people don’t allow their dogs to lay on furniture), we chosen when and what they can eat (and often feed in a bowl), we choose when they walk, where and for low long, we choose what is classed as a ‘toy’ and prevent scavenging, we choose who they can play with and for how long and so on

Both free roaming and pet dogs have very similar evolution so when you consider all the above, its easy to see why they eat anything they can reach and often choose to ‘steal’ (aka scavenge) food in our bins, on plates, stuff they consider to be edible (horse poo, chips in some rubbish found on a walk, half a rotten rabbit etc). This is all dog normal. The more we can meet their needs, the less this behaviour will occur. So how do we do this?

• Find ways of offering variety in their diet – different textures and tastes. Even if your dog is sensitive to certain foods, this is usually achievable with some creativity! Try raw/cooked vegetables/fruit (grated apple, a raw carrot, cooked peas etc), try raw bones, tripe sticks, etc. You can give limited amounts of dairy (or substitutions) and oils depending on your dog
• Find different ways of finding and accessing food – try sprinkling kibble on the grass/patio, try a Lickimat loaded with wet/dry foods, try a Kong toy stuffed with their food, hide food in the house (or put it in boxes so they can scavenge for it, hide it under tennis balls in a muffin tin), freeze food in toys and offer them…
• Try feeding a variety of foods in a muffin tin (like a tasting plate) – a few times a week will broaden their diet and support natural behaviours. The other plus is that a broad diet supports the gut bacteria which all dogs (and humans) have which is crucial for long term health and behaviour

Some people like to feed  probiotic alongside their usual food – especially if the dog has had to have antibiotics, or had an upset stomach. Some good products are Pro-fibre, Pawbits Probiotic health support, Fortiflora. Ask your vet for advice.