Can diet affect your dog's behaviour?

Yes, diet can affect a dog's behaviour, but it is only one of many factors that influence how a dog behaves. A lack of essential fatty acids like Omega-3 and Omega-6 may be linked to aggression, hyperactivity, and anxiety. A deficiency of B-vitamins can lead to symptoms like irritability, depression, and even cognitive decline in dogs. In fact, an imbalance of amino acids in a dog’s diet can affect the production of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that helps regulate mood and anxiety.

A complete and balanced diet helps support normal brain and body function, while nutritional deficiencies, excesses, food intolerances, gastrointestinal discomfort or sudden dietary changes may affect how a dog feels and behaves also. However, there is not enough evidence to say that a particular food or ingredient will reliably change a dog's personality or solve behavioural problems. A lot of aspects come together to keep your dog happy and healthy.

Why does this matter?

  • The brain needs a steady supply of energy, amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins and minerals to function normally. Poor nutrition can therefore affect how it works.

  • Hunger, digestive discomfort and other physical problems can make a dog restless, irritable or less able to concentrate. A dog that seems to have a behaviour problem may sometimes have an underlying health or nutritional issue.

  • Sudden changes in food can cause gastrointestinal upset. If a dog is uncomfortable, this can temporarily affect their mood and behaviour.

  • A dog's behaviour is influenced by many other factors, including genetics, early socialisation, training, environment, exercise, sleep, pain and overall health.

What do vets generally agree on?

The gut-brain axis is the two-way communication system between a dog's gut and brain. The gut microbiome can influence mood, stress responses and behaviour, while stress and emotions can also affect gut function.

A good diet should provide adequate amounts of high-quality protein, fats, essential fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and energy without excessive calories. This provides the gut with good bacteria and minimises deficiencies that may affect behaviour in dogs. 

For healthy dogs, there is no single "calming food" or special diet that is proven to change behaviour in every dog. However, some ingredients have been shown to provide a calming effect on dogs, such as chamomile, L-theanine, passionflower, ginger, valerian root, CBD oil, etc. You can get them all together in one tasty chew with the BLEP SUPER Stress Buster supplement for dogs. 

When to be careful?

Don't assume that a sudden change in behaviour is simply a result of diet. New, unusual or significant behaviour changes can sometimes be a sign of pain, illness or another underlying medical problem and should be discussed with a veterinarian.

Be particularly cautious about restrictive diets or homemade diets. Removing foods or adding new ones without understanding your dog's nutritional requirements can create nutritional imbalances or other problems.

If your dog's behaviour changes after eating a particular food, keep track of what they ate, how much they ate and what changes you noticed. Discuss persistent or repeated reactions with your veterinarian, who can determine whether a dietary issue, medical condition or behavioural factor may be involved.

Most importantly, nutrition should be viewed as one part of behavioural health, alongside appropriate exercise, enrichment, training, socialisation, sleep and veterinary care.

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