Kim Barnett, a well-renowned dog trainer from England, had the opportunity to evaluate Halo Spot’s Stew after we made a significant donation to two shelters that benefit from her services – Adopt a Boxer Rescue, and Save Our Strays. Kim, lead behaviorist of Follow My Lead UK, believes that feeding a quality, natural diet improves behavior and strengthens the human/animal bond.

By Kim Barnett, Follow My Lead IACP

Working as a dog trainer and behaviour consultant for several rescue organizations as well as having private clients, I get to see a broad spectrum of dogs, many of whom are suffering from anxiety based issues to various forms of aggression, and everything in between. In as much as it’s possible with a rescue dog, we like to see them provided with the best possible nutrition for both physical and mental well being. Many rescue dogs have been fed poor diets, and due to either neglect or because they are strays, some have been fed little or nothing and are found literally with just days left to live. In these cases it’s clear to see why the most nutritious and easy to digest diet would help these dogs get back to physical health as fast as possible, but how does it help their mental health you might wonder.

Just as good quality food and a balanced diet helps a person to feel at their emotional best, the same is true of our pets. The old saying You are what you eat is as relevant to our dogs and cats as it is to ourselves. If I’m working with a behaviorally challenged dog, I find that good food, free of unnecessary preservatives and additives helps the dog to achieve emotional well being. Foods that are high in sugars or contain cheap grains and other carbohydrates will not help my anxious or hyperactive dog to be calm and may not give him the quality protein that he needs.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 25th, 2009 at 10:00 am and is filed under Giving Back, Guest Blogger, Healthy Dog Food. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.