Health & Nutrition San Diego Dog Training www.SitK9Sit.com
The Journal of Small Animal Practice published a study done by a team of veterinarians that has linked high cholesterol to tail chasing in dogs. High cholesterol is proving to be a marker for behavioral problems such as obsessive compulsive disorder and panic attacks.
Though the studies on behavior disorders and cholesterol have done mainly on humans, the thought that it could be connected to the behavior disorders in dogs as well is quite feasible.
The dog study took blood from dogs that otherwise appear to be healthy and found that those with higher cholesterol also had a tendency to be tail-chasers. It is an interesting study and health should certainly be an area to be throughly checked out when a dog shows unexplained behavior problems.
Dogs who obsess on something usually have problems with stability. Owners and friends of dog owners many times focus on a dogs obsession as amusing and sometimes actually encourage the behavior. This in itself could be causing the unbalanced nature of that particular dog to progress faster than need be. Considering that it could be a health issue can easily become completely overlooked. Quality dog training and health knowledge should go hand in hand, or paw in paw.
Just like the human race, a well balanced dog should get plenty of exercise and a healthy diet. Dog food that contributes to high cholesterol isn’t easy to track down due to labeling and ingredient regulations that are much different than human grade food products.
Dog health can easily be taken care of with some due diligence in diet and nutrtion, knowing a good vet will to do some simple blood test on your dog, and proper exercise and training.
©Jt Clough and K9 Coach 2009 www.SitK9Sit.com www.GoTrainYourDog.com
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