One of the first questions I ask my dog-training clients is what’s their dog’s diet. what do they feed their dog. Some people may wonder why I ask this, or how it relates to my job as a dog trainer and behaviour consultant.

Diet can have a massive affect on behavior in dogs, just as it can in people. A dog with a clean diet is usually calmer and healthier all round. I have seen dogs where we have changed the dog to a clean diet and seen such a drastic behavior change that my services as a trainer weren’t needed for as long as we originally planned.

I always suggest to people to feed the best quality diet that they can afford, with my preference being a raw natural diet. This diet includes raw meaty bones, offal, off cuts, muscle meat, eggs, fish and some fruit and vegetables. Doing a home made raw diet doesn’t need to cost more than a premium brand dog food diet. In fact, since your dog will be in better health, you can likely save money on vet bills too.

Other benefits of a raw natural diet include improved skin and coat, no “doggy smell,” smaller less offensive smelling stools, healthier teeth and gums, improved behavior and general well-being.

I’ve been studying and recommending a raw natural diet as the best diet for dogs for the last 5 years and have recently teamed up with a qualified canine nutritionist who helps me answer nutrition questions that come up from my clients or in our online membership, the Dog Matters Academy

You may be interested to know that Guide Dogs Queensland raises their puppies and feed all their dogs on raw diets. Queensland Police on the Sunshine Coast also feed their dogs a raw natural diet (Raw 4 Paws).

Of course, one drawback to doing a raw natural diet yourself is the extra time and effort it takes to research, shop around and make sure that you’re giving your dog enough variety to cover their nutritional needs. You can always speak to a canine nutritionist or qualified holistic veterinarian if you have doubts. Feel free to contact me to point you in the right direction.

You can also buy pre-packaged raw diets for convenience and peace of mind if you’re worried about getting it right when it comes to ingredients, vitamins and minerals. These done for you raw diets are becoming increasingly popular as pet owners become more aware of healthier feeding options for their animals and want to make sure they’re feeding the best diet possible to their pets.

As supporters of raw feeding for several years, we’ve recently started stocking Raw 4 Paws – a high quality and super fresh complete raw natural diet made on the Sunshine Coast from free range meat, offal and eggs, fresh local fruit and vegetables and added vitamins and minerals. It has no fillers, no grains, no nasty chemicals, just good fresh raw food. Very good for your dog’s diet. This is the best pre-made raw diet I have ever seen after trying out several for my dogs. You can find more info about Raw 4 Paws here. Or if you’d like to find out more about feeding a home made raw diet, we are happy to help with that too and can point you in the right direction for resources supported and written by nutritionists and veterinarians.

Happy Training! (& clean feeding!)

Tenille