Feeding for Wellness: How Nutrition Shapes Your Puppy’s Body and Mind

What goes into your puppy doesn’t just shape their body, it shapes their mood, their ability to learn, and their behaviour.

Your puppy’s gut and brain are in constant communication. This connection, called the gutbrain axis, means your feeding choices can directly influence how emotionally intelligent, adaptable, and resilent your dog becomes.

Let’s look at how to support your puppy’s health from the inside out.

 Why Gut Health Matters

The gut isn’t just about digestion, it’s the foundation of your puppy’s emotional and physical resilience.

 The gut produces up to 90% of serotonin, the hormone that helps regulate mood and sleep.

 A healthy gut supports better emotional stability, clearer thinking, and a more collected response to stress.

 Gut imbalance can show up as anxiety, reactivity, poor focus, or digestive upset.

Supporting gut health is one of the simplest ways to help your puppy develop the emotional control and confidence they’ll need as adults.

 How to Choose a HighQuality Diet

Not all pet foods are created equal - here are some simple guidelines for reading labels and choosing well:

✔️ Look For:

•  Named meat proteins first (e.g. chicken, beef - not “meat byproduct”).

•  Short, recognisable ingredient lists.

•  Natural fats (like salmon oil or chicken fat).

•  AAFCO statement saying it’s “complete and balanced for puppies.”

❌ Avoid:

•  Unnamed proteins (“meat meal,” “poultry byproduct”).

•  Artificial colours, sweeteners, or preservatives.

•  Excessive fillers (wheat, corn, soy as the main ingredients).

•  Empty buzzwords like “premium” - which have no legal meaning.

 Adding Fresh Food - Simple and Safe

You don’t have to overhaul everything, even adding 10–20% fresh food to a commercial diet can improve immunity, gut health, and coat condition.

Here are some safe, easy additions:

🥩 Cooked or raw lean meats (chicken, lamb, beef, roo)

🥦 Steamed vegetables (pumpkin, carrot, zucchini, green beans)

🥚 Eggs (boiled or raw, start with half)

🐟 Sardines in spring water (once or twice a week)

🧉 Bone broth, kefir or plain yogurt for gut support and hydration

🦴 Edible bones like chicken or duck wings

Introduce one item at a time, in small portions, and watch how your puppy responds.

 Probiotics, Prebiotics & Digestive Support

We can use these like an insurance policy for our dogs gut health:

•  Probiotics - healthy bacteria to balance the gut.

•  Prebiotics - fibres that feed good bacteria (found in veg, raw tripe, or supplements).

•  Digestive enzymes - can help puppies transitioning to richer diets.

 Why This Matters for Behaviour

We know from both human and animal research that a dysregulated gut can lead to a dysregulated nervous system. Puppies with poor nutrition or gut imbalance are more likely to struggle with selfcontrol, show heightened reactivity, or have trouble learning.

When you feed for wellness, you’re not just nourishing their body, you’re teaching their nervous system how to stay composed and adaptable in the face of life’s challenges.