NUTRITION: The Secret Between Nutrition & Animal Behavior The brain is the platform for the mind and therefore the platform for your pet's mental health and stability. Our understanding of how the canine brain works is much more advanced than it was ten years ago. Much of the practical knowledge we do have of the brain has been developed by great studies done by Penn, Texas, Ohio St. and other great Universities. Pet Nutrition Systems has embraced these advancements and put them into good use. This represents a spectrum of wonderful opportunities to promote mental health, prevent behavior problems and help in the mental development of our companion pets. One of the clearest examples is the role of nutrition in relation to mental health. The brain is made up in large part of essential fatty acids, water and other nutrients. Mental alertness, memory, nerve stability, attention span and proper brain development are all are rooted in nutrition. We know that food affects how dogs feel, think and behave. In fact, we know that dietary interventions may hold the key to a number of the mental health and behavior disorder challenges our pet companions face. Yet trainers and pet owners rarely invest in developing this knowledge, and a relatively tiny - but growing - number of professionals are putting it to effective use.
No one has more clinical experience and success in using nutrition to affect the performance of young service and sport dogs. Now many training kennels and top handlers are championing our programs and using our diet plans in the care and treatment of behavior and mental development. Pet Nutrition Systems has promoted dietary interventions in treating depression, attention deficit issues, anti social behavior
and
aggression.
Mal-absorption
of
essential
nutrients and/or malnutrition can contribute to behavioral problems,
hyperactivity
and
it
would
be
foolish
to
underestimate the importance of nutrition to the training process, mental development and the over all mental performance of our pets.
We can make the difference
between a very good service or national competition dog and a great one.
The Brain-Nutrition Connection Why do some dogs get very nervous before having to perform an exercise or commands? Why does a dog lose concentration or patience in waiting for a cue or command? Many malnourished puppies do not develop a strong nerve structure, which can cause over reaction to stimuli, sensitive fight or flight reflex, have problems with self-control and/or other social developmental issues.
The canine’s gut and brain early development happens in embryogenesis from the same clump of tissue which divides during fetal development. While one section turns into the central nervous system, another piece migrates to become the enteric nervous system. Later the two nervous systems connect via a cable called the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve travel from the brain stem through the neck and finally extend into the abdomen. This is where the brain- nutrition connection starts. The state of the gut has a profound influence upon our pet’s health. It is from a healthy gut that they enjoy neurological and psychological as well as immunological health. How it all Works The gut's operating system, known as the enteric nervous system (ENS), is located in sheaths of tissue lining the esophagus, stomach, small intestine and colon. Considered a single entity, it is packed with protein, neurons and neurotransmitters that send messages between neurons or support cells like those found in the brain. It contains a complex circuitry that enables it to act independently, learn, remember and help regulate the organs, genetic systems and nourish the brain.
If we add the nerve cells of the esophagus, stomach and large intestine, there are more nerve cells in the gut than there are in the entire remainder of the peripheral nervous system. Nearly every chemical that controls the brain in the head has been identified in the gut, including hormones and neurotransmitters. This complex circuitry provides the brain in the gut with the means to act independently. Proof of this can be seen in stroke victims whose brain stem cells, which control swallowing, have been destroyed. If this occurs, a surgeon has to create an opening in the abdominal wall, so that feeding can be accomplished by manually inserting foods directly into the stomach. Once the food is in the stomach, digestion and absorption can take place, even in individuals who are brain dead. The central nervous system is needed for swallowing and for defecation, but from the time the food is swallowed to the moment its remains are expelled from the anus, the gut is in charge. In most of the body, a network of vessels carry lymph, a fluid that removes excess plasma, dead blood cells, debris and other waste. But the brain is different. Instead of lymph, the brain is bathed in cerebrospinal fluid. For decades, however, neuroscientists have assumed that this fluid simply carries soluble waste by slowly diffusing through tissues, then shipping its cargo out of the nervous system
and eventually into the body's bloodstream. Determining what's really going on has been impossible until recently. There have been studies which have identified a second, faster brain-cleansing system. Nedergaard an expert in nonneuronal brain cells called glia, has long suspected that these cells might play a role in brain cleansing. These research studies have lead to our cognitive cleanse program as well as our mental development formulations. For more information and to learn more consider have a nutrition consultation to see how Pet Nutrition Systems can help your pet be all they can be.