Hello agian!  Looking for some advise for my friend who has an 8 week old Vizsla when he starts to get hungry he throws the biggest temper tantrum we have EVER seen!  He throws himself about, growling, barking, biting etc; my friend has tried ignoring him and this just him go even more demonic!  Any advice would be very helpful!

What does he actually eat, you may find that it is the diet that he is on that causes them!  Some diets contain a lot of additives that can cause behaviour problems; alternatively he may have problems keeping his blood sugar level; again this can be aggravated by diet if it contains sugar in one form of another.

It's probably a very silly question, but how much, how often, and what is the puppy being fed?

he is being fed 4 times a day, 2oz of puppy supafeed.

we have just had a thought, he has been given a small treat from Wednesday afternoon onwards (literally tiny piece) but perhaps this is the cause of the tantrums.  My friend will stop the treat and see if that makes a difference. ;-)

If the treat is a commercially prepared one it will be loaded with colourings etc and so you might be best to give, as a treat, tiny pieces of liver.

HTH

The ingredients of the puppy diet are: Rice, poultry meal (min 14%), maize, herring meal, real chicken meat, poultry fat, sugar beet pulp, dried egg, brewers yeast. Contains natural anti-oxidants.

Rice being the main ingredient which breaks down into simple sugars and so he could be on a carb high (or low).  You might try increasing the amount given at each feed or increasing the frequency of feeding (not both) :D and this may level out his behaviour.

HTH

Hi Tohme,
  You seem to know a lot about what's good and what isn't in diets, and how it might affect behaviour - do you know anything about dogs behaviour when missing a meal?  Just wondering, as I'm doing obedience with my dog (first show on Sun), and our instructor told me not to feed him on that morning.  He usually has breakfast and tea (Naturediet and Wafcol salmon & potato).  Anyway, twice when I've met her for a lesson I've not fed him to see how he would be, and he has been a bit switched off, staring into the distance at nothing, whereas normally he loves to work.  I don't know if it's co-incidence with him not having had breakfast, but someone has told me that dogs can have problems, like people getting low blood-sugar, etc.  So now I'm thinking I will feed him on the morning of the show, just in case!
  Hilda
 

I usually give a small breakfast on a show morning, this gives them something in their tummy, but they are not overfed as to not want to switch on to treats for training prior to going into the ring.  I don't know about the low blood sugar level, although quite possible, I just feel it is a little unkind not to feed them, I wouldn't like to go out without my breaky.  Not a good way to start obedience training having a hungry unhappy dog :)

Hi Sandrah,
     I might just feed half his breakfast, instead of a full lot - don't want him falling asleep!  Someone else also mentioned that if he is going to a show feeling hungry, he will associate that and maybe not find it an enjoyable place to be.  My instructor just reckons a dog is keener to work if they are hungry, and though that sounds true, I've got a funny feeling that isn't always the case.  I know it might have been co-incidence that my dog seemed switched off those two times I didn't feed him, but I've got a feeling it wasn't.  Like he didn't have the energy or something!
Hilda

I would go halfway and as you suggest just feed half his breakfast.  Some dogs are so wound up that they would work whatever, others need that extra incentive.  Give it a try, you can always adjust it later.

Like anything you have to tailor feeding to the individual; some dogs are better not being fed prior to competition/training some need a "snackette" to maintain blood sugar levels and so that the brain can concentrate (we have all seen the results of those measuring children's concentration levels re do they have a proper breakfast in the morning or not).  Also depending on the length of time between "normal" brekkie and training/competition.

I don't actually happen to feed my dogs necessarily to a schedule as I don't want to become their slave :D  I would personally find it extremely irritating if my dogs "told" me when it was meal or walk time!  As I compete and travel a lot food, like exercise, training, grooming etc, has to fit into my schedule.  Most of my feeding is actually done at training rather than at "meal times".  Hope that helps.

Hi Tohme,
      Had our show today, and my dog had his breakfast (not quite as much as usual though), and was fine - happy to concentrate at the show, so I know from now on I'm okay to feed him before a show and it's not going to make him not want to work!  We got 7th place out of 33, so I'm really pleased with that!
Hilda

Excellent; there is a lot you can do to manipulate behaviour via food!

Have just looked at Burgess Supafeed Dog food site and you can email them for advice. :)