I have been advised that I should not feed one of my dogs science diet because of the preservatives in it.

He has had behavioural problems in the past.  We are working through these and he is showing signs of improvement but I would like to do everything possible to make life easier for him.  It has been suggested that I should switch him to JWB.  He does not seem to have any problems on science diet, is the correct weight and appears to be in good health.

There seem to be some very knowledgeable contributors to this section of the forum - can anyone tell me if this is good advice?

It would depend on what his behavioural problems are - can you elaborate?  Also, you say they're in the past - does that mean they're not a problem now? 

Aggression towards people in his household.  He does not aggress towards us but is uncomfortable in certain situations, so we take care that they do not arise.

Well, preservatives and other artificial additives have been linked in scientific studies to hyperactivity in children and many dog owners report that they have seen marked changes in their dog's behaviour after changing the diet from one high in additives. 

It is also very common for a behaviourist to recommend a diet change as one of the first things tried.  The reasons for this are that it is relatively easy to change a diet - compared to behavioural modification methods.  In many cases the diet isn't _causing_ the problem, but it can exacerbate it and make it harder to make progress with other behavioural techniques.  Of course, the diet could also have nothing to do with his aggression. 

Why not try changing his diet and see how he gets on?  If he doesn't suit it, or if it doesn't make any difference, you can reconsider but it's probably worth a try alongside other behavioural intervention.

Thanks onetwothree. 

I am trying to weigh up the possible benefits of switching to JWB against a natural inclination not to change a dog from a food which suits him in terms of his physical condition.  Ultimately you are right that suck it and see is a sensible option.

However, I was just wondering what the effect of preservatives in dog food was thought to be and if there was any scientific basis for the advice I have been given.  If preservatives are only linked to hyperactivity then I cannot see any benefit as he does not exhibit this sort of behaviour.

Also, is it a misconception that JWB is preservative free?

And what is it in the science diet that makes the end product so orange?

It is not merely preservatives or indeed other additives that you need to consider if you believe that food may be a contributing/aggravating factor in behaviour.

There are other nutritional issues, for example, maize is tryptophan deficient, this is a precursor to serotonin which is a "calmer" to shorten a lengthy explanation.  Therefore a dog may do better on a maize free diet (Hills is based on maize).

However all cereals can prove a problem to some dogs in certain cases as can dairy products.  Casomorphine is derived from the digestion of casein (milk protein) and exorphine from the digestion of gluten (found in cereals) These substances, together with hormones, hormone like substances and pheromones are naturally present in many dog foods.  All have been scientifically shown to alter normal dog behaviour.  Casomorphine and exorphines can trigger behaviour in dogs not unlike giving them morphine or other opiates. 

There has been a lot of research done on this with autistic children and they have found that they can interfere with the activity of neurotransmitters.

Dietary manipulation by excluding milk and gluten products may have have behavioural benefits as well as digestive ones!

And also the addition of a carbohydrate meal of rice/pasta/baked potato with a Vitamin B complex can also help certain dogs with tryptophan uptake etc.

Also some dogs may have an intolerance to any ingredient.

So the removal of preservatives is not necessarily the only issue that should be considered.

HTH

Also depends on what the preservatives are and the combinations

Thank you for the above information.

I'm trying to decide the best way forward.  And feeling a bit stumped.

How do I find out what, if anything, in a diet affects this dog?  Is there a brand of food which excludes most of the usual suspects that I could start with?

At the end of the day, I don't think I'm going to reach the stage where I can say, "Ah!  It was the X that made it all worse!" but I would just like to think that of all the options available, I was choosing one which would give him the best chance.

If I fed commercial dog food my first choice would be Nature Diet as it contains only meat, rice, carrots and bonemeal.  This is a vacuum packed wet meal and contains nothing else, dogs generally love it (not necessarily the sign of a good food) ;) and generally do very well on it.

If you feel that you cannot cope with wet food then my first choice would be  Burns, followed by JWB (some varieties of both).

Not sure if that helps.

Everyone has a different opinon ;)

It definitely helps.

Thanks for your time. :-)

Yes, I believe there is scientific evidence for the advice you've been given, but it might be based on research into other animal species and humans - not dogs.  So some people might discount it for that reason and it's up to you to decide if it's relevant or not.

Like Tohme says below there are other ingredients which impact on behaviour, but preservatives or in fact any additives would be a biggie for me.

I've no idea what it is in science diet that makes the end product orange - in fact I had no idea it was orange until you said so!  Probably food colouring - why don't you list the ingredients on your Science Diet pack?

As for the JWB and preservatives - if you email them and ask, they will tell you that they do not add artificial preservatives to their food.  Yet, in the UK, it is legal for the supplier (the person who sells them their meat) to add the preservatives _before_ it gets to JWB, and for that NOT to be listed on the ingredients by JWB.  It's a legal loophole.  So there is no surefire way to tell.  But that goes for all pet food manufacturers, not just JWB - and you have to feed something.  Better to feed a food which doesn't list the preservatives (and therefore can be hoped not to have them) than one which does (and therefore definitely has them).  JWB also includes salt on its ingredients, which does have a preservative effect, so it could be they are telling the truth and it's the salt which is preserving their food.

I think, in terms of ingredients, that Burns might be a better one for you to look at, if you are trying to minimise ingredients: www.burns-pet-nutrition.co.uk  However, be warned that Burns is known to be on the light side for calories - most people need to feed more than the recommended amount to keep the weight on their dogs.

Another one you might want to think about is Wafcol Salmon and Potato - I wouldn't recommend the other Wafcol varieties, but this one has basic plain ingredients and uses potato instead of rice.

......... more correctly termed potato and salmon if you look at the ingredients...............

I think 25% salmon is pretty good personally :)  I know everyone has quite rightly differing experiences and opinions on foods but IMO this is a quality product with minimal ingredients and certainly one of the better end dry completes available.   Some others boast to be lamb, fish etc but reading the tiny print have added chicken fat in every recipe.  At least with this Wafcol product there are no additional protein sources if that's a concern in a diet.

regards, Teri

Agreed Teri, besides, Burns, which Tohme recommended actually has only 18% meat in it, which is even less than Wafcol.

I be wary of a dog food that uses a loop hole in the law to hide behind I rather use a company that give a full listing of ingredients no mater how debatable  these ingredients are, at least you can make your own mind up. As for salt you need a lot of salt for it to be used as a preservative again it has to be listed as a preservative And in JWB (pedigree in drag now) case its listed as an ingredient which could mean that more than 1%. Salt is added to both human and pet food for the same reasons as a flavour enhancer but in the case of the human food chain it has been spotted as health issue and we are more aware
Of its dangers and action is now been taken hopefully the same will happen in dog food- mind you manufactures have an surplus of salt now its being reduced in human food so not wanting to waste it they will do what they have always done and use it in pet food
Waste not wont not is the moto Jo

Just to be clear - there is no evidence that JWB are actually using this loophole (or in fact any other dog food company). 

As I said above, I'd rather feed a food which doesn't list these ingredients and therefore hopefully doesn't have them, than a food which does list them and definitely does have them.

I think it is very wise to do some research on preservatives and commend you for doing so.  I would definitely avoid anything containing a proven carcinogen.

I think science plan contains all the  preservatives that we are advised to stay away from!

>I would definitely avoid anything containing a proven carcinogen.<

Once again,which science plan contain :(

ANY food that has more cereal than meat SHOULD IMHO, have the title cereal and protein.  Whatever the make, I was not referring to the amount of overall animal protein it contained rather that to the uninitiated, the title MAY be misleading. ;)

My post was not intended to imply the worth or otherwise of the food, merely that when a brand has a title of "Meat Protein and Cereal" people may infer from that that there is more meat than cereal in the content..............