Why your dog may need a change in diet this holiday.

The car is packed, the roof rack is full and you have enough travel sweets to get you through the long journey ahead…to your holiday destination! How excited is the entire family feeling about saying goodbye to your home environment for a while, whilst you enjoy all that free time relaxing, exploring, resting and eating! 

Of course, a family holiday would be incomplete without bringing your faithful four-legged family member along, and you have even gone that extra mile for your dog’s health and found a pet store local to where you are staying that stocks Benyfit Natural (extra brownie points for you!).

Whilst the majority of us humans are nothing more than delighted when the time comes for a holiday break, your dog may be a little more discouraged than you might think.

Most dogs love routine; they know where home is, they know where they sleep, where they eat, where their local friends and where rivals live and what time their nemesis (AKA the postman) will be coming to their door. They know what time the family (AKA the staff) will be home and the routine of the day. Then, one day, your dog is put in to the car, excited about what s/he will be doing with their family, to find that they are many miles away from home. All of a sudden their routine has gone and all that is familiar to them.

Quickly, though, familiarity returns as, being the conscientious guardian (AKA butler) that you are for your dog, s/he feels a sense of home as you start to unpack the car and bring in your dog’s bed, toys, blanket, water bowl...and food!

You let your dog have a little explore in the area that is going to be home for a few weeks before feeding him. Your dog sees yet more routine; the same food and the same food bowl! But, as you put the bowl down, something very strange and very out of character for your dog may happen…he doesn’t eat!!!

Whilst this doesn’t happen to all dogs, there are many dogs that refuse to eat in the first few days of their family holiday. There may be a few reasons for this and one of them is due to a change in your dog’s environment.

At home, a dog is master of his environment because s/he has spent long enough there learning about where s/he lives, what dangers may be lurking around the corner (like, you know, your dog’s nemesis – AKA the postman) and how safe they feel. Your dog also gains an awful lot of information about other dogs living in the area (by smelling other dog’s wee and also poo!).

So, when your dog is now in a new location, s/he needs to spend some time learning about that new location and how safe they feel there. This may be for a few hours to a few days, although some dogs just don’t care at all. For those that do, just for a time until they begin to feel more comfortable, a dog may refuse to go to the toilet. The best way to do that is to not eat.

Now, we don’t want to bore you with the science, but the reason for this is because being in a new area means the dog has no idea of what other dogs or dangers are around. When a dog does go to the toilet it leaves information there for other dogs to register, almost like a pee-mail!

However, if your dog is uncertain about leaving his or her pee-mail out in the open, for other dogs to read and in a place that is unfamiliar to your dog, then you may find your dog to be unusually reluctant to eat his food.

If you have such a dog, then one of the things you can do is change his/her diet for one to a few days. No! This does not mean that you have to stop feeding raw (we wouldn’t allow that, would we!) but, instead, try feeding your dog Benyfit Natural’s Just Tripe for a couple of days and watch him/her gulp it down like normal.

Now, this is getting a little technical, but tripe will not make your dog’s poo and wee smell so pungent to another dog and have less information in it for another dog to read. Whilst your dog is getting to know the area, it may make your dog feel a lot more comfortable and willing to eat.

Of course, to support your dog’s changes in emotions, there are several alternative therapies that can help a dog feel more comfortable when in a new location. Adding to this list, we suggest you also consider how food may affect how your dog feels when in a new place and why simply giving your dog our Just Tripe may overcome his/her unwillingness to eat.  

For more information on feeding a raw food diet and advice please contact Benyfit Natural 01892 770188 or info@benyfitnatural.co.uk