What are the best foods for brain health in dogs?
Dogs, just like human beings, need proper, well-balanced nutrition, not only for their bodies but also for the optimal functioning of their brains. It’s therefore essential to ensure that your dog has the proper diet that will be beneficial to its brain.
So, what are the best foods for brain health in dogs?
This article gives you some of the ingredients that can give your dog’s brain a health boost.
Come with us for this and more.
Dog brain health
Puppy Brain Development
Puppies grow rapidly in their first months of life, both body-wise and in their brains. This implies that they grow more than half of their adult brain mass in the first month of their life. As such, they need proper nutrition to support their growing bodies and their brains. It’s hence essential to supplement their diet with DHA to enhance proper cognitive functioning.
Cognitive function in older dogs
Since they are at their prime age, adult dogs are generally healthy both in the body and brain. Feeding these dogs foods rich in antioxidants can help support their health and keep their brain health optimal. Providing the right kind of antioxidants and nutrients is crucial for maintaining their health well into old age.
Senior Dogs
As dogs age, their bodies undergo various changes, and many functions, cognitive functions included, begin to dissipate. This occurs due to oxidative stress on the brain tissues caused by free radicals. This results in a decline in brain health, contributing to canine cognitive dysfunction or dementia. At this age, it’s essential to feed these dogs antioxidant-rich foods and well-balanced diets for optimal brain health.
Brain Food For Dogs Key Ingredients
Now we know that foods rich in omega fatty acids and antioxidants are great for brain health. The following foods contain these nutrients and can help keep your dog’s brain functioning optimally:
Fish (and fish oil)
Fish and fish oil are excellent sources of DHA, which is essential for healthy brain development in puppies. This is especially useful during their first months of life due to the rapid brain growth at this particular time.
At six weeks of age, puppies acquire up to 70% of their adult brain mass and 90% at 12 weeks. However, the bodies of puppies can produce only a limited amount of DHA. Therefore, they must obtain this from food to enable them to grow sufficient brain mass.
The most common source of DHA is from fish types, including tuna, sardines, and salmon. Eggs and chicken are also good sources of this nutrient.
Spinach and blueberries
Spinach and blueberries contain antioxidants that dogs, and more so senior dogs, require to keep their brains functioning optimally. As dogs advance in age, their cognitive functioning declines making them prone to cognitive issues such as dementia, otherwise referred to as cognitive dysfunction syndrome.
Adding fruits and vegetables to your dog’s diet can help improve its cognitive function and keep its brain active and healthy. They can also keep your dog mentally stimulated and help reduce the severity of conditions like cognitive dysfunction syndrome.
Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are chockfull of nutrients, including vitamins like A, B6, and C and minerals such as calcium, potassium, and iron. They are also high in carbohydrates, making them excellent sources of energy that keep dogs going. Additionally, sweet potatoes contain fiber which is helpful for digestion. These nutrients are highly beneficial as they promote optimal functioning of your dog’s immune and nervous system health.
Sweet potatoes, just like blueberries and spinach, are also packed with antioxidants. These can help combat oxidative damage caused by free radicals, boost immunity, fight infections, slow down the aging process, and give the cognitive function of dogs a health kick.
Feeding these vegetables will supply energy to your dog and keep its neurological health in top condition.
Coconut Oil
Coconut oil has been touted for ages for its many health benefits. However, it’s particularly renowned for its ability to improve cognitive function in senior dogs and in canines.
Since the brain is the supercomputer of the body, it requires lots of energy which is supplied when glucose from food is broken down. However, as dogs advance in age, their ability to metabolize glucose declines leaving some energy deficiency in the brain.
Besides being great for brain health, incorporating coconut oil can help promote dogs’ skin, coat, and digestive system health.
For optimal results, coconut oil should be given in moderation, as large amounts can lead to weight gain and digestive upset in dogs.
Dog Brain Supplements
As dogs progress in age, their cognitive function declines, just like humans. This is a result of oxidative damage caused by free radicals. Using antioxidant supplements like vitamins C and E can help to improve cognitive decline in canines.
Incorporating other nutrients such as carnitine, DHA and EPA fatty acids, beta-carotene, alpha-lipoic acid, and selenium can help boost the brain health in dogs. These nutrients are useful in reducing neurological issues and helping with amyloids. This is a disease that prevents body organs from working properly. Brain supplements lead to cognitive enhancement.
Best wet dog food for brain health
According to us, the best-wet dog food for brain health is Purina Pro Plan Adult 7+ Complete Essentials Chicken & Rice Entree Wet Dog Food. This formula is fortified with enhanced botanical oils that promote alertness and mental sharpness in seven and above dogs. The botanical oils in this food come with medium-chain triglycerides that provide easy to absorb sources of extra energy for the brain cells of dogs.
Best brain food for senior dogs
The best brain food for senior dogs is Nutro Ultra Senior Dry Dog Food. It has high-quality ingredients to provide complete and well-balanced nutrition for the good health of senior dogs. It contains salmon, which provides a good source of omega 3 fatty acids, plus coconut and blueberries for antioxidants that promote cognitive functioning in dogs.
Best dog food for cognitive dysfunction
If your dog is suffering from dementia, otherwise referred to as cognitive dysfunction, you can give it Ark Naturals Gray Muzzle Brain’s Best Friend, Soft Chew Brain & Nervous System Supplement for Senior Dogs. These chews are formulated with a proprietary blend of fish oil plus vitamins to encourage optimal health functioning. Feeding this to dogs can offer cognitive support for disorientation, recognition, and memory.
Best dog food for brain tumor
The following are some of the best foods that can help with brain tumors:
Purina NeuroCare
This is specially formulated to help improve immunity and support cognitive health in dogs. It’s crafted with medium-chain triglyceride and fortified with a unique blend of nutrients plus plenty of antioxidant-rich ingredients to provide dogs with balanced and complete brain food.
Hill’s Prescription Diet b/d
This veterinarian-approved diet contains high levels of omega 3 fats, ideal protein, phosphorus, and sodium content, plus clinically proven antioxidants providing a clinically proven nutrition to help protect the brain against the effects of age-related decline and improve age-related behaviors in senior dogs.
Negative effects of poor quality diets
Many store-sold dog foods are not appropriately formulated as they lack sufficient nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, fats, and protein. Others utilize sub-standard ingredients such as fillers, spoilt foodstuffs, slaughterhouse wastes, artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, metal contaminants, drug residues, and sugar. Feeding dogs poor-quality diets can lead to adverse impacts on their bodies and their brains.
Besides causing potential nutrient deficiencies, low-quality diets can have hallucinogenic effects on dogs, especially if they contain synthetic ingredients. Poor nutrition negatively impacts a dog’s cognitive function leading to undesirable behaviors.
Other Ways to Exercise Your Dog’s Brain
Besides providing proper nutrition and antioxidant-rich supplements, these are other ways you can exercise your dog’s brain and improve its health:
- Provide adequate physical exercise: You should exercise your dog properly if it has become inactive and lazy. Giving enough exercise will help keep your dog’s mind active and alert. You can take walks, play ball, or jog along with it. A physically fit dog is a mentally healthy dog.
- Give mental exercises: Mental exercises like playing puzzle games, hide and seek, or fetching games can help keep your dog physically and mentally stimulated. This helps improve their brain health.
How do I make my dog super smart?
Suppose you want to make your dog extremely intelligent. In that case, you should feed it a complete and balanced diet that has omega fatty acids, vitamins, and antioxidants and give them sufficient physical and mental stimulation.
What food makes the brain function well?
For optimal functioning of your dog’s brain, you should feed it complete and balanced foods that contain antioxidants and omega fatty acids, including DHA, EPA, and ALA.
How can I improve my dog’s cognitive function?
You can improve your dog’s cognitive function by giving it antioxidant-packed supplements that boost that help fight oxidative damage and slow down the aging process.
Which dry fruit is best for the brain?
The best dry fruits for brain health are nuts because they have omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, which boost brain health.
What are the three key nutrients your brain needs?
Your brain needs high-quality proteins, omega fatty acids, and antioxidants for optimal functioning.
What foods are good for dementia?
Foods high in vitamins, antioxidants, and omega 3 fats, including green leafy vegetables such as spinach or kale, fruits like berries, nuts including peanut butter, and coconut, are the best for the treatment of dementia.
What is the most intelligent dog breed?
The border collie is considered the most intelligent dog breed in the world. These dogs require lots of physical and mental stimulation.
Are peanuts good for the brain?
Peanuts contain protein, fiber, minerals, and omega fatty acids that are good for a healthy body and the brain.
Is milk good for the brain?
Yes, milk is a good source of protein and carbohydrates, which provide energy for the optimal working of the brain. It’s also high in B vitamins which are essential for the growth of brain tissues, enzymes, and neurotransmitters.
What foods reduce brain fog?
Foods like eggs, fish, nuts, green leafy vegetables, including spinach and kale, and antioxidant-rich fruits like blueberries, are great for reducing brain fog.
Sum It Up
Dogs need a well-balanced and complete diet and sufficient mental and physical exercises for optimal cognitive health. A poor diet will negatively impact a dog’s body and its brain.
Feeding your dog foods high in omega fats, vitamins, and antioxidants can help maintain its brain health. Some examples of great foods for promoting cognitive health in dogs include spinach, coconut, blueberries, fish, fish oil, and sweet potatoes.
As dogs advance in age, their cognitive ability declines due to oxidative damage to the brain cells caused by free radicals. Offering these dogs antioxidant-rich brain supplements can help improve their cognitive functioning.
