The full recipe for your anxious dog

As with us humans, there are various hormones in the dog's body that influence mood. Most people are familiar with serotonin as the so-called "happiness hormone". A deficiency leads to depression in humans, among other things. It is therefore not surprising that our four-legged companions also show behavioral abnormalities when there is a lack of the happiness hormone.

This hormone itself is not able to cross the blood-brain barrier after ingestion via food. Its precursor, tryptophan, is all the better at it. This is an essential amino acid for dogs. For self-confident representatives, it is perfectly sufficient if the need for tryptophan is adequately covered. Anxious dogs, however, benefit from an increased intake. Incidentally, this also applies to humans. It is not for nothing that we are advised to eat a bar of chocolate when we are in a bad mood. This contains a lot of tryptophan, which brightens our mood. Since we know that chocolate is delicious for us, but potentially deadly for our four-legged friends, we should of course not share it with them on bad days. Fortunately, we also have other good mood boosters at our disposal. A combination of tryptophan-rich foods therefore forms the basis of this recipe.

• Reisproteinpulver (80 %)
• Nudeln
• Amaranth
• Kürbiskerne
• Kokosraspeln
• Spirulina
• Vollkornbrot, Leckerlies
• Hochwertiges Öl z. E.g. VEGDOG VISH OIL
• the absolute favorite fruit and vegetable
• VEGDOG ALL-IN VELUXE

Rice protein powder naturally contains a high number of amino acids. The tryptophan content is approx. 1.42 g per 100 g. This makes it far superior to other isolates. Pumpkin seeds (should be ground) and spirulina are also characterized by a large amount of tryptophan.

This itself is not able to cross the blood-brain barrier after ingestion via food. However, its precursor, tryptophan, can do this all the better. This is an essential amino acid for dogs. For self-confident representatives, it is perfectly sufficient if the need for tryptophan is adequately covered. Anxious dogs, however, benefit from an increased intake. Incidentally, this also applies to humans. It is not for nothing that we are advised to eat a bar of chocolate when we are in a bad mood. It contains a lot of tryptophan, which brightens our mood. Since we know that chocolate is delicious for us, but potentially deadly for our four-legged friends, we should of course not share it with them on bad days. Fortunately, we also have other good mood boosters at our disposal. A combination of tryptophan-rich foods therefore forms the framework of this recipe.

Our three happiness boosters are mixed with the grated coconut, the puréed fruit/vegetables, the oil, the ALL-IN VELUXE and a little water to form a dough and shaped into balls. At the same time, simmer the pasta and amaranth until both are very soft. They are placed on the balls as a topping (please allow to cool first).

It is recommended to feed the protein meal first and then offer the carbohydrates two hours later. This should ensure even better metabolization of the tryptophan. It is therefore possible to use the noodles later.

Since a lot of training is required with scaredy cats, treats (vegan dry food) and wholemeal bread have been included in the recipe as a reward

As a general rule, always assume twice the cooking time for starchy products such as lentils, pasta, rice and the like that applies to us humans. This means z.B: Pasta that is cooked for 10 minutes for humans must be cooked for 20 minutes for dogs in order to optimally break down the starch and make it usable for the dog. When feeding vegetables, the following applies: What you eat raw as a human can also be given raw to your dog. Everything that you have to cook yourself should also be cooked for the dog. For example, you can feed raw:
carrots, cucumber, lettuce, zucchini, kohlrabi, pumpkin
Cooked should be:
corn, fennel, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, potatoes

Please make sure to wash the vegetables well, especially if they are fed with the skin on. Many dog owners also like to choose organic quality. You can alternate between the different varieties as you wish. However, be aware that pulses and corn contain more calories as they are starchy.

The tolerance of vegetables is individual. Peas and beans, for example, contain oligosaccharides, which are metabolized in the intestine to form short-chain fatty acids and can lead to diarrhoea and flatulence in large quantities. Simply try out different varieties and find out what your dog likes best and what he tolerates best.

How you prepare the vegetables is up to you: you can chop, grate, mix, cook or simmer and then puree them. You may be able to convince fussy animals with boiled carrots. Chopped or cooked vegetables are easier to digest. Heat the vegetables briefly and carefully to improve the retention of water-soluble vitamins. You can also add a dash of cooled cooking water to the food

Fruit can also be combined and alternated - depending on what your dog tolerates. Suitable are z.B. Apples, oranges, bananas, raspberries, strawberries, melons. You don't need to worry about the fructose it contains. This does not lead to obesity when feeding fresh fruit. For obese animals, however, the amount of banana should be kept low and dried fruit should be avoided if possible. This has a higher calorie content and can also lead to flatulence and diarrhea. Fruit seeds should be removed as they contain hydrocyanic acid. Please wash the fruit thoroughly before feeding. Here, too, you can let your imagination run wild - from chopped to grated or as a smoothie - anything that is fun is allowed. You can also read our articles "Smoothie for dogs" and "Summertime is ice cream time".

QUANTITY CALCULATION EXAMPLE: The calculation of the quantity is based on the different weight classes. A small dog needs z.B. more in relation to its body weight than a large dog. You always use the quantity of the highest weight class specified by us as a guide. If your dog z.B. 6 kg, you use the weight class for 10 kg as a guide. If your dog z.B. 32 kg, you use the weight class for 25 kg, as this is the highest weight class we have specified.

Here is an example calculation for you if your dog z.B. weighs 32 kg: The highest specified weight class is 25 kg, so that's your required reference amount. A 25 kg dog needs 100 g chickpeas a day. Accordingly, 1 kg dog in the 25 kg weight class needs -> 100 g/25 kg = 4 g chickpeas per kg body weight. Then a 32 kg dog needs 4 g x 32 = 128 g chickpeas/day. You do this calculation with all ingredients.

If you have any questions, please contact our vets on tierarzt@vegdog.de

We wish you a good appetite!

Your VEGDOGteam