If you think blood pressure issues or obsessive behaviours like eating grass have nothing to do with food, think again. From hypertension to pica, the link to nutrition is stronger than most owners realise.
🩸 Hypertension, When Pressure Rises
Hypertension means high blood pressure. In dogs, it is often caused by:
- A diet too high in sodium
- Adrenal or kidney disease
- Cholesterol buildup and artery blockage
- Endocrine disruption or Cushing’s disease
- Obesity or general inflammation
- Nervous system dysfunction or injuries
Symptoms of high blood pressure can be serious:
- Nosebleeds
- Sudden blindness or retinal detachment
- Disorientation and seizures
- Heart murmurs or kidney damage
- Dilated pupils, circling, or eye haemorrhaging
None of these should ever be treated in isolation. A proper canine nutritionist will always ask what is in the bowl before anything else.
🧊 Hypotension, When Pressure Drops
Low blood pressure (hypotension) is also dangerous. It can be triggered by:
- Anaemia from poor diet
- Hypothyroidism
- Liver or kidney failure
- Allergic shock or blood loss
Typical signs include:
- Pale gums or fainting
- Confusion and ataxia
- Sudden collapse or vomiting
- Shallow, fast breathing
- Excessive urination and thirst
In both extremes, the question is not only what went wrong, but what was the diet doing in the first place?
🧠 Pica, When Dogs Eat What They Should Not
Pica is the repeated habit of eating non-food items. While it can be behavioural, it often starts with a nutritional issue. In puppies, it may be from teething or curiosity. But in adults, it may point to:
- Nutrient deficiencies
- Digestive disorders
- Parasites or poisoning
Even grass eating, when frequent, can be a biological cry for help.
If left unaddressed, Pica can become a compulsive behaviour. And if the dog is punished or ignored, the stress makes it worse. A nutrition overhaul is often the first step. Complete food review. Full health check. Structure. Discipline. All must be rebuilt.
Training and behavioural strategies are only effective once biology is back in balance.
🧬 It Always Comes Back to 22, 13 and 14
Your dog needs 22 amino acids, 13 essential vitamins, and 14 minerals, nothing less, nothing more. When these are out of balance, blood pressure, behaviour, skin, digestion, immune strength, and even brain function are affected.
A real canine nutritionist will always begin with those numbers. If someone cannot start there, what follows is not expert advice, it is a monologue for their ego. When people perform instead of educate, dogs suffer. That is not an opinion. That is biology.
🤥 Why Most Advice Fails
Too many owners are still relying on:
- Shop staff with a script
- Online reviewers chasing clicks
- Friends who mean well but guess
- Strangers who once owned a dog and now preach like experts
Most of them sound like authorities. But owning a dog does not make you an expert. That is like owning a car and thinking you can rebuild the engine, or worse, offering driving lessons while sitting on 10 points. It might sound confident, but it rarely ends well.
The best dog owners always come back to biology. And the smartest ones know the difference between someone who cares, and someone who just sounds like they do. If only it was that simple.
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