DHA: Help Make Your Puppy Smart

We know you already think your puppy is a brainiac. After all, without your even telling her, she knows when you’ve had a bad day at the office. She intuitively understands your new boyfriend is a jerk. She can even get your barista to keep the coffee shop open for a few more minutes — with just one look. But did you know that you can help make her even smart by feeding her outstanding nutrition that contains DHA? Eukanuba’s specially formulated puppy food has more DHA in it than any other leading brand. This fatty acid is key to the growth of neural pathways in the brain. DHA occurs naturally in the milk of momma dogs, but once your puppy is weaned, she needs it as a supplement to aid cognitive development. Get this: Puppies that were fed meals enhanced with the substance actually outperformed others given more typical foods in a maze test over a 30-day period. Furthermore, DHA is critical to other aspects of her central nervous system as well as to the development of sharp eyes. (Your boyfriend should be afraid. Very afraid.) Here’s what we know about how DHA effects puppies:

What Is DHA?

Chemists have listed DHA—or docosahexaenoic acid—as an omega-3 fatty acid. It is found naturally in canine and human breast milk as well as in fish, fish meal and fish oil. In addition, DHA has been recreated in laboratories and is used in many baby formulas. That’s because the substance is a major structural component of the brain as well as the most abundant fatty acid in it.

How does it help puppies?

Prior to weaning, pups get DHA from their mothers via her milk. But once they’ve graduated to kibble, their brains continue to develop—without this critical substance—unless supplemented. In fact, puppies acquire 70 percent of their adult brain mass by six weeks of age, and have 90 percent by 12 weeks of age. That means there’s a lot you can do to between the time she leaves her momma and her full development to make sure she’s properly nourished.

What’s in Eukanuba:

The scientists behind Eukanuba derive the DHA in our puppy food from fish, fish meal and fish oil. What’s the upshot? That a puppy fed Eukanuba foods will likely be easier to train. That is huge when it comes to housebreaking. And curtailing chewing. And chasing cars. Heck, she might even be able to balance your checkbook someday. (At which point, please phone us immediately.)