The reason you may not like fish is probably the why your dog loves it…the smell! For your pet, the heightened aroma of fish-based food is like an explosion to his or her senses.

Animal nutritionist and physiology expert David Southey BSc examines this reaction in greater detail in the second of a series of videos for Fish4Dogs.

He talks of how fish qualifies as a ‘superfood’ due to its nutrients and associated health benefits to dogs, including coat and skin condition, joint and digestive health and how it can address food sensitivities.

But it is the combination of smell and taste that is the greatest appeal to your pet.

Explains Mr Southey: “Everyone knows how important smell is to dogs. Dogs have 10 sq cms of smell receptors per kilo of body weight, compared to a measly 0.2 in humans, so clearly smell is a powerful sense for dogs, and just as with humans, it’s clearly linked to taste.

“Just think how you can’t taste anything when you have a cold. Foods made from fish tend to have a stronger smell making them particularly appealing to dogs.

“The second factor is the umami taste. Dogs can detect the usual bitter, sour, salty and sweet flavours. However, dogs are very well able to detect the umami taste. This fifth taste has been described in humans as a satisfying savoury taste, and this is very strong in fish.”

The complete video: Why Fish Based Dog Food Is Good can be seen on the Fish4Dogs YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDEwJygas_k

Mr Southey is a graduate animal nutritionist of Leeds University. He began working in the pet food sector in 1992. He is a former chairman of the Additives Committee for the UK Pet Food Manufacturers Association and now runs his own consultancy providing independent nutritional and legislative advice to pet food producers.