When dealing with problems like hyperactivity many behaviourists rush to change the dog's diet - despite a dearth of proven scientific evidence linking diet and behaviour.   (Another problem is that different manufacturers measure protein content in different ways making it almost impossible to compare like with like).

When I was a child, my mother fed our Golden Retriever chunks of raw chuck steak, with fresh vegetables and biscuits; she wasn't particularly extravagant or loving but this was the norm in those days.  Now dog owners are confronted by a massive range of dried and tinned food, some of which are complete rubbish (which may well result in problems such as flatulence or skin conditions) while others offer a reasonably well balanced diet.  But while some of the tinned stuf may look quite attractive it is difficult to understand exactly what is in the unappetising looking kibble...

I feed my three dogs dried food from a manufacturer thought to be one of the best if not the priciest.  It is supplemented with evil-smelling minced tripe and, occasionally - depending on what is in the house/leftover - vegetables such as carrots and cabbage.  (They turn up their noses at broccoli and courgettes do not inspire much enthusiasm either).  In addition, they get our apple cores - and, as a family, we eat quite a lot of apples.

Then I read about Lily's Kitchen (www.lilyskitchen.co.uk) which offers such organic delicacies as Chicken and Turkey Casserole, Lamb Hotpot, Potato and Vegetable dinner (presumably for the vegetarians) or Goose and Duck Feast with Fruit, perhaps as a Sunday lunch special.  But it is not cheap: starting at £2.20 for 400 gms.   It would be considerably better for your pocket - if not your workload - to make the meals from scratch yourself. Of course I love the thought of giving my dogs superb home cooked meals - although I can't help thinking it would be such a waste with the Labrador who gobbles the food so fast it doesn't even touch the sides as it goes down! - but realistically it is an expensive and time consuming option.  Can I really be bothered?  The answer is no - so I shall be staying with the ready-made but perhaps my guilty conscience will inspire me to add rather more in the way of fruit and vegetables in the future.