The HPA Axis in Dogs: How Chronic Stress Rewires Whole-Body Health
The stress system behind your dog's itching, loose stools and restless nights is often the same one. Here is how the HPA axis works, and how to support it.
Glendon Lloyd
As the founder and CEO of Bonza, I am challenging one of the most overlooked truths in canine health: the gut is not just part of the system. It is the system.
I hold Diplomas in Canine Nutrition and Dog Nutrigenomics, both awarded with Distinction, and I formulate every Bonza recipe in-house alongside our board of canine veterinary nutritionists. The gut microbiome sits at the centre of immune regulation, inflammation, metabolic function and neurological health, yet much of modern dog nutrition still treats food as fuel rather than biology. I am working to change that.
At Bonza we take a systems-biology approach to canine nutrition. We design food and supplements that actively shape the microbiome through plant diversity, functional fibres, and named, regulatory-authorised bioactives with full strain-level transparency: the Biotics Triad of prebiotics, probiotics and postbiotics, alongside phytonutrients and adaptogens. Each works through the eight gut-organ axes that connect the gut to the skin, joints, immune system, behaviour, heart, metabolism, liver and longevity.
This is about more than better ingredients. It is about redefining food as a controllable input for health outcomes, shifting from reactive care to precision nutrition that supports resilience, longevity and disease prevention.
We are building what canine nutrition should have been all along.
One Gut. Whole Dog.
Vet Approved, Vet Formulated, Vet Founded: What These Dog Food Claims Tell You, and What They Don’t.
"Vet approved" feels like a guarantee. The evidence on how little nutrition vets actually study, and who now owns the clinics, tells a more complicated story.
Plant-Based vs Meat-Based Dog Food: An Evidence-Based Comparison
Does a dog do better on meat or on plants? We compare the two diet types criterion by criterion, at their representative best and worst, give the counter-arguments a fair hearing, and are candid about the points where the data are still maturing.
Do Dogs Need Supplements, or Is a Functional Treat Enough?
Not every dog needs a supplement, and a functional treat is not the same thing. Here is how to tell what your dog truly needs, and when it is worth acting.
Probiotics for Dogs with Joint Problems: Do They Help, and Which Ones?
If your dog is slowing on the stairs or stiff after rest, gut health may be part of the joint picture. Here is what the science says about probiotics and canine joints, and how to use them sensibly.
Sustainable Dog Food: The Six Dimensions of a Truly Eco-Friendly Diet
Most eco-friendly dog food claims rest on a single feature. This guide gives you a six-dimension framework for judging what truly makes a dog's food sustainable, from the bowl to the planet.