With the help of her assistance dogs, Chloé Fuller has overcome adversity to build a career helping other people and dogs. Here, the inspirational young woman tells Rebecca Caradine all about it…
Chloé Fuller is a companion animal nutritionist, assistance dog handler, TV presenter, and social media personality. More than that, she is completely inspiring. Through her story, she is showing how you can overcome challenges to get the most out of live. While through her knowledge of nutrition, she is helping dog owners to provide a better standard of care for their dogs.
Over six years ago, Chloé’s digestive system began to fail and she is fed through a tube. But rather than let this stop her, she has developed a pet nutrition business, starred on TV as a pet expert and advocate for disabled, and performs with her assistance dogs as The Super Spaniels at shows across the country.
Credit: Chloé Fuller
Where did your interest in pet nutrition stem from?
From an early age, I’ve been fascinated by what dogs eat! I’m not sure where it started, but I vividly remember taking my childhood dog’s food on a walk to reward her and deciding to snaffle some for myself – curiosity got the better of me that day. However, the catalyst for my career in pet nutrition was when I became tube fed in 2018.
My health had declined over the years as my digestive system began to fail, and an inability to absorb nutrients came with it. I started to develop a personal understanding of just how vital those nutrients were to us physically, mentally, and emotionally. The ritual of eating, the community to meals, and the enrichment experience were taken from me overnight. At that point, I realised how much we were undervaluing the importance of nutrition in our dogs.
As a pet nutritionist, what frustrates you most about the pet food industry?
Transparency with labelling is frustrating. Pet food packaging can be either hard to understand or potentially purposefully baffling. If you don’t know what half the ingredients are, that‘s probably a sign that it isn’t something you’d be happy feeding your dog. There’s nothing that brings me greater joy than clear labelling. We feed Wilsons, and they are a great example of keeping detail simple and honest. You can feel confident of what is going into your dog’s bowl and that it is nutritious, no nasties. Overall, it’s great to feed your dog the best food you can within your budget. It’s all about caring for your pet the best that you can.
If you could give dog owners one bit of diet advice, what would it be?
I think it’s easy to get into a rut with dog food – if your dog has a sensitive stomach, it can be tempting to only feed them one food you’ve found that agrees with them. But this can be counterintuitive! Imagine this: you eat a diet of just chicken and rice for years, and one day you have a steak. Your gut would struggle, too! To a degree, our body produces digestive enzymes relative to what we eat – if you eat a higher fat diet, your body will produce higher amounts of lipase to digest those fat molecules. But it‘s not just about this – it‘s also about the ecosystem of bacteria in our guts known as the microbiome. The more foods you eat, the more diverse the microbiome is, and the more diverse the microbiome is, the more robust the gut is! Therefore, your dog is more likely to have gastrointestinal upsets if it is only used to one favoured recipe of dog food and then one day they scoff a roast chicken from the countertop! Occasionally, it’s good to add a few things to your dog’s bowl; a piece of broccoli, some sweet potato, a few blueberries – you get the gist!
Raw feeders get this right, often rotating through different proteins to cover nutrients. But you can do this with your dry food, too! For example, Wilsons produce a wide variety of complete cold pressed recipes, such as chicken, lamb, white fish, haggis, salmon – I’d cycle through three recipes relatively consistently, transitioning appropriately. If nothing else, it’s a great way of preventing your dog from getting bored, too.
As a nutritionist, what do you feed your dogs and why?
I feed my dogs a mixture of my own home-cooked foods and Wilsons. Ted has irritable bowel disorder (IBD), and I had to take him off raw food while his gut healed after a major flare-up in 2024. Initially, he was purely on home-cooked food, but it wasn’t sustainable for me to do this daily with my schedule, so I introduced the Wilsons white fish cold pressed. As he has heart disease, I tend to avoid formulas with legumes; Wilsons’ white fish recipe is pea free, plus low in fat, so great for supporting his IBD issues.
Cinna thrives on the Wilsons Premium Complete Raw when we’re at home, with his favourite being the Beef Hot Pot. But when we’re travelling, he also eats Wilsons Cold Pressed, but for him I opt for the Lamb recipe.
It‘s hard as a pet nutritionist to find a food that you’re happy feeding; it’s a little bit like a dog trainer trying to find a puppy class for their own pup. Wilsons ticks all my boxes, having everything I’m looking for. It’s high quality, traceable, and made with natural ingredients. The cooking process is gentle, and lots of care has gone into the recipes; it’s very conscious nutrition. I rely a lot on their treats and supplements, too. Their Bites range is brilliant; they’re 100% meat and come in novel proteins like rabbit, goat, pheasant and wild boar. I use them so much to reward my boys for their Assistance Dog work.
Credit: Chloé Fuller
When did Cinna & Ted come into your life?
Ted came into my life in May 2015, and Cinna came into my life in December 2020. Both appeared at pivotal life stages; Ted, when my life was falling apart, and Cinna, when my media career was taking off! Neither were trained when I got them. I trained them both myself. Ted with the supervision of Dog Assistance in Disability and Cinna, just me.
What was your path into TV work?
My TV career began in a way you just couldn’t make up. I wheeled myself into a pub and there was Clare Balding. Having recently been very ill and developing a ‘c’est la vie’ attitude, I decided to go over and introduce myself. The very next day, she had me on the sofa with her on TV and the rest is history.
Are both dogs support dogs?
Yes! Ted is Mr Reliable and the go-to dog for Assistance Dog work, but I’ve been very gradually retiring him over the years. He adores his job and so a hard cut off from his career would be devastating to him. He still shoulder barges Cinna out of the way to do his jobs! It’s meant that there has not been any pressure on Cinna to mature quickly, which is nice. He’s coming into his own now as an Assistance Dog, along with showing amazing potential as a future Paragility dog. Of course, both dogs are performers, travelling the country with their Super Spaniel Show.
What support do they offer?
A whole host of things! They help me with dressing, fetching items I need, such as medication. They can help tidy up the house for me, even unloading the washing machine, so really all sorts!
How do you manage the dogs with travelling?
I think the dogs might argue it’s more about how they manage me! In all honesty, logistically, we now make a great team. They’re used to travelling on all forms of public transport. They’re so good, people don’t even realise they’re there. And with their feed, Wilsons cold pressed is so easy to take away with us. The dogs give me the same support on our travels as they do in the home, and thanks to that, I can travel independently without a carer.
How have they impacted your life?
Honestly, imagining my life without them seems impossible. I always say that Ted turned my life upside down in the best way possible. He flipped the script. The story of my life went from what I could no longer do to what we can do together. My boys have been with me through thick and thin. Every success and every heartbreak. The emotional support they’ve provided has been just as important too, which I’m sure every dog owner can relate to.
Chloé Fuller at the 'this morning' studio. Credit: Chloé Fuller
What advice would you give someone considering getting a support dog?
Be prepared to feel a little like an alien when out in public initially. I hear lots of people wanting an assistance dog to help them with anxiety in public, but if there’s one way to guarantee everyone really is staring at you, it’s to take a dog into your local supermarket!
Where do you begin a search for an assistance dog?
First, you have to decide whether you’re going to get a fully trained dog, or look towards training an assistance dog yourself. My advice for most people is to get a fully trained dog, and contact Assistance Dogs UK to find out which of their charities supply dogs that are right for you.
Training your own assistance dog is a long, time consuming, and often difficult process. Of course, it’s phenomenally rewarding too, but the success rates for training your own dog are a little brutal! I’ve had three assistance dog prospects. My first unfortunately didn’t make the grade and I was faced with the emotionally destroying decision to rehome him as he just wasn’t happy in my household. My second assistance dog prospect was Ted, who breezed through everything in just over a year. My third assistance dog prospect is Cinnabar, who is just now at the age of four and in a position where I’d consider him fully trained.
Each dog is vastly different, and even if you do everything right, there’s no guarantee of success. When it comes to finding an assistance dog prospect, having the right breeder is crucial. Asking respected dog trainers for breeder recommendations is a good option, as is speaking to other assistance dog handlers to see where they got their dogs. You’re looking to make sure all relevant health tests have been done, that the breeder’s previous dogs have gone on to do assistance dog work.
You could hypothetically train any breed of dog to be an assistance dog; there’ll always be unicorns in any breed! But in general, I’d recommend a gundog breed like a Labrador, Golden Retriever, or Spaniel – they’ve been doing this work for years for a reason!
We saw on Instagram that you have a new job? Will the dogs play a role, too?
Absolutely, they will! They’re involved in all facets of my life, increasing my independence every step of the way. Without them, none of this would be possible. I always say, ‘it all started with a dog.’