Do Senior Dogs need special food?

The older dog; what do you actually feed it?

Dogs today are getting older than years ago. This is due to several things including improved veterinary care, better medication, but also because food is of a much higher quality than it used to be. Where dogs used to just get what was left over from their own evening meal, now most dogs have long been given nothing but well-formulated dog food.

A suitable food for every dog,

Dog food today comes in many shapes and sizes. For every age group, small or large breed and numerous ailments nowadays have their own adapted food. This is of course a huge step forward, but it also makes things very difficult for owners at times. Special diet food for a certain condition or disease is often obvious and usually recommended by the vet. For small and large breeds, it is also often clear, as you look at the average adult weight of the breed in question. What is more difficult to determine are the designations pup, junior, adult and senior.

In this article, we look at feeding Senior dogs. The average age of a senior dog is 8 years, but for an exact determination see Is My Dog Already a Senior Dog? .

When senior food or still special diet food?

When your dog gets to an age where he belongs to the seniors and does not have a specific abnormality. Then it is advisable to switch from a normal food for adult dogs to a dog food for the older senior dog. If the dog has a particular complaint like arthrosis, impaired kidney function or food allergy then it is not advisable to change food. However, it may sometimes be necessary to slightly reduce the total amount of food per day to prevent your dog from becoming overweight. Dogs that get older often need less energy than young dogs that are still very active. They usually move a little less, but their metabolism also slows down so they just need a little less food. So is your dog a bit older, but not really sick while he is starting to develop age-related complaints? Then this is the time to switch to a senior food.

What are the general characteristics of a good senior dog food?

The proteins in food for older dogs should be of very good quality. Older dogs need just as much protein as adult dogs. The difference is, however, that the total amount of food is often less in a senior dog, so the percentage of protein the dog does eat must be of high quality otherwise the old dog will simply not get enough. When insufficient protein is eaten, it will start to be noticed that the dog becomes leaner. Not by moving more, but because it is using up its own muscle mass. Senior food often contains less fat so the dog cannot get its energy from that. This is important because any unused energy the dog will no longer use for muscle formation, but will store it directly as fatty tissue. Therefore, if the dog has too much energy left over too often, it will suffer from obesity faster. Furthermore, senior food also contains more L-carnitine and antioxidants such as vitamin C and E to strengthen the dog's defences. The L-carnitine also promotes the conversion of fatty tissue into usable energy. In addition, the antioxidants also trap the aggressive, free radicals, which are considered a cause of the ageing process.

Which brand of senior food is good quality right now?

Of course, it is important that your dog likes it. Fortunately, dogs are generally not too fussy and as long as it smells good, many dogs will eat most food in no time. All foods intended for older dogs take into account the specific needs of the older dog. Again, the daily amounts on the packs are an average, so it may be necessary to reduce the daily amount if the dog tends to be overweight. Tasty food and good quality foods include: Sanimed Senior, Specific Senior or the organic variant Yarrah Organic Senior Dog.

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