I was just thinking that Hattie will be 9 years old in August, absolutely can't believe it where has the time gone. She is very active and walks for over 2 hours a day, plays with Charlie and other dogs as if she is still a puppy, trains and learns new skills, is a perfect weight, in excellent health and condition and carries out her weekly PAT work. Do I need to start thinking about changing her to a senior dog kibble or should I wait until she starts to slow down if she ever does? Thank you xx
I would stick with her current diet. She is fit and active and showing no signs of slowing down . If she wasn't so active or was beginning to gain a little weight it may be worth considering as I presume the "Senior" kibble reduces calorie intake, but haven't looked into, but there is always the risk that a new "Senior" kibble wouldn't suit her so well.
I agree with Rosemary , no need at all to switch , Hattie is fit and active . I do sometimes wonder about all these differing diets for ages, breeds etc . thinking back to my first dog who just had what we left on our plates and lived a full and healthy life, mind you that was a very very long time ago
I did look into this a while ago, and it seems that most "senior" food just reduces protein and fats but adds more carbs in the form of grains etc...whilst adding supplements. There is a very good argument for maintaining good levels of proteins and fats for older dogs, (unless of course a medical condition suggests otherwise). At the end of the day a calorie is a calorie, I would rather have a good quality feed, drop the amount relative to activity, but would be tailoring supplements myself depending on specific needs eg; yumove advance for joints = arthritic dog.
My VEt and my breeder agree with @Beanwood. New research in dogs and people suggests boosting protein levels UP, or at least the same, is beneficial in old age. http://healthypets.mercola.com/site...-from-tufts-study-of-37-senior-dog-foods.aspx The pet food store (vested interest, trying to sell me a higher priced food) tried to push senior food on me when Jet was only 7. Consider if the average age for Labs is 12 and the average age for humans is 80 then if we were to start eating special food for seniors we'd be doing so at just past age 46. Not for me, not for my dog. We're going to share steak till neither of us has teeth to chew with.
I can't edit up above any more but where I said 12 and 80 of course I meant life expectancy, not age.
My one Lab is now 10 years old and I have never even thought of buying a senior diet food. My GSPs lived to between 13 and a half to 14 and a half years and they never went onto a senior food.
thought about but stuck with the one they've been happy on for years. She's nearly 13 and still very active but i'm finding it hard to cut her food to a level were she doesn't put on weight. I've had to accept that she might be fatter than I like. She's such a sweet little thing can't believe shes getting so old
I like the idea I picked up from Oberon which is to replace one of their meals with cooked veggies. You could add a nice bit of gravy stock? Or mix in a tiny bit of wet food. There is also good clinical evidence that veggies are good for dogs, will try and dig out a link.
yep I usually do this i use green beans a lot. Steamed she really likes that but you've not seen how little she actually gets in the way on dried food she gets about 1/4 of the recommended feed. She gets 1/2 of all treats and is watched for any snaffling. I also use wet food for her too one spoonful on the steamed beans etc it acts like gravy because they are warm.
