Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 10:23 am Post subject: Senior dog food questions
Hello Everyone.
There are a lot of posts about the transfer from puppy to adult food but i cant find any for adult to senior. I don't class Diesel as a senior but i know he will be getting older and i want to do the best for him.
I know hes still young i just wanted to ask a few questions.
1) At what age did you transfer your dog to senior food?
2) What are the advantages of senior food?
3) If you didn't transfer your dog onto it, why not?
4) Is there anything else you give your dogs as they start getting older to help them (e.g supplements)
We transferred him to Senior/Light JWB when he was about 11ish (I can't remember exactly)
The only advantage and the main reason we changed is it wasn't so high energy as the Skinners he was on, he started to only eat half his skinners probably cos it was too much for him and he was getting a little podgy, now he clears his bowl (most days, he's always been a fussy eater!)
He doesn't have any supplements unless tinned meat counts but that's just cos he's fussy!
I`ve never transferred a dog from adult to senior food, the last ones I had (3 of them, all died from the end of 2002 to may 2003) were all on Asda`s own tinned meat which was fed with a mixer, 2 were 14 and 1 15 when they died.
Personally I don`t see a need to change them from one to another, as they age and don`t exercise so much you just need to adjust their meals accordingley so they don`t put on too much weight
1) At what age did you transfer your dog to senior food? Never.
2) What are the advantages of senior food? More profit for the manufacturers!!
3) If you didn't transfer your dog onto it, why not? There is no senior food in the wild just as there is no puppy food. All this is a very recent "Innovation." The oldest dog I've ever owned was many years before the pet food industry came up with these gimmics.
4) Is there anything else you give your dogs as they start getting older to help them (e.g supplements) Not unless they start to develop a problem. Anna, almost 12 is on one Flexivet tablet a day to help her mobility, but I think she is the only one of mine who has ever needed anything at all.
I'd tend to agree with Mary, although I've not had dogs that have stayed on complete or commercial foods for long (because they could smell the raw stuff and WANTED that) all I've done is reduce the portion sizes. Chloe, my last oldie was on such tiny portions, but she just didn't burn the calories, and so didn't need anywhere near as much as the other two.
Personally, I don't see any advantages in different foods for different stages, I think it is commercialism.
Regarding supplements, if you don't already give a tin of fish a week in oil or similar (not brine), that won't do any harm. Mine get extra oil in their blended vegetables, and apple cider vinegar, which is good for joints too, but they only need a tiny amount.
Indie, the older of my two girls now four years old, has suffered a couple of joint related injuries, and is on glucosamine/chonodroitin tablets, she gets one tablet twice a week. Some people would suggest this is a good supplement whether or not they've got a problem, personally I'm in the 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' camp, I'd think about giving it if your boy suffers any joint problems/lameness at all.
Another one I will be getting in for Indie is Green Lipped Mussell extract, recommended by a highly knowledgeable chap
I only asked as we were buying Diesels food last night and OH noticed the senior wainwrights. He was asking what the difference was if any sparking my curiosity
I only asked as we were buying Diesels food last night and OH noticed the senior wainwrights. He was asking what the difference was if any sparking my curiosity
I agree with John and Joanne on the commercialism of puppy, adult and senior foods.
When I was growing up the only dog foods you could get were Chappie and Kennomeat, no special diet foods no nothing else, our dogs got that and scraps off our plates and (shock, horror) they ate cooked bones , all of them lived to good ages.
Yet, these days we hear more and more of dogs having allergies and problems from a young age, in the old days a vet would recommend Chappie if the dog was overweight, these days its expensive "specialist" foods that they have in their foyers.
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but that's just cos he's fussy!
, all of them lived to good ages.
