As a dog owner, you are probably already aware of how every dog has different nutritional needs. Depending on your dog’s breed and weight, you may have to adjust their dietary needs accordingly. It is no surprise that the same concept applies to senior dogs who are getting on in age. When our beloved pets shift into their senior years, their eating habits and dietary needs change.
As a pet owner, it is so incredibly important to do some research into what your dog needs in order to keep it healthy and happy. Thankfully, there are many options available to you, whether it’s raw food, or Petzyo’s dry food (or similar brands) that can be found in various online and offline stores. This variety gives you the freedom to pick the best food for your dog and help them thrive. In this article, we look at how you can go about building a diet plan for an older dog, so read on to find out more.
1. Keep Your Dog’s Diet As Natural As Possible
One of the most important things when it comes to feeding a senior dog is to ensure that you are feeding them a diet that is as natural as possible. This means prioritising raw dog food, vegetables, and whole grain over commercial, shelf-stable options. Raw food is easier for your dog to digest than commercial kibble or processed dog food, and won’t put too much unnecessary stress on your dog’s organs. Your dog will also be able to better absorb the antioxidants in its food, helping slow down the ageing process.
As dogs get older, they lose they tend to suffer from “old dog skinny”, which happens when they are not absorbing as many nutrients from their food is before. In a bid to combat this, it is essential that your dog’s diet is as nutritionally dense as possible with raw meat and vegetables.
2. Supplement Your Dog Food
As your dog ages, you may find that you need to supplement their food with added vitamins and minerals to combat the ageing process. One of the most important things to ensure is that you add a joint supplement to your dog’s food. Older dogs are prone to conditions such as arthritis, which is why a chewable joint supplement may be necessary. This will aid in reducing in pain and stiffness in your dog’s joints, preventing any joint disease from worsening. Your dog will have a much easier time running around with healthy joints, so keep your dog active and healthy even in old age by taking care of their joint health.
3. Antioxidants Are Essential
Very much like humans, dogs need added amounts of antioxidants as they get older. Antioxidants are prized for their ability to fight the ageing process, so ensuring your dog is getting as many as it possibly can is important. One of the best ways to add antioxidants to your dog’s diet is with the introduction of fruits and vegetables, especially dark leafy greens, berries and turmeric. Do check with your vet before adding anything to your vet’s diet to ensure that your dog is not allergic to anything. For dogs who won’t cooperate with consuming fruits and veggies, an antioxidant combination in capsule form is highly advised.
4. Portion Control
Regardless of age, maintaining is healthy weight is essential to keep your dog healthy. This is further highlighted when dealing with ageing dogs, as an overweight dog can develop a medley of health problems. With the assistance of a vet, you can figure out exactly how much food your ageing dog really needs, based off age, weight and individual dietary needs. Whilst it is tempting to top the food bowl up when your dog is giving you the puppy dog eyes, we highly advise sticking to a diet plan and not deviating from it. Extra weight is dangerous on senior dogs, so keep your dog healthy and happy with portion control.
5. Consider Low Calorie Dog Food
As dogs age and their activity lessens, it is important that your dog’s diet shifts accordingly. One great way of accommodating to a dog that may be slowing down in activity is to switch to low calorie dog food. Your dog will be able to eat the same volume of food, but it won’t be as calorically dense as regular dog food. This will ensure that they feel satiated without the risk of adding added pounds. As always, we highly advise that you speak to your veterinarian before making any significant dietary changes.
We hope that this article has given you some insight into building a healthy diet plan for your older dog!
