Dog Community

When to switch to senior food?

Posted : 7/21/2006 6:36:11 PM

I have 2 dogs, one's 5 and the other is 8. At the moment they're both on Nature's Variety Raw Instinct, but I've heard that older dogs shouldn't be overloaded with protein because it can be dangerous for their liver (or was it kidneys?). I don't want to give her liver disease, but I do want her to be healthy. She's at a nice healthy weight right now, but seeing as she's only just been switched to NV (from Kirkland) recently, I was wondering if the protein jump is too great for an older dog's system. I'm probably going to rotate them onto something like Innova EVO after the NV is gone, but now I've started to wonder if I should be feeding Nikki something a little less rich than Cairo. I've considered having them on 2 separate foods - Cairo on Innova EVO and Nikki on a senior diet of some kind. Does anyone have any suggestions? I do work at a vet's office so I could ask there, but the vets don't like the EVO b/c they think it has too much protein and gives too many dogs liver disease...which I think is a little bit of an exaggeration, but then again she does support lots of other really good foods like holistic brands and kinds like that.

dvet

Posted : 7/21/2006 6:54:42 PM

you can switch any time but just do it gradually.. I seriously doubt that you could give her liver disease from any normal canine diet...

Mikaela Ritter

Posted : 7/21/2006 8:56:50 PM

Do senior dogs require a different diet? I assume they probably do, but then again I'm not sure...I'm not really an expert on canine nutrition [8|] I really want to keep her as healthy as possible.

jessies_mom

Posted : 7/21/2006 9:35:16 PM

According to new research senior dogs require more protein to maintain lean muscle mass;
[linkhttp://pets.yahoo.com/pets/dogs/hn/nutritional_needs_of_older_dogs]http://pets.yahoo.com/pets/dogs/hn/nutritional_needs_of_older_dogs[/link]

The importance of providing adequate dietary protein to senior dogs was brought out in research conducted at the Purina Pet Care Center. In this study, 26 English pointers, ranging from 7 to 9 years old, were fed diets that were either 15 percent or 45 percent protein over several years. Dogs fed the high-protein diet maintained a directionally higher percent of lean muscle mass and lower percent of body weight.

Iams and Eukanuba has conducted similar studies and came to the same conclusion;ti=PN&qi=347 >http://www.iams.com/en_US/jhtmls/nutrition/sw_NutritionQuestions_qanswer.jhtml?sc=D&bc=I&li=en_US&

ti=PN&qi=347

The idea that protein damages the kidneys is not true. It is true that if a dog has kidney disease a low protein diet is important though.
Jessie is seven and is allergic to chicken so I can't feed her the senior dog foods made by Eukanuba and Purina. Instead, I supplement her kibble with some lean meat.

jennie_c_d

Posted : 7/21/2006 10:03:11 PM

I think that the whole idea of low protein is a bad one. I also dislike the idea of super high protein, in a dry form. It HAS to be harder for them to process. I can't imagine it being easy. It's gotta be more of a load on the body, to hydrate it and break it down, than it would be to deal with a "normal" protein kibble, or with wet foods.

I bought some canned cat food, this week, for kong stuffing. The stuff is 18% protein, wet. That's quite a significant amount of protein, for my dogs. They usually get around 7-10%, wet. One of them is liver compromised. It doesn't bother her at all, but on an ongoing basis, it would. It's too hard for her body to break down those proteins, and her liver can't process them.

And those are my slightly random, sleepy thoughts.

ron2

Posted : 7/22/2006 5:35:52 AM

Even though I've learned quite a bit here, I would probably ask my vet. It may be a generational thing. Doctors have saved my life a few times and vets have helped my pets when we needed it, so I tend to think that they know something. My vet has been a vet for as long as I have been alive and I'm officially older than dirt. So, he's seen a number of dogs and will likely know when a dog should change to senior diet.

jessies_mom

Posted : 7/22/2006 7:01:17 PM

. It may be a generational thing. Doctors have saved my life a few times and vets have helped my pets when we needed it, so I tend to think that they know something. My vet has been a vet for as long as I have been alive and I'm officially older than dirt. So, he's seen a number of dogs and will likely know when a dog should change to senior diet.

Good advice Ron, although it seems that the 8 year old should be on a senior diet.

sooner

Posted : 7/22/2006 7:27:20 PM

I generally don't believe in senior diets, in most every brand it seems like the composition quality (more fillers, etc...) goes down with the senior label. That said, I have heard good things about Canidae Platinum, it seems to be just as good as the regular Canidae with special benefits for seniors.

I *think* that giant breed dogs become "senior" at 5-6, large at 7-8, medium at 9-10, and small at 11-12.

Twin

Posted : 7/22/2006 7:29:06 PM

Since you are looking at switching to Innova...they just came out with a new formula...Senior Plus. It has more protein and fat than a typical senior diet. Many people believe seniors should have a lower protein/fat diet, but that is wrong. They should have a fair amount of it...not too high like EVO, but not too low like most senior diets.

Innova Senior Plus dog food is the result of a two year long effort to apply the latest senior dog scientific research findings to our popular Innova Senior dog food formula. Until recently, the conventional wisdom was that Senior dogs needed low fat and protein foods for optimum health. This was based on the mistaken belief that older dogs had lower nutritional requirements and were not well equipped to handle protein and fat. Recent studies actually show that older dogs have similar nutritional requirements as their younger counterparts, and actually require higher protein and fat!

As a result, Innova Senior Plus Dog Food features moderately higher levels of protein and fat, and, based on advice from our veterinarian & holistic advisors, Innova Senior Plus has been formulated to contain vitamin E at the maximum level allowed by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles!

Here is the Innova Senior:

Moisture 10%
Protein 18%
Fat 8%
Fiber 5.5%
Calories 397 KCals/Cup

Here is the Innova Senior Plus:

Moisture 10%
Protein 24%
Fat 10%
Fiber 5.5%
Calories 425 KCals/Cup

Mikaela Ritter

Posted : 7/22/2006 8:05:47 PM

Hrm, I didn't know seniors needed more protein. Guess I was misinformed. Do you think the EVO is too high in protein for her then? The Innova Senior sounds good, but it'd be easier to both have them on the same food, so ideally I'd like to do that (both on EVO), unless it would be a problem. This dog food thing is just too confusing...

shamrockmommy

Posted : 7/23/2006 8:48:35 AM

When my minpin turned 9, I decided to put him on a senior food. I chose one with the most protein and the most glucosamine and chondroitin. It was the chicken soup brand senior. I think it's around 20% protein.
He loved the taste and did well for a few weeks and then... started going downhill and acting very old. Normally he's been a very active dog, most people (and his vet!) think he's a lot younger than he actually is.
He lost coat. He lost muscle tone, he lost his pep. He acted quite old.

I didn't like this one bit and put him back on an adult food- at reduced feeding amounts, since he tends to put on weight and hold it quite easily.

He's back to his peppy self and so now I feed an all life stages food (PetGuard Lifespan).

So my opinion of senior dog food is pretty low.

Twin

Posted : 7/25/2006 9:47:43 PM

Nikki Burr...I would just stick with a high quality Adult dog food. Otherwise, I would put them both on the Innova Senior Plus. I think the EVO is too high in protein for a senior dog. Or, just give the younger one EVO.

mudpuppy

Posted : 7/26/2006 1:00:59 PM

gee, 8 isn't old. That's barely middle-aged. You should see some 12- and 14 year-old large-breed raw-fed dogs I know, or the raw-fed lab who recently died at age 17, still going strong (they think he had a stroke). These pups eat very high protein diets and look and act like healthy five-year-olds. If anything I would increase the amount of protein in a older dog's diet. They have trouble maintaining their muscle mass already. You feed them some ridiculously low % like 20%, guess what happens to their muscles. And then their skeletal structure starts taking a beating, and next thing you know they start acting old and suffering injuries.

Twin

Posted : 7/26/2006 8:44:30 PM

Mudpuppy...I would say that 8 is Senior, and so would a lot of other people. My last dog passed away at 10 1/2...that means he was Senior at 8. Yes, some dogs last 12-17...still believe 8 is closer to Senior (that's like 80 + human years).

Anyway, I suggested the Innova Senior Plus...that has 24% protein...that is a good amount! It went from 18% in the regular Senior formula. Just believe that the 40 some percent in EVO is too high for an "older" dog that is not doing high energy activities. Why do they need that much protein, I find it excessive.