Senior Dogs

An older dog in the family is an absolute pleasure. As cherished family members we want long and healthy lives for our dogs. What is exciting is that by meeting specific nutritional needs we may be able to extend their health and well-being beyond current limits.

How our Dogs Age
Dogs are ageing in parallel with the human population, with around 40% of dogs aged 7 years or more. Interestingly, dogs do not age consistently and chronological age does not always match physiological age. For example, in small breeds, a higher lifespan is expected than with larger breeds, especially the giant breeds. In large dogs, old age starts earlier compared to small breeds dogs of the same chronological age. Commonly, large breed dogs are classified as senior from the age of 5-8 years, small breed dogs from the age of about 10 years.

While few diseases are caused by diet (with the exception of obesity), many other diseases are diet-sensitive, meaning that diet can play a role in managing the condition. Examples of diet-sensitive conditions include chronic renal disease, diabetes mellitus, and arthritis. Other changes may impact on food intake and subsequent nutritional status such as gum disease, tooth loss, reduced appetite and food intake and changes in taste and smell. These are all important factors to consider when planning how best to support the nutritional needs of older dogs.

Our Senior Dog Food
As ageing is a slow process, it is not always obvious as to when the best time is to make changes to the diet and so regular monitoring and body condition scoring is essential. Once we decide the time is right to make changes the main objectives are to maintain health and optimal body weight, slow or prevent the development of chronic illness, and minimise or improve clinical signs of diseases that may already be present.

At present there are no specific recommendations for energy or nutrient requirements for older dogs so our senior dog food has been specially formulated with particular attention to how dogs age.

• Energy (calories) – As our dogs get older, just like us they need fewer calories. Our Light Range has been specially formulated to be lower in overall calories, with an increased nutrient to calorie ratio.
• Protein – The protein in our food is excellent quality so that it supplies sufficient levels of essential amino acids to help maintain muscle mass.
• Lower Fat – The fat level is around 8% to 9% which is ideal to provide all of the benefits of fat which include fat soluble vitamins and energy without providing excess calories.
• Soluble Fibre – Our foods contain sweet potato which not only provides a gentle source of carbohydrate, it is an excellent source of soluble fibre. Soluble fibre forms a gel in the stomach which slows the rate of digestion and helps the dog feel fuller for longer, helping to avoid hunger between meals.
• Prebiotics – Our Light Dog Food contains MOS and FOS which are essential to a healthy digestive system as they provide food for the good bacteria in the gut.
• L-carnitine – Our Light Dog food has the benefit of the addition of L-carnitine. It is a non-essential amino acid which helps the body to use fat as a source of energy rather than protein. This is of particular benefit to older dogs because it means that dietary protein is used to preserve muscle mass, which naturally declines with age, rather than it being used as a source of energy.
• Antioxidants – Antioxidants are known to have powerful anti-inflammatory effects which helps to slow down the process of ageing and we add them to our food in the form of sweet potato.
• Joint Care – Over time, cartilage can be damaged due to everyday wear and tear on the joints. Our Senior Dog food contains Glucosamine which can be used by the body to build new cartilage along with Chondroitin Sulphate which works in ombination with Gluscosamine to help slow the rate of cartilage damage. In addition, our Senior Dog food has Methylsulfony;methane (MSM) for joint care.