looking for information on senior dog foods

TG1

I had Bob at the vet today, and he seriously confused me so I'm looking for a bit of clarification!
Since it's a Saturday, we didn't have the pick of the vets in the place I go to, so we had to go to a different vet than our usual one when we had an emergency that turned out to be nothing. The vet did seem a bit perplexed that Bob wasn't on a senior food as he is nine, and wants me to put him on one straight away.
The problem is bob has a seriously dodgy digestive system and it took us four years to find a food that suited him, which he's been on since. I'm terrified to change it just in case, as he cant handle any changes to his diet, even the smallest treat will have him sick for a day!
He also weighs 18 kilos, which for a male mostly border collie is a bit light, and he is skinny underneath all his fluff. This is monitored pretty closely, and he's not skinny enough for it to be a health issue but myself and our regular vet always agree we'd be happy if he put on a couple of pounds.
He's still as active as he was seven years ago with no signs of arthritis (touch wood!).
Why I'm confused is that when I came home and looked up senior food, they are all light foods aimed at less active dogs. Now I'd be a very happy owner if I could get a couple more pounds on him, not less, so I'm confused by this advice re the food.
I'm hoping someone who knows more about dog food can tell me if I'm missing something, or should I just try and get our regular vet in future?!

Meteoric

Senior food is a pretty new development in dog nutrition. To be honest if I was you with a food that suited my dog I'd not change given the challenges you had before. Trying to find another food would probably do more harm than good while you are experimenting. I have mine on a senior food that suits him but our first dog was fed on on a high protein food that suited him until he died at 15 (a more than respectable age for a Lab)
That said current dog was happy on all versions of the food he is on now (High protein when he was showing, lower on maintenance and now on the Senior) so if current food has the senior version you might be happier trying it

DBB

Senior foods also tend to contain ingredients and supplements to improve mental health and keep the symptoms of canine cognitive dysfunction, or dementia, at bay. Unlike humans, dietary manipulation can have a dramatic effect on the condition, especially if caught early.
Senior diets tend to contain more stuff to prevent cell damage and improve cellular regeneration and mental function.
So maybe this is why your vet would prefer the dog to be on a senior diet? Though you are in a bind... There isn't a senior version of the food you dog is on, no?

TG1

DBB wrote: »

Senior foods also tend to contain ingredients and supplements to improve mental health and keep the symptoms of canine cognitive dysfunction, or dementia, at bay.

I didn't know this, now I'm wondering why the regular vet never mentioned senior food! (no, I'm never happy! )
I had Jack russel who I got when she was 10/12 ish and I put her on a senior food, but that was just because the nice man in the local pet shop was really good at upselling!
no,theres no senior version as he's on food we get in an agricultural supplies shop. Its sold as greyhound food, but its only got 24% protein so when we tried it out of desperation and he kept it down, our vet said leave him on it unless problems develop.
Now, this is going back to 5 years ago so there are loads of new brands out there that he hasn't tried, but I'm just so afraid to try anything because he's so iffy with anything new, and really cant afford to loose weight while I try them...

Meteoric

TG1 wrote: »

I didn't know this, now I'm wondering why the regular vet never mentioned senior food! (no, I'm never happy! )
I had Jack russel who I got when she was 10/12 ish and I put her on a senior food, but that was just because the nice man in the local pet shop was really good at upselling!
no,theres no senior version as he's on food we get in an agricultural supplies shop. Its sold as greyhound food, but its only got 24% protein so when we tried it out of desperation and he kept it down, our vet said leave him on it unless problems develop.
Now, this is going back to 5 years ago so there are loads of new brands out there that he hasn't tried, but I'm just so afraid to try anything because he's so iffy with anything new, and really cant afford to loose weight while I try them...

Truly I would not change food in your situation, if there are supplements that would help your dog add them but when a dog has a sensitive gut I'd think I'd keep them on the food that suits them

portgirl123

with all your guys problems i would be very wary of changing his food. esp if he is abit on the lean side. i think the purpuse of senior food is that they are saying your dog is less active so needs less calories. if your happy with what his on, leave him be. to put your mind at rest you could make a app with your vet for his advise

toadfly

If you do change ProPac Senior (green bag) is a good food. We had our old dog on it for years before he died last year at 17. It contains glucoseamine (sp?). He done really on it.

DBB

I can completely understand your not wanting to change brands. To address the mental function end of things, you can supplement what you're giving him. Is he ok to eat natural foods? Sardines in oil? An odd bit of fresh salmon, mackerel or herring (all are available tonnes too)? Some fresh veg? Cod liver or salmon oil? And an occasional small dose of Vit C is good too.
Come to think of it, how would he do on a home-cooked diet?

PS a lot of vets are not aware of how effective dietary intervention can be with dementia in dogs, the first signs of dementia tend to be put down as the dog "just getting old" by both owner and vet. First signs, broadly speaking, are changes in usual routines and patterns in an older dog, things that make you think "he never used to do that". However, awareness is growing amongst vets.

TG1

A home cooked diet is something I've never tried actually, as it was never a possibility, but now I'm actually in a position to do that, so I will look into it. are there any sites or books you would recommend to look it up? (the vet practice we go to is pretty traditional and a friend went to them about changing her dog to a raw diet and they were very disapproving so I don't know would they be much help!)
He had a dose of kennel cough there a while ago, and was getting organic chicken soup made by my mother (he's her 5th child!) for a week and actually did very well on it, so it's definitely worth looking into.
he currently gets cod liver oil on his dinner as I'm paranoid he's going to get arthritis but I've never tried feeding him fish, so will give that a try. He is fine on small bits of most natural foods, and he gets an occasional carrot for his teeth as he cant have any dog chews. The trouble starts when people think I'm being awful not letting him have a piece of sauage/ rasher/ anything processed and sneak him bits.
The trouble with him is that he was never diagnosed with anything specific, despite seeing many vets and 2 trips to ucd as a pup. We got him from a place that is essentially a pound at 6 weeks old, so it's been put down to improper nutrition and a general bad start in life which is fine, but its no help in regards to what to feed him!:rolleyes:

Wisco

Senior foods are generally designed to be lower in things that an elderly dogs organs find hard to process, so given Bob's history of digestive issues, I'd recommend (with consultation from your regular vet) considering doing blood tests to see if his liver and kidney values are normal. If not, it may be worth changing, but if he is generally healthy, it may not be worth changing anything at this stage.

cora2

Senior foods have joint supplements & less calories. Older dogs stop producing the stuff they need for their joints when they reach older age. If you can get a sensitive food that is high in oil, low in protein & has salmon oil in it you should be able to help the joints, put weight on & keep the dodgy stomach at bay. Try one that is natural

TG1

Thanks a mill for all the info everyone! I honestly don't know what I did before boards!!
I eventually cracked after stressing for three days, and rang the vet who dealt with the yard I used to work in. He is primarily an equine vet, but did all the yards small animals, and dealt with Bob and the others that came and went in my house during the three years I was there.
After laughing at me for 20 mins about "turning back into such a townie" he talked me through the idea behind senior food. So I've decided on his advice to keep Bob on his current food, put cod liver oil on his brekkie as well as his dinner (I was just drizzling a very small amount over his dinner, so he'll now be getting twice as much, but spread out just in case...) and occasionally giving him bits of very carefully de boned fish. He also told me if my mother was so inclined, the odd bowl of soup would be no harm so long as there was no salt added!
He also suggested that if he does get any joint issues, to "tell those city vets that glucosamine supplements for horses work just as well for dogs so they dont need to charge an arm and a leg for glucosamine paste designed for dogs that wear wellies and jumpers..." I get the impression he's not fond of small animal practices!!!:pac:
Now I know going on the advice of a vet over the phone is not a good idea, but this was just a minor issue brought up by a vet who'd only seen Bob once, and the vet I rang dealt with him for three years, and to be honest, there's nothing more than usual wrong with bob, I just freaked out when a suggestion was made!!

Wisco, yeh, when I moved back home and brought him to our local vet last year, he went under anaesthetic for his teeth, and had what they call the "full senior panel" of blood tests etc. done, and they all came back fine so while its been a year, he hasn't lost any condition or had any behavioural changes so all the vets involved thinks all is still good there anyway!

DogsFirst

TG1 wrote: »

Thanks a mill for all the info everyone! I honestly don't know what I did before boards!!
I eventually cracked after stressing for three days, and ran the vet who dealt with the yard I used to work in. He is primarily an equine vet, but did all the yards small animals, and dealt with Bob and the others that came and went in my house during the three years I was there.
After laughing at me for 20 mins about "turning back into such a townie" he talked me through the idea behind senior food. So I've decided on his advice to keep Bob on his current food, put cod liver oil on his brekkie as well as his dinner (I was just drizzling a very small amount over his dinner, so he'll now be getting twice as much, but spread out just in case...) and occasionally giving him bits of very carefully de boned fish. He also told me if my mother was so inclined, the odd bowl of soup would be no harm so long as there was no salt added!
He also suggested that if he does get any joint issues, to "tell those city vets that glucosamine supplements for horses work just as well for dogs so they dont need to charge an arm and a leg for glucosamine paste designed for dogs that wear wellies and jumpers..." I get the impression he's not fond of small animal practices!!!:pac:
Now I know going on the advice of a vet over the phone is not a good idea, but this was just a minor issue brought up by a vet who'd only seen Bob once, and the vet I rang dealt with him for three years, and to be honest, there's nothing more than usual wrong with bob, I just freaked out when a suggestion was made!!

Wisco, yeh, when I moved back home and brought him to our local vet last year, he went under anaesthetic for his teeth, and had what they call the "full senior panel" of blood tests etc. done, and they all came back fine so while its been a year, he hasn't lost any condition or had any behavioural changes so all the vets involved thinks all is still good there anyway!

Hey tg1, you're absolutely right not to change to that senior dry food. They lower the protein in senior dry foods for no good reason, in fact senior dogs are proven to require 50% more higher quality protein in later years, if you want a read of articles on feeding older dogs pm me. But oily fish is definitely on the menu. Fish heads best nutritionally, and free!! Also lidl sells glucosamine and crondroitin cheaper. Human stuff is cheapest, buy online, watch dose, approx 600mg glucos., 450mg condroit., and lots of fresh ingredients with zinc etc. Also raw meaty bones with marrow. Bones and cartilidge build bones and cartilidge. Hope this helps!