Senior Canned Dog Food

Though it is painful, we must admit that the life span of our pets are much shorter than ours and a dog that is about 8 or 9 years old could be considered a senior citizen even though he doesn’t look like his age. Choosing the premium senior canned dog food is a must to make him feel that he is still loved by the family in spite of his age.

Always remember that older dog needs a well-balanced diet which contains lower calories, fat, protein with high fiber content. You can still keep on feeding your dog with the food he used to but smaller pieces are desirable.

In some cases, a specially made senior diet may be needed, when choosing a commercially ready diet, the level of protein is around 18% while dogs with a diet for renal failure is around 14% protein.

During this age, your dog has a higher risk of developing constipation, so giving him a canned dog food that contains high fiber is far better. Feeding dry dog food helps to control tartar build up on his teeth and lessens the risk of gum disease.

You should also give your senior dog added supplements since his nutritional needs change with age, and sadly your dog, like humans can be likely to have arthritis. If you think your dog is not getting enough amounts of vitamins and minerals through his food, you should seek your vet’s advice about which supplements to give and will be suitable for your dog. However, for instance, the pet has oral disease he might not receive his everyday needs of vitamins and minerals.

If you have a dog who suffers from constipation, you could give him wheat bran that is a good source of fiber or you can try a senior dog food that is made to contain more fiber.

At times, aging dogs can be a bit thinner however if your dog begins to look extremely thinner so quickly and loss his appetite, never ignore this situation since he needs immediate attention from the vet to rule out any possible health problems.

If he goes well, then the vet might give you an advice to change your dog’s diet in order to get him to eat more.

Those of you who feed dry food may see your senior dog having a difficulty chewing the food. Choose canned dog food that has smaller sized kibble or wet the food with water to make them softer and easier to chew.

If you warm any senior canned pet food or moistened in the microwave to increase the aroma and grab the attention of your dog, always make sure to mix the food before serving to prevent any hot pockets in the food and increase your dog’s appetite as well.

To attract your pet, you could always try to put the juice from sardines or tinned tuna not those in tomato juice though. Adding finely chops cooked chicken and mix them around in the dry food could be one way to tempt your dog to eat; this may help to boost their appetite. You can also add finely chopped vegetables like cabbage, carrot add some vitamins and minerals.

Choosing the right senior canned dog food that has the enough nutrients for your dog is vital for his sustained good health and long life. So, when your dog gets to his “golden years”, devote some time to evaluate his nutritional needs and get a food that meets them.

You’ll really never know if senior canned dog food can or can’t be your dog’s spring of youth… All you can do is to give your pet unconditional love and additional attention and care to make his few years of existence a memorable one.