What Age Does A Dog Need Senior Foods? Expert Opinion

Do you want to learn What Age Does A Dog Need Senior Foods? Your dog may not have the appearance or behaviour you associate with “senior” dogs. But your dog’s nutritional requirements will shift about age 7, even earlier if they are a large breed dog. Now is the right time to consider switching to senior dog food.

What Age Does A Dog Need Senior Foods?

At every stage of a dog’s life, nutrition is a very effective strategy. Health maintenance, disease prevention, and even the primary management of specific disease situations are all possible. Your dog may not necessarily need a diet adjustment simply because they are older.

There are numerous foods available that are marketed for senior, aging, and mature dogs. Even diets with labels for each stage of life exist. Knowing what is best for your dog and whether you should convert to senior dog food can be challenging.

It’s been mentioned a lot that becoming older is not an illness in and of itself. However, several disorders are frequently linked to aging. In terms of preserving health, avoiding illness, and aiding in managing the illness, nutrition can be a potent weapon.

There is no one best food for all older animals; choosing the “best” food for an older dog or cat can be challenging. Because animals are individuals, just because your pet reaches a certain age 7, 10, or even 15 doesn’t automatically mean that she is biologically “old.” Breed, genetics, and health issues are a few variables that affect an animal’s age. Food may not be appropriate for your senior dog or cat simply because it is marketed for older animals.

Aside from individual variances, age brings about a variety of changes that may have an impact on nutritional requirements. Age is often correlated with decreased energy requirements, a propensity to accumulate fat, and a tendency to lose muscle. However, more research is required on dogs and cats (most data is based on people). Age-related declines in immune and renal function also occur; however, the extent varies from animal to animal.

Adult cats and dogs are treated as a single group regardless of their age, whether they are 2, 8, or 15 years old, but adult humans are divided into age groups:  31–50 years, 19–30 years, 51–70 years, and >70 years. Senior animals require more particular requirements because they have distinct needs than young adults, including older dogs and cats.

In contrast, altering the food for elderly animals may or may not be essential or even desirable. Many senior dogs and cats don’t need to switch to a different diet and can continue to consume a high-quality commercial diet made for adults.

However, switching to a “senior” diet may benefit other older dogs and cats. It’s crucial to realize that “senior” or “geriatric” meals have no legal classification, and diets marketed to seniors must adhere to the same legal standards as diets intended for young or middle-aged persons.

The amounts vary by manufacturer. Therefore each manufacturer’s senior food will have various qualities, even though you might assume this term generally suggests lesser protein, lower phosphorus, and lower caloric content. As a result, some foods will better suit an animal’s demands than others.

Nutrients That May Need To Change

Although they may not always need to be changed in specific senior diets, the following nutrients may need to be tweaked as a pet age:

1. Despite popular assumptions, a healthy senior dog or cat does not benefit from eating less protein. Elderly dogs and cats may have negative impacts from lower protein diets because they may lose muscle. Therefore, simply because dogs and cats are becoming older, they shouldn’t be provided with a diet with less protein. For elderly dogs and cats, the “optimal” protein level is still up for debate. While some businesses produce senior diets with less protein, others produce senior diets with more protein. A high protein food may not be ideal or even advantageous for seniors, just as there is no evidence to support the benefits of a low protein diet.
2. It has been demonstrated that reducing dietary phosphorus is advantageous for pets with kidney disease. However, it is unknown whether decreasing it can lower the chance of developing kidney disease. Nevertheless, older dogs and cats may not benefit from nutritional phosphorus that is well above their needs. Working with your veterinarian to choose the appropriate diet for your pet is essential if an individual’s lower phosphorus intake is wanted. Commercial senior pet meals fluctuate considerably in phosphorus content.
3. Senior diets contain a wide range of sodium levels. According to one study, the sodium content in commercial senior dog diets ranged from 33 to 412 milligrams per 100 calories (the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) recommends a minimum of 20 milligrams per 100 calories for sodium in dog foods). For most elderly dogs and cats, restricting dietary salt is not necessary, although it is advised in cases of heart disease, hypertension, or kidney illness.
4. As they mature, dogs and cats may put on weight as people do. Reduced calorie intake will aid in preventing weight increase (or weight loss, if the animal is already overweight) in obesity-prone animals. The additional weight around the middle might contribute to or exacerbate other illnesses like diabetes or arthritis. However, some animals may lose weight as they age instead of gaining weight. A calorically dense food (i.e., has more calories per can or cup) should be chosen for dogs and cats who are losing weight as they age but do not have an underlying medical issue to help stop weight loss. You should carefully choose the best food for your senior pet to maintain their ideal body weight in collaboration with your veterinarian because the calories in senior commercial meals for dogs and cats vary greatly.
5. Certain digestive conditions in dogs and cats may benefit from increased fiber consumption, but not all older animals should consume high-fiber meals. For instance, since many commercial high-fiber diets are often low in calories, they would not be ideal for animals with trouble maintaining weight.
6. Vitamins and minerals in addition. Supplementation is not required if you are giving your cat high-quality commercial food that was chosen based on objective standards rather than only on marketing. Future studies will assist in better defining the diseases for which specific supplements may be beneficial and the conditions for which they may be harmful. All dietary supplements, however, have the potential for adverse effects and may interact with medications, so they should be used with warning and only as directed by your veterinarian. Supplements’ safety, effectiveness, and quality control can be a serious worry because they are governed very differently from pharmaceuticals. This is why it is crucial to be aware of this fact.

There is no need to switch diets if your senior dog or cat is healthy, in good physical condition, and consuming a high-quality, nutritionally balanced diet.

However, dietary changes may help improve symptoms or decrease the disease’s progression if your pet has one of the ailments frequently associated with age, such as arthritis, diabetes, cancer, dental issues, heart disease, or renal disease. Dietary changes can improve a dog or cat’s health and manage any problems that may develop as they age.

Today, there is a vast assortment of high-quality commercial diets on the market, and their varying nutrient contents offer numerous options for maximizing the health of each senior dog and cat. Finding the diet that is the healthiest for your dog or cat and not simply the one with the best marketing can be made easier with the advice of your veterinarian.

Aging And Dogs

Like people, dogs’ aging process varies greatly from one dog to the next. In actuality, aged dogs exhibit more significant variation than puppy development rates. Numerous elements, such as a dog’s breed, size, genetics, nutrition, and environment, impact how old they become.

Sickness is not aging. But because the body’s capacity to heal and protect itself is deteriorating, it is linked to various medical disorders. Like humans, dogs can experience changes in their body composition (the ratio of muscle to fat), appetite, vision, hearing, skin moisture and elasticity, mobility, immune response, and sleep as they age.

Additionally, as dog’s age, their nutritional requirements shift. Many older dogs experience a natural slowing of metabolism, which lowers their energy needs for upkeep and relaxation. Veterinarian nutritionists believe that the maintenance energy requirements for elderly dogs are between 18 and 24 percent lower than those for younger dogs based on numerous research covering a variety of breeds.

Lean body mass (muscle) loss is mostly to blame for this reduced energy need. As dogs get older, their activity level also tends to diminish, affecting how much energy they use and how active their muscles are.

Senior Dog Nutrition

The foundation for healthy aging is optimal nutrition, which can also be a potent tool for treating illnesses, preserving health, and preventing disease. The secret is to treat every elderly and geriatric dog (one that is old) as an individual. This includes modifying your dog’s diet and feeding schedule as needed as they ages.

However, unlike adult humans, adult dogs are typically regarded as a single group, regardless of age, whether the dog is 2, 7, 11, or 14. Two nutritional profiles for dog food are published by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) for designing dog foods: one for development and reproduction (including nursing) and one for adult maintenance.

In other words, a “senior” dog food could be created to meet the AAFCO dog food nutrient profile for individual maintenance or growth and reproduction if the food is intended for all life stages (companies can choose to conduct feeding trials with their dog food formulas, including old dog formulas, too).

But it’s a secret that aged dogs have different nutritional needs than developing puppies or young adult canines. This is why, after your older dog reaches a particular age, you might consider converting them to an old formula.

To Sum Up

Have you learned about What Age Does A Dog Need Senior Foods? Despite being a senior dog, your pet doesn’t necessarily need to eat senior chow. Even as they age, many dogs maintain excellent health. You might not need to switch diets if your elderly dog is healthy, in good physical condition, and consuming a high-quality, comprehensive, balanced diet.

Many adults or all-life phases dog feeds are as healthy as other senior dog diets and may even be more suitable for a specific senior dog. Consider your dog’s health and behavior to help decide if it requires senior dog food.

Frequently Asked Questions