What does "Senior " dog mean?

[Corinna]

Ok I know what it means . But what factor s should i take in to the desion to swicth Merlin on to a Sr. food Remeber hes a nutered couch potato ,seven years old and over weight he has been on a diet for 1 1/2 years with not much loss of poundage. I was thinking with his slower activity level may be I should switch to a sr. food . Advice any one.?

[binka_nugget]

I think energy would be the biggest thing to take into consideration. Adult foods have slightly more calories than senior formulas. Since he's not a very active dog, I'd probably go ahead with switching. I know a few people who fed their dog senior food until they lost the weight and moved back to adult though.

Kaedyn *could* be classified as a Senior (roughly 6 or 7 years old), I guess, but because of his energy levels, he's still on the adult food.

[Rachel]

I have this question as well. Hannah is 8 1/2 yrs. old and also has been on a diet. She is not as eager to run and play as she used to be, but every once in awhile she can let loose. She is getting more finicky about what she eats so I am hesitant to try to switch her to something that might be even less palitable.

[dragondawg]

due to lack of flavor.

You might consider feeding less of the maintenance diet. If your puppy dog appears famished sometimes they will eat such things as carrots or other veggies as filler. I heard string beans once, and also heard it worked as a laxative in one dog.

[Rachel]

Originally posted by dragondawg
due to lack of flavor.

You might consider feeding less of the maintenance diet. If your puppy dog appears famished sometimes they will eat such things as carrots or other veggies as filler.

My dogs both enjoy carrots, apples, bananas, etc. Hannah even eats mushrooms.

[anna_66]

Angus is quite a bit older but I didn't start him on Senior till he was about 11. He maintained pretty much the same weight and had a pretty high energy level.
As soon as I started to see him put on weight and slow down that's when I stared him on a senior food (it also has glucosamine and condrotin).
He's never minded the taste of the senior food, but then again he's never been a very picky eater

I personally think it would be a good idea.

[Corinna]

Thanks every one will try it and see if he does any better on it.

[stacwase]

I just saw this post. My vet had me put Jake on Sr. formula when he started gaining weight on regular adult dog food. I think that's a pretty good indicator of when they're ready to switch.

[Labman]

I dont get it, why would u switch if hes not old enough. They 're dogs. There suppose to be active and playful. If there not its because there too old like 11 - 13 or the owner has made them lazy. 7 years it not really old unless u own like a great dane. Why put yourself through all that work and money to switch foods. Also takes time for the dog to get used to new food. Meantime they could get bad diahrea. Anyways what im trying to say is, food shouldnt be the way to go. Excersize him more often. Food only plays a big factor when hes a puppy like mine. But still i work him hard. And he loves it. Always eager to run. Hes solid, cept for his belly (its so cute). If your dog just chooses to be lazy and lay around all day, its the owners fault. If you like the fact hes lazy, your cutting out good time in his life. If you want his be active, Im not saying he could be like a puppy, but i have seen some beautiful rotties and pitties and at 8 and older that play like puppies. Try to change his way of life. Bring him to parks alot more and long daily walks.

[[email protected]]

Hi! My senior dog passed 2 years ago, she was 17 and half
when she died. I had her on a premium senior dog food
for years. You not only have to watch there weight as they
get older but you should watch the protein levels. It gets
harder for a dog to break down the protein as they get older.
When a dog is over weight and has arthritis it puts more pressure
on there bones and joints. I have a German sheperd and she
has elbow dysplasia. She is 3 years old now, but before her
first birthday she already had arthritis in her elbow joints because
of the disease so the vet advised me to really watch her weight.
It would be a good idea to talk to your vet and get his advice
on a good healthy diet for your friend.
I also took very good care of my old friends teeth, a lot of times
dogs teeth get real bad over time and when they are real old
they cannot chew there food well or not at all.
Usually the protein levels are lower in senior dog foods and they
add needed vitamins and mineral for the senior years.
Also the larger the dog the lesser the life span. My shepherd mix
died at 13 of old age. And my 17 and a half year old was a
medium sized dog around 40 pounds. Although some big dogs
suprise everyone and hang around for a long time.
You could also try petfinder.com they have a library of information
on all sorts of dog information.
Give your sweetie a hug for me!

[Corinna]

Thanks to all who replied I have switched him to a sr diet .He isn't crazy about it but I have in 2 weeks seen a difference in his activity level and the skin problem is getting better. A plus I never thought of. I took a week of mixing the food to avoid upset tummy he wasn't to happy about it but I found some nice organic treats that have lots of his favoitr things in them ,so if the food dish is cleaned up he gets his treat.
He is still doing his job of being my alert dog and seems much more in to it I guess I should have thought of the food thing sooner. Merlin is a lot of firsts for this vetern dog owner and handler.

[Corinna]

This is a before picture I will try tomorrow to get a recent one up.