Feeding Old/aging Dogs

[Shadow Dancer]

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Would appreciate your thoughts on this topic please

We have an elderly Shih-Tzu called Tetley who is truly queen of the house - rules Whippets and Shepherds no bother!

She is coming up 13 and is generally in good health - few teeth taken out and a heart murmour since a pup, but checked out by vet and OK. Still more than up for her walks and all bodily functions normal.

She eats well enough but doesn't seem to hold weight. She has tinned meat and soaked compete meal - also rice, sardines (occasionally) and mince, chicken etc added in one at a time but most nights.

What do you feed your oldies to help maintain weight and condition?

Thanks in advance

Julie

 

[bunny]

eukanuba do a really good food for the elderly dogs its a dried food you can put water too, i got it for my elderly boxer when i had him and it worked a treat

 

[FeeFee]

Breast of lamb is really good for putting weight on. I always give my oldies sardines or other oily fish a couple of times a week, it helps with coat and condition.

I think most elderly dogs also get benefit from glucosamine supplements to help their joints and keep them mobile and comfortable.

Tetley sounds like a grand old lady, I hope she's ruling the roost for a good while yet! :wub:

 

[zilloot]

My oldie had difficulty keeping weight on and the vet told me it was because her system was having difficulty processing protein which they need to build muscle tissue.

I gave her sardines, mince, chicken, rice, cooked eggs and cheese - always something extra in her kibble every night, plus left-overs like cooked veg and potato (she loved pizza crust).

Tripe is also excellent for keeping weight on and I even used the tinned food 'Butchers Tripe' which is excellent for putting weight on dogs although it can be too fatty for the youngsters. She loved her grub and ate anything I gave her (her favourite treat was a bit of french-bread with lots of butter :lol: )

Although she was bony she kept enough weight on to be healthy right up to the last few months when she started generally failing and went off her food.

She was also on 'Arthri-aid' for joints and had a cod-liver oil capsule every second night. She also had a conditioning herbal mix from Dorwest Herbs.