There are so many different dog breeds out there with vastly different life expectancies, but it matters little really. The truth of it is that if you love your dog, you will want them to live forever! Unfortunately, even the oldest dog in the world is not likely to live past the age of 30 (current world record). However, there is a certain sad, but genuine uniqueness to each moment of happiness spent with your pooches, because of how short their lives are generally compared to us.
As dogs begin to age, they need support from their owners to keep themselves fit for as long as possible. Without the proper support necessary, senior dogs often end up living a shorter and less fulfilling doggie life than they should have had to. Today, we are going to focus on senior dogs and highlight a few crucial aspects of keeping them healthy, even after they become senior pooches. You might be surprised by the change of attitude and energy in your senior pet if you apply a few of the tips that we are about to share next.
Adjust their Diet
Your veterinarian should be able to help you out with this one, so ask them about how you can change up the diet to be more suitable for your dog’s age, gender and breed. You can also think of Dr. Marty Nature’s Blend dried raw dog food meticulously crafted to support your dog’s health and happiness. This includes a delicious mix of top-quality meats such as turkey, beef, salmon, duck, and beef liver, offering essential proteins for your dog’s overall health and youthful energy. We will discuss supplementation soon, because proper supplementation is important even when your dog is young, but absolutely essential for senior dogs if they are to stay healthy. For now, let’s go through a few tips regarding senior doggie diets that were collected from experienced veterinarians:
Reduce their Meal Size – As dogs age, their energy levels begin to drop, along with their enthusiasm to exercise. As a result, the amount of food that they were allowed previously must also be reduced proportionately, or it will just end up making the dog overweight. It is a vicious cycle, because dogs love to eat and the fatter they get, the less likely are they to be enthusiastic about exercise which, in turn, makes them even more obese, compromising everything from joint health to even their mental health.
When your dog eats too much regularly, even if he isn’t obese, the fat content can cause him to gain weight. You need to also take care of the way your dog is fed if you want to keep him healthy. Engaging your dog while he is eating is the best way to train him. By using a snuffle mat, you can not only slow down his eating speed but can also enhance his instinctive sense of animal instincts. It can also prevent him from vomiting, bloating, and having digestive problems.
Don’t Assume Your Dog’s Seniority – The idea at work here is a bit complicated and may even seem somewhat contradictory at first. However, a dog owner should never assume that they need to reduce their pet’s daily intake simply based on their own assumptions. No two dogs of even the same breed will age in exactly the same way. For example, older dogs in perfect shape are not considered to be seniors, while much younger, obese dogs are classified as being so. Therefore, if your dog is chronologically old, but still has similar energy levels as they did before, you should not be reducing their portions.
Rely on Your Vet to Determine their Seniority – As long as there is no physical reason identified by your veterinarian to reduce your dog’s daily meal quantity, you should keep your dog on the same diet as before, with perhaps only slight vet-guided alterations in its protein content. The reason is simple enough; if a seemingly senior dog is in good shape, and almost as energetic as their younger self, the diet is a good one that does not require any alterations, unless something changes.
Increased Protein, Reduced Carbs – With time though, it is likely that your veterinarian will suggest including less carbs and more easy-to-digest proteins in your pet’s diet, so that they can maintain a high muscle to fat ratio, even after losing some of that energy. Increase protein content in each meal, while reducing the portions in accordance with your vet’s advice.
Keep their Joints Healthy with Proper Supplementation
Most reasons responsible for contributing to a dog’s growing reluctance towards exercise have nothing to do with their own perception of age, but a lot to do with their joint health. Just like us, our faithful companions begin to lose joint flexibility and develop arthritis as they age. Keeping a pet’s weight in check is the best way to avoid this painful scenario, or to at least keep the arthritic effects to a bare minimum in case of large dog breeds in particular. Never forget that overfed dogs suffer just as much as underfed dogs. It’s just that they suffer in different ways than underfed dogs, and you want to avoid either scenario, even before they start aging.
However, even senior dogs with severely arthritic joints can be helped to become more energetic and lead a fitter lifestyle if you start supplementing their special diets with effective veterinarian supplements. If we take YuMove, for example, the brand has been recognized for producing the most effective veterinarian joint supplements for dogs. YuMove joint supplements are specifically manufactured in various concentrations and forms (chewable, tablets, powder, etc.) to keep aging pets fit, while also aiding senior, arthritic dogs in moving freely again.
As the joint inflammations shrink and the associated pain is alleviated, this naturally makes older pets feel younger, allowing them the scope they need to start enjoying their lives again, while losing a few pounds in the process. Just be sure to take advantage of your dog’s newfound enthusiasm for exercise, and work towards helping them get back into the habit at a safe and slow pace.
Don’t Neglect Your Dog
Human neglect is the number one reason behind dogs losing their joint flexibility, becoming obese and reaching seniority a long time before they should. To avoid becoming the reason behind your pooch’s pain, take note of the mistakes that people usually make when their dogs are still young, or have only just started to show early signs of aging:
- Owners will often neglect their pet’s need for exercise, even when they are young and enthusiastic
- Owners will often feed dogs human food, which they cannot possibly digest properly, adding more to the obesity, joint deterioration and lack of motivation cycle
- People often end up choosing a breed based on how they look, without factoring in the breed’s need for exercise, special diets, supplementation, etc.
- When you neglect any dog’s need for attention and playtime long enough, they grow depressed, gain weight rapidly and age much faster
- Confinement in small spaces without exercise for years can be crippling for a big dog’s psyche and health; choose your breed wisely.
Always keep in mind that dogs never really grow out of playing, eating, getting pets, etc. If they stop moving as much as they used to, or seem to be becoming grumpier with age, then it is not because of the fact that they want to be left alone in a corner. Such situation needs a different caring for older pet. These are symptoms that their present physical condition is preventing them from participating in activities that they still would have liked to join in very much.
Every dog will lose some of the energy with age, and nothing we can do will be able to completely prevent that from happening. Nevertheless, there are still a lot of things that we can do, so that our pooches can become more active, remain fitter and stay healthier than we think to be possible for senior dogs. Hopefully, this little guide will help your senior dog find their second life too.