One of my older dogs seames to be thin he is 16 and for his age he is in good health we were at the vets wiv him less then a month ago due to him having athrites and the vet seamed to think he was in good health and could not beleve his age. As he gone older he has gone thiner though he has never been a big i am just wondering if any one can suggert a diet for him he can be fussey i been looking sinor diets and they do a light but nothing to put weight on. my friend suggested i put him on a good working dog food as the protine levels are higher then adult or sinor diets do you think this is a good idea he does not require worming hje has been wormed with drontal last mounth and gets womed every 3 months. at the moment he has pedigree sinor dry food in the mornig and chapi dry food mixed with tin in evening and he gets a smako before bed. he is 10 kg and ive tried giving more food in his meals and he just leave it when has enough
Answers:
It can depend on the breed and genetics, but this can happen to a lot of dogs, i don't suggest you put him on a working dogs diet as your dog is old, even if in good shape his kidneys and liver would be under a lot of strain with the amount of protein in a working dogs diet. i would look at the back of the dog food packets and try and go for a high calorie diet, i would generally say ask you vet though as there may be an underlying thyroid problem or something like that i don't want to worry you but I'm just giving options, just contact your vet and they would probably have you in for a consultation and check the symptom. i hope this helps x
same with 100 year old people the body cant take up food so well
thats its age now add olive oil and carrots mushed up to the diet
Wow! Only a few has been as blessed as you are! Your Dog as old as he is and healthy. Most have had strokes nor living, My brother's dog is alive and maybe as old and not thin. I think My brother's dog is older but they feed him kitchen stuff, left overs and also vegetables and everything, along mixed dry dog food and some canned, sometimes. He is healthy and strong. You are Blessed. What ever you are doing, keep on doing because your dog is living far past longer than most dogs of that breed do. Mostly it is 14 years max! Did Doc do a blood and urine work up? Doc should have but you don't want to put extra stress on your dog. You are a wonderfgul companion to your dog as it is to you for it being with you. Give Thanks to God! If no problem exsisted before the vet's office, then don't change anything, My cat is old and I have to feed her more often, not at once, sometimes some chiccken, cooked very well and fattening leftovers mixed with her left overs. feed your dog more without the other dog knowing it, give the other dog dry food and water and try to feed the older dod canned with dfry more often and give the other dog the samne but less because it wuill feel left out smelling the food and will set it into depression. Good luck!
I agree with your friend. Senior diets are crap, I wouldn't let my dogs eat the stuff. A lot of the weight loss is muscle loss, he needs more easily digestible protein to help maintain muscle.
Your friend has somewhat the right idea. but the type of protein is important, the working dog formulas are higher in grain proteins normally, senior dogs do need higher protein but is has to be digestible protein meaning meat inorder to maintain muscle mass, if given too much hard to digest grain protein the kidneys then have to work to harder and you do not want to be stressing the kidneys, which is why meat protein is preferable
The senior food your feed has less protein and therefore has caused a loss of muscle mass
Senior diets are probably one of man worst inventions as it reduces the amount of weight and replaces it with grains. grains convert to sugar when broken down by the body which causes insulins levels to increase and thus causes inflammation and pain in joints.
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More Grains, More Insulin, More Inflammation
A highly processed, grain-based diet fed to an animal designed to thrive on a meat-based, fresh food diet is very likely to produce symptoms of ill health over time. Diets to address disease most frequently deal with the symptoms that are the result of a lifetime of inappropriate food, not the true cause of their symptoms. The optimum diet for a dog or a cat should closely resemble their natural diet.
A diet balanced heavily toward grain promotes insulin production and the production of inflammatory chemicals. Over-production of insulin makes it hard for the body to maintain its correct weight, and can lead to diabetes and other problems. An overabundance of inflammatory chemicals means more aches and pains.
Improve the balance of your dog's diet by reducing grain, and you may not need the dangerous non-steroidal and steroid drugs so commonly prescribed for dogs
http://www.mercola.com/2005/feb/5/pets_g...
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Second problem with is senior dogs need more meat protein not less
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Proteins consist of chains of amino acids which have several important needs in the dog.
- They maintain the structure of skin, hair, tendons, ligaments, cartilage and nails.
- Protein is needed for the production of new tissue
- Protein maintains normal metabolic processes in the body.
- It is the necessary nutrient for repair of tissues, and this includes the major organs in the body.
If enough protein isn't present in the diet, dogs will lose lean body mass, loss weight, become lethargic, and develop a lowered immune system
While in the past it was believed that excess protein might cause problems in dogs, it has been shown that dogs have the ability to metabolize excess protein. Protein is an essential part of the canine's diet, and is necessary to sustain life and maintain the integrity of the internal organs.
More recent studies show today that it is probably more harmful than it is good to restrict protein in senior dogs, and the high quality proteins are needed for our older pets.
http://b-naturals.com/apr2003.php...
Another question is on protein and senior dogs. Many commercial foods now sell formulas designed specifically for the needs of the senior dog. These are often diets that offer lower protein, but studies show that this can cause more harm than good.
A diet rich in protein is especially important for older dogs. Senior dogs appear less efficient at metabolizing protein, so they require additional protein in their diets to help compensate. In fact, research has shown that healthy older dogs may need as much as 50 percent more protein than normal young healthy adult dogs. (6).
Dr Kronfeld reports that older dogs and dogs with compromised kidneys can easily process high quality proteins. He states that high quality proteins in percentages as high as 54% can actually kill bacteria in the kidneys and create an acidic condition that is healthier for these organs. This would be helpful for urinary tract infections and other bacteria in the dogs system. (2)
Similarly, Dr Bovee鈥檚 research in the mid 1970鈥檚 concluded that high protein levels were more advantageous to dogs with deteriorating kidneys. He reported that the kidney function was much better in dogs fed a diet of 54% protein than 27% protein, for up to two years in his studies. (This study is in complete opposition to the recommendations of the NRC (National Research Council) for low protein for dogs with renal disease.) The same studies concluded that high percentages of protein in the dogs鈥?diet also help to kill bacteria in the urinary tract. (3)
http://b-naturals.com/nov2005.php...
Another myth about protein is that high protein intake causes kidney damage. This myth has also been refuted in a study by Finco at the University of Georgia. Finco showed that feeding senior dogs (dogs over 8 years of age at the outset of the study) a diet containing 36% protein for 4 years (all dogs were over 12 at the end of the study) caused no negative effects on kidney function.
http://mail.royalcanin.ca/faq.nsf/2584c7...
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Loss of Muscle Mass
Protein is the building block of muscle tissues. It is important for maintaining muscle tissues, muscle strength and mobility. Recent Eukanuba research has shown that senior dogs who eat a higher-protein diet maintain muscle mass. By feeding your dog a diet with optimal protein levels for muscle maintenance, you can help him continue to be physically active.
This research is contrary to conventional opinion that senior dog foods should contain lower protein levels than adult maintenance formulas in order to avoid progressive decrease in kidney function. Senior dogs who were fed a high-protein diet were shown to have stable kidney function.*
http://us.eukanuba.com/eukanuba/en_us/js...
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Lot of the new research on protein has only occured in the last decade and the research is being done on dogs, the old dogfood research was done on rats which are non carnivores and that was how how protein carbs and ratios were determined and the finding are that it does more harm thatn good
As a result new foods are being produced to meet the new research on protein needs and help dog maintain muscle mass keep the insulin level down so they are not suffering from arthritis swelling and pain as they age
example what the new foods are like and what they formulated like as you will note they do not contain grains
http://www.championpetfoods.com/orijen/p...
http://www.evopet.com/products/default.a...
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_...
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_...
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_...
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_...
Eukanuba, Purina(proplan) increased their protein levels of their senior foods to 26 and 28 % protein(Pedigree is 21%) only problem was they did it the cheap way by using grains which forces the kidneys to work harder to break down ignoring the part of the research that it has to digestible meat proteins
I am guessing you are in the UK so these foods may not be available, you can provide extra meat protein by feeding muscle meats such as raw hamburger, rabbit or chicken ( freeze first then thaw to kill harmful bacteria) or cook very lightly (drop in a pot of boiling water for a couple minutes) don't overcook or it will destroy all the amino acids in the meat, start with just a bit as first(so as not to upset his tummy) and gradually increase the amount fed and reduce the amount of kibble so less grain is fed,
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