[Shasta220]

So sorry you got ripped off with BB… Some of their foods are great, but others? Well, you’re just paying for the fancy packaging.

Personally, almost anything on here that’s 4-5 stars is good. I wouldn’t be too picky about getting food for seniors. As crazy4cats said, they’re often lower in the good proteins and fats, and higher in empty fillers. I know a couple dogs on NutriSource GF, they’re both 55-65lb seniors (I think they’re around 13), and they still go on an hour walk/run into the fields every morning. One of them is even known to sometimes jump over a 4ft fence!

I know home made diets with premixes (like the honest kitchen, and See Spot Live Longer) are the favorite around these parts. Orijen and Acana are two of the most beloved dry foods as well. I’d love to have my dogs on either of those, but the price is waaaay out of my personal budget.

Also bumping this so others can see 😉 best wishes!

[crazy4cats]

Hi Jodi-
I’m gonna bump up your post so others can respond to your question. I’ve come to learn that most of the very knowledgeable posters on this forum typically do not recommend a senior dog food because they are usually lower in protein. Most contributors recommend actually feeding an even higher protein low fat food to senior dogs. I’m hoping one of them will jump in with suggestions for you. Good luck!

[Jodi R]

I’m looking for recommendations for a good quality dry senior dog food. I have been feeding my 13 year old mixed breed Blue Buffalo Life Protection Senior. I thought that was a good choice, but it only gets a 2-star rating! I want something better for my sweet old girl. She is about 65 lbs, but I really have no idea what breeds she may be. When I adopted her 12 years ago, they told me a possible chow mix, but I don’t see that at all. She did have some kidney and liver issues a few years back but now is in good health for her age. Any suggestions would be very appreciated!

[Elisa C. R]

**Reposting under correct category **

Hi everyone,

I am new to the forum, and have a question for you all. Any suggestions/feedback you have would be most appreciated.

I adopted a puppy in January, and have been feeding her Precise Holistic (dry food for puppies). The dog that I lost in October had been eating Precise Senior for a few years and loved it!

My question is this. My pup eats way to fast. I have tried the slow eating type bowl, but doesn’t seem to help. I elevated her food bowl, doesn’t make a difference. She has terrible gas, and I don’t mean occasionally, I mean several times a day / night. Her stool is sometimes firm, and sometimes runny. I cannot figure out if the issue is from eating too fast and getting air in her stomach, or an issue with grain; should I possibly switch to a grain free food and see if that helps with the gas issue?

Thank you in advance for any advice/help you can give.

Regards,
Elisa

[Elisa C. R]

Hi everyone,

I am new to the forum, and have a question for you all. Any suggestions/feedback you have would be most appreciated.

I adopted a puppy in January, and have been feeding her Precise Holistic (dry food for puppies). The dog that I lost in October had been eating Precise Senior for a few years and loved it!

My question is this. My pup eats way to fast. I have tried the slow eating type bowl, but doesn’t seem to help. I elevated her food bowl, doesn’t make a difference. She has terrible gas, and I don’t mean occasionally, I mean several times a day / night. Her stool is sometimes firm, and sometimes runny. I cannot figure out if the issue is from eating too fast and getting air in her stomach, or an issue with grain; should I possibly switch to a grain free food and see if that helps with the gas issue?

Thank you in advance for any advice/help you can give.

Regards,
Elisa

[Susan]

My boy has I.B.D & I too have him on the Eukanuba Intestinal, I think in America its called Iams Sensitive stomach, Ive tried other foods thinking that they’re more better but in the end we always go back to the Eukanuba Intestinal, Im finding high fat% kibbles are no good also high protein % & high fiber% is a no no also. Have you looked at the Holistic Select kibbles there’s the Adult health Duck Meal fat is 13% fiber is only 3.90% its also a single protein Duck being the only protein, so if he cant handle say fish or Lamb etc u know that there’s only Duck in this Kibble, sometimes its a meat or potatoes that can cause their diarrhea, Im going to try the Senior Chicken meal & rice as the fat% is the same as his Eukanuba 10% & fiber is only 3.50%..even though my boy is only 5yrs old the only thing difference in the Senior is that the Glucosomane is higher, but the fat% & fiber% are the lowest in the Holistic Select range, so I dont think it will matter that he’s not a senior at the moment, Im pretty sure WellPet make Wellness, Holistic Select & Eagle Pack….there’s the Complete Health Senoir in the Wellness but the fiber% was too high for my dog its 5% .. Look at the Guaranteed Analysis on ur Iams Sensitive stomach bag & look what the Fat%, Protein% & fiber% is & try to find a better kibble that is nilly the same in Fat% Protein% & fiber%, thats what Ive been trying to do..then see if he can cope.. also when you start a new kibble do it sooo slow I take 2 weeks, when I get to the second week thats when things start to happen that are going to happen with Patches Diarrhea…

[Susan]

I thought that was high in Fat when I coverted it, so I’ve been cooking just in case, but most of the wet foods are 6-9% in fat….so 3% fat in the Wellness senior is the best I’ve found..

• This reply was modified 11 years, 8 months ago by Susan.

[Shasta220]

Crazy how different prices are! For me, Victor is nowhere around. I’ve looked online, but it’s all about 50-70$ for a 20-30# bag (yes, including shipping – usually) then my lucky-dog friend is able to buy 40# bags for 30$! Yes, I’m jealous!!!! LOL!!!

I can’t remember how much NutriSource is around here. I wanna say for a 35-40# bag, it’s about 50-60$. I just ended up getting a bad first impression on it. I may try it again in the future as I’m pretty sure I know what happened:

Cassy (our senior lab) had been on 1-3 star food her whole life. She had horrible skin problems, so I decided it was time to save up and get a 4-5 star food. I /did/ transition her from the 2 star up to the 4 star, but it made her flare up to disgusting levels (50% of her skin was raw. She had to wear a cone and a sweater until the vet’s meds started working! Even then, her feet tore through the sweater and she could chew on her tail…poor baby).

I’ve never tried NutriSource again, just because I’m so scared it may have had some odd ingredient she reacted to, but now she is on similar 4 star foods and doing fabulously!

[Susan]

Wellness Complete Health-Senoir recipe Wet, its only 3% fat & 7% Protein, or there’s Nutro Natural Choice-Lite Lamb & rice, Fat-4% Protein-5%.. If you look at most of the senior foods they are normally low Fat & Protein, I have been boiling chicken breast, pumkin & sweet potatoes & freezing little meals, this seems to have helped my boys Pancreatitis, Ive found that when he has his Dry kibble he gets his pain..thats probably why ur Silky doesnt like the dry foods..

[pugmomsandy]

Sojos Complete Beef is only 24% protein and 12% fat. This is a freeze dried food that you add water to before feeding and it absorbs liquid well. AvoDerm Weight Control Chicken and Rice 23/14. Canidae Life Stages Platinum 24/18. Wysong Senior 22/14.

[Patrica H]

My dog is 15, a silky terrier, who has had a few bouts with pancreatitis. She needs a low fat, and probably lower protein dog food. She doesn’t like dry dog food. She is on Hills Science Diet ID low fat GI restore which recently changed the texture of its canned dog food. It is very dry, won’t even absorb any moisture! My dog almost chokes on it. Also, I don’t think the ingredients are very healthy – pork liver, pork by products, corn…! Please, if anyone knows of a good canned dog food – low fat, low protein please let me know. thanks. —Patty

[Susan]

Something that is low in fat, Ive been looking & found Wellness Complete health Senior wet to have the lowest fat 4% or the Complete health senior dry 10% fat or Nutro Lite kibble 9% fat or wet 4% fat, also Holistic Select senior health Chicken Meal & rice, 10% fat, Vet told me keep the fat under 9% its a bit hard when alot of the kibbles are 14%-20% fat, so I found the Senior ones are lower in fat, the Weight Management kibbles are low in fat BUT the fiber is really high in some up to 10% fiber too high when they have stomach problems I think…Ive been cooking boiled chicken Pumkin & sweet potato & just giving that for breakfast & the kibble of a night I have my boy on the vet prescription diet Eukanuba Intestinal 10% fat, I think in America you have the Iams vet diets…but the ingredients have corn but the corn must help something cause his poos are excellent..

[Mom2Cavs]

Betsy, I used to feed Canine Caviar before they added their new grain free formulation. I fed the Lamb & Millet and the Special Needs. Loved it back then. One of these days I might try it again for the dogs. My girls are eating Victor Yukon, atm. I do have some of the Senior on hand and just ordered some of the Lamb & rice. Rupert came to me eating Blue Buffalo lamb & rice, and I thought I’d try the Victor’s L&R with him and the girls.

[Susan]

Oh OK, he’ll be 6 in November, I think 7 yrs old is the start to be a senior dog, as you’ll see 1-6yrs for aldult foods then 7+ for senior foods, Also the Ash in kibbles, what should it be around.. I see 7.5% 9.5% 11% should it be lower or higher & what does Ash do,

[Susan]

No, Vet said I need a kibble that is 10% or under in fat, he said he likes 8% fat, for Pancreatitis, He showed me the Hills & Royal Canin vet diets & I dont like all the crap in them, its bad enough he’s on the Vet Diet Eukanuba Intestinal, but the Eukanuba seems a bit better then Hills & R/C so Ive been looking at all the kibbles & the weight loss kibbles are low in fat BUT the fiber is always high 7-10% so now Im looking at senior kibbles as the fat is normally low but Ive found that the Glucosamine is high in the Holistic Select its 750mg/kg. Im just woundering will it matter him being only 5 yrs old & having alot of Glucosamine…

[InkedMarie]

I’m a little confused by your question, sorry if I’m missing something. I was under the impression that by the time dog food is cooked, whatever glucosamine was there is all but gone. Buy a joint supplement if you need it.

Why do you need a senior food?

[Susan]

Ive think I may have found a low fat kibble that I can buy, it’s the Holistic Select Senior, fat is 10% fiber is 3.50% But my boy is only 5yrs old when I’ve compared this kibble with other Holistic Select Flavours most of the ingredients are the same but the Glucosamine is 750mg/kg in the Senior, where the other kibbles the Glucosamine is only 340mg/kg.. Will that matter the Glucosamine being so high, Can a 5yr old be on a senoir diet will it matter to his health…

[Akari_32]

So, heres a little preview.

x— contains fish
**—less than 2% carbs
**bold—less than 1% carbs

~~~All carb values are based off PetSmart’s GA and the Scheyderweb.com Cat Food Calculator~~~

x/** Authority Kitten (Chicken & Liver, Chicken & Lamb)— 1.68%
x Authority Indoor Chicken Pate– 3.7%
x Authority Pate (Beef & Brown Rice, Catfish, Chicken & Pasta, Ocean fish, Turkey & Giblets)—2.405%
x/** Authority Flaked Salmon—1.5%
** Authority Flaked Turkey—1.6%
x Authority Ocean Fish & Rice Senior Pate—3.205%
x Authority Weight Management Chicken Pate NO DATA AVAILABLE
Authority Chef’s Entrees Beef Pot Roast—4.4%
x Authority Chef’s Entrees Salmon & Shrimp Chowder—5.4%
Authority Chef’s Entrees (Chicken Noodle Stew, Turkey Noodle Stew, Chicken Pot Pie)—4.18%
Authority Chef’s Entrees Duck & Vegetable Stew—4.79%
Authority Chef’s Entrees Fish Stew—5.45%

BLUE Freedom Chicken Indoor Kitten—2.4%
x BLUE Freedom Indoor Fish Recipe—7.6%
BLUE Freedom Indoor Natural Chicken Recipe—3.7%
BLUE Basics Kitten—3.48%
BLUE Basics Indoor Turkey and Potato—4.6%
BLUE Basics Turkey and Potato—4.7%
x BLUE Basics Fish and Potato—6.9%
BLUE Basics Duck and Potato—4.804%
BLUE Healthy Gourmet Indoor Chicken Entrée—3.4%
x BLUE Healthy Gourmet Indoor Salmon Entrée—5.4%
x BLUE Healthy Gourmet Gilled Salmon Entrée in Gravy—4.4%
BLUE Healthy Gourmet Meaty Morsels Chicken Entrée—3.4%
x BLUE Healthy Gourmet Meaty Morsels Tune Entrée—4.9%
BLUE Healthy Gourmet Flaked Chicken Entrée—2.4%
BLUE Healthy Gourmet Kitten Pate Chicken Entrée-1.85%
BLUE Healthy Gourmet Turkey and Chicken Pate—4.4%
BLUE Healthy Gourmet Flaked Chicken Entrée—3%
x BLUE Wilderness Wild Delights in Tasty Gravy (Chicken & Salmon, Chicken & Trout)—3.9%
x BLUE Wilderness Wildness Delights Flaked Chicken and Trout in Tasty Gravy—4.4%
x BLUE Wilderness Flaked Chicken and Trout—3.4%
BLUE Wilderness Wild Delights Chicken and Turkey in Tasty Gravy—3.9%
** BLUE Wilderness Kitten Chicken—0.9%
x BLUE Wilderness Kitten Salmon—2.8%
BLUE Wilderness Chicken—1.5%
BLUE Wilderness Mature Chicken—5.5%
BLUE Spa Selects Indoor Chicken Entrée—5.12%
x BLUE Spa Selects Tempting Tuna Grill Entrée—5.4%
BLUE Spa Selects Tender Turkey and Chicken Entrée—2.4%
BLUE Bistro’s Beef Bourguignon—4.975%
BLUE Bistro’s Chicken Florentine—4.475%
x BLUE Longevity Ideal Weight Mature—6.9%
x BLUE Longevity Ideal Weight Adult—4.9%

Castor & Pollux ORGANIX Shredded (Chicken, Chicken & Liver)—3.3%
Castor & Pollux ORGANIX Pate (Chicken, Chicken & Liver, Turkey)—4.3%
x Castor & Pollux ORGANIX Turkey & Salmon—2.92%
x Castor & Pollux ORGANIX Turkey & Seafood—5.12%
Castor & Pollux ORGANIX Turkey, Brown Rice & Chicken—3.62%

Some of the formatting does’t translate to the forum, like the bold letting, and some of the tabs, but thats ok. My next group is Fancy Feast, and I’m not particularly looking forward to that LOL

• This reply was modified 11 years, 8 months ago by Akari_32.

[Akari_32]

Oh, I almost forgot! I got 51 cans of Friskies (a case each of the Special Diets and a few cans of the Senior Diet) for $16! 😀 I realize now I should have gotten an even number, but oh well lol

[Akari_32]

I’ve been scooting around the net this morning narrowing down what flavors of Friskies are semi-acceptable. They cannot have any fish (that right away knocks off over half of the flavors lol) and they must have less than 2.5% carbs, which brought me down to only three flavors:

Senior Diet Meaty Bits with Lamb and Rice (I was surprised a senior food made the cut!)
Special Diet Classic Pate Beef and Chicken Entree
Special Diet Classic Pate Turkey and Giblets Dinner

I’m working in a list of Authority, but I was looking at them and they all have fish!! Am I being too paranoid? Its not like they are first on the list or anything, but still… Its not that I’m trying to completely avoid fish, its that I don’t want to feed it very often, given the problems its said to cause. Every now and then, sure, whatever, but I don’t want him to be eating it on a regular basis. I mean, when I bought all that Wellness yesterday, I did buy maybe 10 cans combined of Tuna and Turkey & Salmon, because I needed to bring my total up to use my coupon.

[Susan]

I forgot to write the food Im going to try, Ive looked & looked for a low fat & low fiber & found this one ‘Holistic Select Senior Health’ Chicken Meal & Rice the fat is only -10% the fiber-3.50% & the protein-26% see my boy isnt use to a high protein being on the Eukanuba Intestinal it’s only 23% so going to 26% I’ll see if he can handle it slowing plus Ive bought the Holistic Select Duck Meal before & its not a hard kibble it digest easily.. I always boil the jug, I put boiling water in half a glass & drop a kibble in for 40sec then pull out put kibble inbetween 2 spoons & try to crush it, if it crushes easily I know it will be good for my boy to digest if I have to really apply pressure to crush a kibble I take the bag of kibble back to Pet Barn, its too hard for my dog.. Before I knew a little about kibbles my dog was on the R/C Hypoallergenic & Sensitivity control they were hard kibbles thats when my poor dog started having all his stomach problems & vomiting now the vet say Pancreatitis..The only thing Im worried about this Kibble is for dogs over 7 yrs old, my boy is only 5yrs old 6 in November & it has 750mg/kg Glucosamine… I dont know if that matters the Duck Meal & other Flavours Lamb etc the Glucosamine is 340mg/kg..

• This reply was modified 11 years, 8 months ago by Susan.

[Shasta220]

Errrrr….. Was that supposed to be a joke, samaroberoi, or are you seriously that uneducated? Or possibly do you work for one of those companies?… o__o

I will agree – you don’t /need/ a food that says “puppy” on it. If it’s a balanced all life-stage formula, your guy should do fine. I trust most of the 4-5 star foods on here. I personally love NutriSource GF. I know two seniors who are on it right now, and they are FANTASTIC. The 13y.o. deaf girl acts not a day older than about 7!

Going grain free can be tough sometimes. All GF foods will seem quite tempting, but in reality, there are a lot of brands just trying to get on the GF bandwagon, so be sure to thoroughly inspect the ingredient list.

[Mom2Cavs]

I don’t know exactly how much sodium, but another one to look at might be Victor’s Senior/Healthy Weight. It’s 27/11, protein/fat.

[Gina S]

I’m a long time lurker who has a similar issue with my dog. Due to an arrhythmia, mitral valve problem, enlarged heart & pancreatitis issues my dog must be on low sodium, low fat food. At first I had him eating one of the hills prescription diets, but it became too expensive coupled with all his meds (he’s a bit guy who eats a lot). So I began searching for a new food. Here’s what I found:

Wellness dog food: I emailed them recently so this is current
Chicken .14% Sodium 12% fat
Lamb .23% sodium 12% fat
Healthy Weight .11% sodium 6% fat
Senior .11% sodium 10% fat
Simple Grain-Free Salmon 0.29% Sodium 12% fat
Simple Grain-Free Turkey 0.24% Sodium 12% fat
Simple Lamb & Oatmeal 0.20% Sodium 12% fat
Simple Duck & Oatmeal 0.08% Sodium 11 % fat
Core Original 0.53% Sodium 16% fat
Core Ocean 0.69% Sodium 16% fat
Core Reduced Fat 0.50% Sodium 10% fat
Core Small Breed 0.23% Sodium 16% fat
Core Puppy 0.37% Sodium 18% fat
Core Large Breed 0.22 % Sodium 12% fat
Core Wild Game 0.22% Sodium 16% fat

California Natural/Innova/Evo all info about fat & sodium can be found on their website
http://www.naturapet.com/brands/evo
Some of the foods that I do have info on some california naturals
Grain free chicken .34% sodium 12% fat
Grain free kangaroo .26% sodium 11% fat
Chicken & brown rice weigh man. .2% sodium 7% fat
Lamb & brown rice weight man. .24% sodium 7% fat
Chicken & brown rice Senior .19% sodium 8% fat

Tufts University also has a list of dog foods
http://vet.tufts.edu/heartsmart/resources/reduced_sodium_diet_for_dogs.pdf

The food we settled on was Natures Logic Sardine Meal 10% fat and .33% sodium. Their other food while low in sodium are higher in fat.
I’m sure there are many, many more that fit are low fat, low sodium my advice would be to visit their websites and if sodium isn’t listed call or email them. Hope that helps.

[Shasta220]

I don’t know much about the vast amounts of joint supplements out there, but I enjoy Actiflex 4000 (meant for horses, but can easily be used for dogs). It’s probably not the best out there, but it’s super affordable. My 70lb senior lab gets about a tsp daily, which we figured that to be around 5$/month (compared to 30$/month of her other stuff.)

I’d definitely go with dchassett’s suggestions though sounds like she’s been around the block a few times when it comes to joint care.

Best wishes!

[Gloria D]

My female beagle, 10 years old, about 32 lbs. has a heart murmur (is on meds for it) so I have to be careful with salt and fat. It was suggested that I put her on Hill’s Science Diet prescription HD formula for cardiac health which is low in salt, but I don’t like the ingredients in it. It was also suggested that we try looking at some of the senior diets because they may be low in salt, but so far I am not coming up with anything. I really don’t want to have to prepare food myself if at all possible. I’m discovering just how little information is out there when you are looking for specific needs in a dog’s diet. Any suggestions? Thanks!

[jewel0247]

I’m wanting to start a joint supplement on my 13 year old dog and can’t decide on which (even with all the awesome information on these forums)! She shows mild mobility issues, but gets around well for the most part…
I’ve come down to:
Mercola (the chewables)
K9 Naturals Joint strong (the powder)
Springtime Joint formula

I’m liking the K9, but there is chicken flavoring or cartilage in the formula… and with her chicken intolerance, I don’t know if she would have a bad reaction?

Thanks!

[crazy4cats]

Very cute cat picture. Hope he’s doing better. And yes, the laser pointer never fails. All my dogs and cats, even my 15 year old senior kitty can’t resist chasing the light.

[Diane H]

My lab has to have a low copper dog food because of copper toxicity and liver disease. I was feeding Merrick whole earth farms senior but they stopped making it. We don’t like the quality of Iams which is the only other one we know of. Other than making my own any suggestions?
He is also a senior dog with other issues but copper content is the biggest concern.
Thanks

[Shasta220]

Aleksandra, that’s great you were able to convince at least a person or two to upgrade! I doubt I will be able to, as I’m just a teenager and these people are retired. A topic as touchy as dog food needs a lot of respect before I would dare mess with it. I’ve only met these people one time, so I haven’t really had the chance to build up their respect for me. I’m hoping to be able to give them the link to this website and keep my fingers crossed that one click will lead to another. That’s exactly how it happened for me. My parents only bought the cheap food for our dogs, and it was showing on our poor senior lab. I bought a bag of Wenaewe food (it was a steal, only 30$ for 30lb…if I’d bought it from the website, it’d be 90$/30lb), so googled “Wenaewe reviews” and found this site. I was HOOKED! I started looking up every food that I’ve fed (or even thought of feeding) my dogs, and realized that price has /almost/ nothing to do with quality.

Now after a few months of hanging out on here, I feel like I know a thing or two about dog nutrition, and it’s great! =D so if I can get other people to even spend 10min digging on here, they’ll probably change as well.

That’s so great to hear the success story of your friend switching her food. I know my success story is almost unbelievable! Our poor Lab was on Dog Chow, Pedigree, and Ol’ Roy…she was developing disgusting skin/ear infections. It got to the point where we didn’t even want to pet her b/c she smelled so bad and was so flaky. Took her to a vet and got some meds to temporarily clear it up, then I saved up and bought her a bag of much better food. I’m not kidding: she acted as good as she did 5 years ago, and her sour-nasty-foul odor turned into nothing more than a very light “doggie” smell if you buried your nose in her fur… She got soft and fairly shiny, and now her ear infections are gone for good (she still has scarring/wax buildup that I have to manage though). If we didn’t switch her last year, I don’t even know if she’d be alive today!

[Lena]

My 13-14 year old Chihuahua has been eating raw food ( basically turkey, oats and carrots with salmon oil, Vit C, yeast, etc. added ). I would like to feed her a good canned food which is low in protein considering her elevated kidney levels, heart murmur and remaining one tooth. She is picky and recently decided not to eat the raw food. BTW, I always heat the raw food so it is a bit warm though still raw.

[pugmomsandy]

They are fairly common products and you can even find them at the big chain stores or online. But here are some examples you can look at:

http://b-naturals.com/by-condition-c-23/senior-care-c-23_4/bertes-immune-blend-1-lb-p-17.html?cPath=23_8

http://www.swansonvitamins.com/swanson-probiotics-dr-stephen-langers-ultimate-16-strain-probioticwith-fos-60-veg-caps

http://www.swansonvitamins.com/swanson-ultra-anti-gas-enzyme-170-mg-90-veg-caps

[InkedMarie]

Layla is 13. I’d bet that it’s a “senior” issue or neuro. Unless you can take her to a neurologist, you just have to manage. She’s 13, you can’t rehome her. I personally don’t think, at her age, it’s fair to her. I doubt she can help this.

I’d keep her separate from your other dogs unless you’re right there to supervise. Use baby gates, crate or whatever is needed.

I hope things get easier.

[Harpers Mom]

We have definitely had a rough weekend to say the least. Friday kiya, our 12 year old Bichon and gabby, our 3 year old spaniel mix had vet appointments. All went well with gabby, but kiya had blood work done to reveal she is lacking sufficient calcium and protein in her diet. Vet reccomends putting her on science diet senior and 1/4 Pepcid once a day. The science diet is a absolute no. She is currently on Fromm salmon a la veg. And I have never heard of using Pepcid for calcium defeiciency.

On top of the vet visit, aroun 1:45 this morning we awoke to yelping from kiya. Our oldest dog, Layla a corgi mix had attacked her. $700 vet bill later, kiya has stitches in both ears, her eyelid and cheek she is also missing 3 teeth. Layla is roughly 13 and the past 6 months has been quite aggressive. Talked to the vet about her agression and she said it has no apparent cause. Blood work done, no abnormalities. Other than being a little heavy Layla is perfectly healthy. I personally think she might be suffering from something brain wise. After discussions with the family, we have made the decision that it would be best to euthanize Layla for her well being and the other dogs. (She attacked my bully baby on Christmas causing $500 worth of damage). This is very hard for is. What would you do in the situation?

[losul]

Shawna, I assure you I am going to go over all the information you and all the others have graciously provided, and take everything into consideration. It’s been hectic and I’m an airhead, exhausted yet so wired with all the coffee and tea. So bear with me, if I can’t get back right away. I have some posts to get to on the off topic board also

I will say this much for now, I had another lengthy phone conversation with the vet and he has set my mind at ease on a number of points. Don’t worry about the rabies vaccine fore now, we have some weeks grace, if I’m still concerned he will help me in seeking an exemption.

He still will not advise the ivermectin as a slow kill at all, nada. He is however quite agreeable to trying an advantage multi/doxycycline slower kill without immiticide. The drug companies won’t and don’t exactly tell them this, nor are their actual studies showing this, (should I be repeating this?), but in his own experience and anecdotal evidence from others are that in general, the worms are cleared within 9 to 12 months in this way is what he told me. It takes longer than with the immiticide and is absolutely not without it’s own risks either though. He would not remain infective to others, nor would he be able to be re-infected. Because they have to give the advantage plus at least 2 months prior to immiticide treatment anyway, I would have that much time to decide whether to go through with the immiticide, except that they usually then give the doxy under a different schedule. They said the worst reaction they have personally expierenced to the immiticide is a welt. He told me they have on average about 2 or so HW cases/month. He is pressing for the the Advantage multi, but I don’t think it is just because his clinic sells it, I think he believes in it. He also said I could later change it to something else if need be. It’s not really priced horrible – 6 for $99.99 plus 3 “free.” I already have a “complimentary” tube.

He gave me the name of a supposedly renowned expert in field who is very much a proponent of advantage multi, and I think he said he wrote some papers on it for The American Heartworm Sociey. Dr Byron Blagburn. I haven’t had time to look for anything about this yet, just some general info;

http://www.vetmed.auburn.edu/faculty/pathobiology-faculty/blagburn#.UxEimfldXeU

He also said I could wait until Monday to start the Advant if I was concerned about some possible kind of reaction while their clinic was closed. He said the only reaction they have persomnally seen is some itching after application at the site, that quickly subsides in about 10 or so minutes.

He was not opposed to taking X-rays, and thought if not neccesary it could still be a good ideal, it was just that most people don’t and want to keep expenses to a minimum. They have a professional radiologist look at them, he only comes in once a month, but they could be sent to him (extra charge of course) for faster results.

This vet is not the senior vets ( which are a married couple) at this office, he was a 2000 graduate. But the vet office and their vets came highly recommended to me by several people. He might not have extensive expierience, but so far, I do like him. Very easy to talk to and get along with, seems like a vet that continues to seek an share knowledge and wants to grow that knowledge. Yet I am still thconsidering about that 2nd opinion or at least another HW test elsewhere. I called some and couldn’t get an appointment before mid-week. I found out Vetco – those traveling clinics that usually appear once a week in Petco stores can do a HW test Sunday at Petco, but not exactly crazy about going that route. There wouldn’t be any second opinion there. Yet I might just do it to confirm and it would get done and with results Sunday.

The baffling trembling episodes are still very troubling to me, but no reoccurences.

Melissa, Thanks so much for the support, your input and your expieriences I have calmed some finally now and I am going to take a day to think things over. I’m going to try and shut my eyes soon 🙂

Patty, I think going by the records I showed him, he said the infection likely couldn’t bhave been more than a 1 1/2 years ago, but not sure on I recall correctly. Thank you Patty, I really appreciate the kind words.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Akari-
Did you get the cat yet. Was your friend able to catch him? Honestly, I’ve never been very diligent about getting my cats vaccinated. After hanging out on this site for a while now, I think I’m glad. Mine are strictly indoor now. But, in the past I had indoor/outdoor cats and didn’t always keep up on shots after their initial ones and never had any problem. But, I certainly don’t want to make any recommendations to you as I don’t know enough about it, other than my experience. Also wanted to remind you to try and stay away from fish based kibble and fish based canned food as much as possible. My senior cat was recently diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and feeding too much iodine from mostly fish seems to be a common cause for it. There was actually some talk about it today on the off-topic thread on the review side of this site. Have fun!

[Yorkieville]

Thank you, Inked Marie. I’m so sorry that you lost four dogs in five years. It hurts so much to lose them. I lost my sweet Sydney, two years to the exact date, before I lost my precious little Kia. They were our children. Kia’s picture is my Avatar. She died, so unnecessarily, and that is why, I am struggling with such deep grief. She was perfectly fine-but a year ago on a Wednesday, she refused her breakfast. She loved breakfast the best, and at 5:30 in the morning, she would be demanding it! She refused it-her little nose seemed stuffy. I gave her Nutri-Cal, then, 1/2 t. of CVS Brand Children’s dye-free/alcohol free decongestant. When she refused another freshly prepared meal, I put a call in to my Vet. He was our Vet for since my sweet Sydney was just 6 months old. All the staff knew me so well, and they knew my girls. Before Sydney died, all I had to do was call, and they’d say, “Which baby, Sydney or Kia?” And I’d get a call back within a few minutes to bring her in immediately.
My Vet always said, “When you call, I know something is wrong, because you know you’re girls so well”.
Well, that afternoon, I spoke with a fairly new receptionist, and I told her, “Kia’s Vet needs to see Kia today-she’s very tiny (4#s) and she’s not eating, and she’s breathing through her mouth.”
She kept asking me to repeat my name, spell it, etc.
My Vet didn’t call me back until 7:45 in the evening. I told him, “Her temp. is down to 96.3” and he said, the decongestant would lower her temp. He said, “With Kia being so tiny, it could be anything. I’m looking at her records, and she had so many teeth pulled last summer, it’s probably an infected tooth. If the decongstant doesn’t relieve her stuffines, bring her into the office in the morning, I’m off on Thursdays, but one of the girls will take care of you”.
This is the same Vet, that used to slip in the back door of the Clinic, meet us in a back room, in his softball uniform, give my girls their vaccinations & go back to his game.
I stayed up with her all night. Listened to her breathing. She wasn’t gasping for breath. But I picked her up in the morning, and she seemed cold. I quickly heated a microvable heat pad, my husband placed her on it in my hands, I wrapped her in her favorite pink blanket, and held her, and she looked into my eyes, trusting that I was going to take care of her. I said to her, “Kia, focus on Mommy. I love you. We’re leaving for the Vet in an hour & you’re going to be fine”. And she made one small sigh, and she was gone.
I was hysterical!
I held her until I knew someone would be in the Vets office. And then, I called and told them, that Kia had died. One of the Techs that knew us so well, met us at the side door, and the Senior partners daughter, who is also a Vet, came into the exam room. She wrapped her arms around me and cried with me. She had lost her two Maltese, two weeks apart.
The next day, my Vet called, and said, “It sounds like it was something in her lungs. Even if you had brought her here, or taken her to the ER, and spent $1,000. we might not have figured out what was wrong.” He knew we had never spared any expense on our girls.
The Vet that took care of us that day, called me about 10 days later, and said her Dad was furious-he said, our Vet should have had us bring her in immediately the evening before and put her on oxygen. They both believed, he would have found what was wrong.
Before MS, I spent 35 years raising Orphaned Wildlife, and I did a lot of work for that Clinic.
So, the Senior partner, was my Wildlife Vet.
I’ve since learned from other people, that my former Vet is all about the money now.

[InkedMarie]

I’m sorry you’re still hurting, Yorkieville. We lost four dogs in five years (we adopt seniors, two who passed were those) but it still hurts. When you’re ready & it’s the right breeder, you’ll know. For what it’s worth, I’m glad you decided top pass on this breeders dog.

[Mom2Cavs]

Sometimes it takes about 2-3 months to find out if a food works for your dog. At least it’s been that way for mine. Sometimes, though, I can tell immediately but other times it takes awhile. I am feeding Annamaet now and the dogs are doing great! I just got some Victor Yukon and Ocean, and lots of samples of the Senior, GF, and Adult. I plan on a rotation of Annamaet, Victor, and Dr. Tim’s and Fromm 4Star. Laverne may not be able to eat some of them due to them having poultry, but we’ll see. If not, she’ll just eat the ones with fish.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 9 months ago by Mom2Cavs.

[Rraupach]

My dog recently had surgery. In the normal pre-op blood work her protein levels were very slightly elevated. The vet said the effect on her kidneys was low, scale of 1 to 10 about a 2, and it wasn’t a big concern. Sandy is 13 years old, mixed breed, about 45 pounds, and has always been an extremely healthy weight so weight loss is not a concern. She is very picky about her food and likes Purina Little Bites! I know this is not the healthiest product for her! My main question is do I need to change her food now to protect her kidneys? What type of senior (dry) foods would you recommend? The site is a little overwhelming in all the foods listed. The vet mentioned something about less protein needed for older dogs, and then I read different ideas about protein on this site. As I’m sure you all understand, Sandy is my baby and as her “person” I want to do everything in my power to keep her around as long as possible!! Thanks so much for your time and help!
Ragan (Rraupach) & Sandy

[pitbullmomma]

First off, so sorry for the loss of your loved one, that’s never an easy thing to go through.

In regards to dog food, a lot of it is going to be trail and error as to what works for your dog! I highly recommend a grain free, but some dogs just can’t handle a grain free (my senior girl gets all constipated)… Champion Pet Foods is one of the best, I love that you can look at their website and find the specific ranches and lakes that their product is sourced from! Another great thing is that the meat is always fresh, never frozen. The fish come straight from the lake to their plant and into the dog food. Can’t get much better than that! But Orijen and Acana can be too rich for some dogs. Merrick has a really great GF food that is still high in meat content, but doesn’t seem to be as rich to the sensitive tummies, and they have a great range of flavors to choose from, which my guys always appreciate. Hope that helps! 🙂

[ExplEngineer]

Thank you. I will look at a lot of the criticisms that you have of the hot dogs, as their nutritional values are always more important than any convenience function. Just brought the boys back from their (Annual in the case of Zeus, 6mos. in the case of Bentley) Vet visit. He was quite complimentary as to their condition, weights and such, which was encouraging, but he was also pretty enthusiastic about their diets (because of their condition) which is something that I want to reconsider given the consensus and commentary. My goal would be to keep them in condition and such while changing over to perhaps better sources of animal protein. Zeus was 232# @38.5″ at the withers, Bentley was 109# @ 28″ at the withers (he was almost exactly 7 mos old on Vet Day). Bentley is the real athlete, but he keeps Zeus active and on his toes. I am hoping to allow Zeus to breed 2x this calendar year, 1x is already booked and I am not that anxious to exceed that pace. Hopefully, there will be some English Mastiff-centric commentary on whether Bentley is making his growth gates, and such. Thank (all of) you for your contributions, and your thoughts on their feeding program. I agree somewhat about the eating schedule, but unfortunately, they were raised on the “grazing theory” and it is difficult for me to have the heart to cause them to be hungry for as long as it takes to change them over without a good reason. Their eating habits are not really their fault, it was how they were conditioned, and it really isn’t inconvenient for me so until Bentley reaches his post-Growth Spurt stage his nutrition and calorie consumption balance are #1 with me, and if it means he gets some extra time to eat, I guess have an “Of Counsel” senior partner will give him the (perhaps unfortunate) opportunity to eat a properly complete and full diet and worry about his food discipline later on, and of course “what is good for the goose, is good for the gander” as they say, so Zeus wins round ! by default. Hopefully, this will be their only consequence of a doting and overly protective pet-parent, as I do believe in discipline (actually had some opportunities to learn from some of the strictest of disciplinarians at the Monestary at New Skeet, so I know better.

[jewel0247]

So… I really am frustrated and need some advice.
My 12 year old dog has been on Embark since October and was eating it well at the beginning (ate 2 meals a day and licked the bowl clean), then I had to add meat toppings for her to eat it… now she doesn’t even bother eating any of it with the toppings! She has done this repeatedly with any dog food; eats it great for 2 months… then stops cold turkey and will go on hunger strikes.

I’ve tried the 15-30 min rule of picking up the food even if she doesn’t eat…. but the problem is because she is old, she will vomit yellow bile if her stomach is too empty. So I really need her to eat 2 meals a day! Her previous owner kept food (milk bones, etc.) out all the time, switched flavors a lot, and 1 meal at night thing.

I don’t think she is ‘sick’… she wants table scraps and begs frequently (still acts her normal self)… and I’ve taken her to the vet multiple times over the summer. They have done blood and urine tests, X-rays, etc… nothing huge was detected. I think she has been fighting off yeast issues; she scratched repeatedly before and smelled yeasty, but is doing much better with that thanks to coconut oil, digestive enzymes, apple cider vinegar and probiotics.

I did get desperate so I bought her nature’s variety instinct can and the kibble; she’s been a hit and miss with that, but now her stool is more loose. Sigh.

Please help

[Shasta220]

Aj, I wondered if it might be a problem to get a brush in there, some dogs are a but tougher to do. I would advise having the vet do a dental. It’s a bit spendy, but we had our senior lab’s teeth cleaned, and it was incredible! When she gave us kisses, there was ZERO odor to it! Plus, if you can get at least one dental cleaning in, it’ll be WAY easier to stay on top of dental care with sprays/additives/chews/etc. I also know many people who add a spoonful of organic coconut oil to the food, it is very good for oral health.

Best wishes to you and your furry friend! What breed is your dog? 🙂

[Shasta220]

We are looking around for ActiFlex 4000 for our dogs right now. It’s the only economical joint supplement that we can find so far… At $30-40 for 32oz (aka 64tbsp or 192tsp), I figured it’s better than $20 for a 15-20 day supply.

Anyway, how many mg of glucosamine should Cassy get? She’s a 12y.o. Labrador/GSD, weighing about 65lb.

Here’s the supplemental values of an ounce (2tbsp) of Actiflex:
Glucosamine Sulfate 8,000 mg.
Chondroitin Sulfate 4,000 mg.
Type II Collagen 3,000 mg.
MSM 3,000 mg.
Ester C (Ascorbic Acid) 1,000 mg.
Yucca 150 mg.
Hyaluronic Acid (HA) 125 mg.

One tsp has about 1,333mg glucosamine, so half as much chondroitin, etc. I think I’ve read somewhere that the suggested dosage for a dog her size would be 1/2tsp (1tsp for first week)… That’d be about 666mg glucosamine. Is that a good amount for her, or could she handle more?

There /is/ glucosamine/chondroitin in her food, but she gets barely 100mg of g and 15-20 of c, so it doesn’t do anything for her.

Thanks for the help! I’m really not looking for suggestions about a better supplement out there, because this is the only thing so far that will work with my wallet, as I’m an unemployed teenager who pays for all of Cassy’s extra supplements. I’m just wondering about proper dosage and what the max amount of glucosamine a senior 65lb pooch can get.

[minit]

my 20lb, 13 yr old JRT suffers from mitral valve disease & an enlarged heart. He was eating Nature’s Variety Instinct dry until about 6 months ago when he started to lose his appetite. Switched to Instinct canned over the next few months until he stopped eating that as well. Have always hesitated changing his food too rapidly because of diarrhea & resulting anal gland issues, but have just taken the plunge & bought a variety of super premium wet foods in the hope of just keeping him interested. Added Swanson’s Dr.Langer’s 15 strain probiotics to his cocktail of drugs & supplements. He looks good & is gaining back a little weight, but the diarrhea, gas & noisy gut are worse. To put things in perspective, he’s outlived his life expectancy by 2 years since his heart disease was discovered. Every day we have is a gift at this point. He doesn’t seem to be able to keep large meals down (perhaps because his heart is so enlarged it reduces the capacity of his stomach) so I feed him 3 small meals a day. He likes canned pumpkin, but it doesn’t seem to help much w/ the diarrhea & I worry that he’s not getting enough protein & fat if I add too much to his small meals… I think I’m going to have to give up on the variety of canned foods & go back to just one for as long as he’ll eat it to stave off the diarrhea. What’s my best bet for high protein/fat yet not going to make his digestive issues worse?

[RescueDaneMom]

Jazz Lover,

The general consensus is that puppies can start regulating calcium uptake around 8-10 months old. To play is really safe you could wait until 1 year.

Read this for an understanding of what “all life stages” means: /frequently-asked-questions/aafco-nutrient-profiles/

Essentially you can feed an “all life stages” food to a puppy because it is approved for growth and reproduction as well as adult maintenance. A lot of the labels on foods (ie large breed puppy, large breed adult, senior, etc) is just marketing. If pet food companies really knew what they were doing in formulating dog foods, there would be a lot more “large breed puppy” foods on the list. If I were you, I would not get caught up on the label. You don’t have to feed a food specifically for a large breed puppy or large breed adult. You need to make sure it is approved by AAFCO for growth and reproduction (aka puppy food) or all life stages.

I had to google FCP surgery. This was done to correct elbow dysplasia? As far as supplements go, I have heard the same. You don’t want to give supplements until they are done growing. I think you’d be safe starting them at 1 year. Does your vet have an opinion on this? I think you are ok with giving the salmon oil as long as you account for the calories that it adds. How much you feed will depend on the body condition of your dog. It is hard to say how much his metabolism will slow down. I would just watch his form and if he looks like he’s getting chunky, cut back on the food. If he starts to look too skinny, increase his food. Refer to the body condition chart in the Dr. Becker article I posted previously. I keep my dog lean because he is older and has arthritis. It is much easier on the joints.

Bottom line- if I were you I would continue to feed a food on HDM’s list and hold off on additional supplements until 1 year or per your vet’s instructions. I hope that is helpful to you.

[js393784]

I have a question for everyone -I have a senior female pit bull and a male jack Russell/dachshund mix who is very active. I had them on Merrick grain Free and they were doing pretty well, but I switched them to Taste Of the Wild because money was a little tight. Now that I found out that TOTW is owned by Diamond I definitely want to get them off. I recently went to the pet store and saw the Back to Basics grain free and organ meat brands. B2B grain free and Merrick are about the same price, but the organ meat B2B is about $20 more. Are any better than the others? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Shasta220]

I was following the “Joint Health” thread, and some people started talking about Actiflex.

Right now, I’m paying about $20/month for our senior lab’s joint supplements (I don’t remember what the brand name is, I think it’s just a store-brand…), and we could easily spend more and give her extra, as her hips need the help. She also has GSD in her, so that sure didn’t seem to help her joints!

Anyway, I found online that Actiflex is 30-40$ for 32oz…(did the calculations, figured it would last our lab 6-8mo) I REALLY want to try it out, as 5$ monthly is a lot nicer sounding than $20+ monthly. But I don’t want to try it and find out it doesn’t work, then be stuck with it.

How well does it seem to work for you guys?

[theBCnut]

Healthy seniors do not need to have their protein reduced. They are less able to absorb the protein in their diet but their need for protein remains exactly the same, so they may need up to 50% more high quality proteins.