[Haley F]

Hello! I am purchasing a new food for my family’s 12 year old Chow Chow and 9 year old Westie. I would like some advice on whether a senior formula is really more beneficial for older dogs or if it will yield the same nutritional results as the adult formula. Here is a little info on each:

Senior:
Calories- 3636
Protein- 23.99
Fat- 12.60
Fiber- 3.54

Adult:
Calories- 4168
Protein- 26.96
Fat- 16.63
Fiber- 3.6

[InkedMarie]

For the most part, senior foods are too low in protein. Senior dogs need hiher protein, not low. The only senior dog food I’d use is Orijen senior.

[Patti S]

A lot of it depends on your dog’s activity levels. If your dog is doing well on his current food, there’s no reason to change it, simply because of his age. You might want to read this short article:

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/05/05/surprising-findings-from-tufts-study-of-37-senior-dog-foods.aspx

[C4D]

I agree with InkedMarie. I’ve had many dogs and one of my current dogs is a lab that’s almost 11. I never feed senior formulas. My large dogs live to the 15 year range. Older dogs need more not less protein as they don’t metabolize it as well. The thing you need to watch is their weight. Excess weight is hard on their bodies and joints in particular. Patti S included an excellent link.

Out of curiosity, what foods are you comparing and feeding? So many vary in quality. You might want to consider adding some fresh food to help your older dogs maintain their health.

• This reply was modified 9 years ago by C4D.

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