Feeding an Older Dog
Feeding an older dog
Dogs do not become senior on a birthday. They slow down, digest less efficiently, and their organs lose reserve. The diet should change before the problems show, not after.
When is a dog senior?
Roughly from seven in medium breeds, earlier in giant breeds and later in small ones. The better signal is behaviour: less stamina, longer to recover, a coat that dulls, stools that soften more easily.
What changes
A less active senior needs about 20% less energy than the adult food supplied. Keep feeding the adult ration and the weight creeps up, which loads joints and organs.
Not low: older dogs lose muscle and need good protein to keep it. But not maximal either, because excess protein is work for ageing kidneys. Moderate, digestible protein is the balance.
Senior foods carry less than adult foods, which is kinder to kidneys that are quietly losing function.
Green-lipped mussel and omega-3 for joints; fermentable fibre for a gut that is less forgiving than it was.
Digestion in older dogs
Enzyme production and gut resilience decline with age, so soft stool after a rich chew or a food change is more common. A day or two of diarrhoea that a younger dog would shrug off can leave an older dog weak and dehydrated. Do not wait it out. Persistent soft stool can also be the first sign of heart, kidney or liver disease, which is why annual senior checks with bloods are worth doing.
Practical feeding
Smaller, more frequent meals. Food slightly warmed if appetite fades. Weigh monthly and adjust. Water always available and watched: a dog drinking noticeably more is telling you something.
The recipes
Senior (Fit & Vital)Fit & Vital Senior
Mini SeniorUnder 10 kg
NaturCroq SeniorNaturCroq Senior
Arthro Fit Care SnackJoint snack
Medidog Joint Active DropsJoint supplement
If your vet has diagnosed kidney, liver or heart disease, the VET range has a dietetic food for each, and we stock them all.
- your dog is drinking or urinating more than usual
- soft stool lasts more than a couple of days
- weight is changing without a change in feeding
- stiffness, reluctance to jump, or slowing on walks
Based on "On the trail of the runs" by Cornelia Günther, veterinarian, and "Chronic kidney disease in dogs and cats" by Pascale Huber, veterinarian, Happy Dog veterinary team.
Not sure what to feed your dog?
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We’ll match them to Puppy, Junior, Adult or Senior automatically.
