The Very Best Food Recommended for Older Dogs

As dogs grow old, their teeth and gums may be less equipped to handle the same tough, crunchy food they once could. It's important to assess your dog's diet and chewing ability throughout its development, in order to determine how you can accommodate its changing needs. Older dogs typically require different foods than younger dogs.

  1. Dietary Habits

    • As part of the natural aging process, older dogs develop weaker jaws, teeth and gums, and so the food for older dogs should be chewier and require less strength. Keep in mind that if a dog continues to eat crunchy food with no noticeable change in pace or amount consumed, there is no need to change the dog's food.

    Types of Food

    • Dogs that require softer food have a lot of options, including canned food, softer dry food, liquid food (similar to a human smoothie) or a combination of some of these. When you're switching from hard food to softer food, veterinarians recommend that you mix dry food with wet food at first, in order to make sure that the transition is smooth.

    Nutrients

    • Food labels for dog food might have confusing lists of random and unfamiliar ingredients, but the key is that older dogs need certain nutrients. A balanced diet of fats, carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals and water makes for a healthy dog. You may want to increase your dog's protein consumption as well because older dogs typically do not absorb protein in their system as well as younger dogs. Be sure to choose high-quality protein.

    What to Buy

    • Always check the side of your dog food package to ensure it has an AAFCO nutritional adequacy statement that guarantees the proper nutritional value that dogs need. Pedigree, Iams, Natural Choice and Blue offer healthy AAFCO-approved choices for older dogs. Keep in mind that, when you buy dog food, you may not need to buy as much food. Wet food fills up a dog much more than dry food, and although wet food may be more expensive, you'll probably have to buy less quantity.