Senior Dogs

If you have been reading my blogs, you know that I adopted Beau when he was 2 years old from a rescue group. They found him in a pound in St. Louis, MO that kept no records of how the pets arrived at the pound or anything about their history so his age was just a best guess.

I have had Beau for just over 9 years now so if they guessed his age right, he was 11 years old in July. A dog is considered senior at 7 and should be started on senior dog food which is easier for their system to digest and has more of the nutrients that an older dog needs.

We have all been told that puppies need to be fed 2-3 times a day but after a year old you can go to feeding once a day which is what I did for many years. A couple of years ago my husband and I got to talking about the dogs feeding schedule and we decided to feed twice a day. When you really think about it, it doesn't seem right to feed them one big meal every day. We are told to eat more smaller meals instead of a couple of big meals so it just makes sense that the same would apply to them.

At the time we had Beau and Pepper, the black lab mix who's picture is posted on one of my blogs. Pepper is the kind of dog that will eat everything you give her and still want more. Beau never has been a big eater so going to 2 smaller meals worked out great for him.

A big thing you need to watch for in any dog but especially older dogs is overeating. If a dog is over weight, it not only puts strain on their joints but also their internal organs. It's really hard to say no to those begging eyes but treats need to be given in moderation.

I started Beau on a natural diet about 3 months ago and he's been doing great on it! He has always been one that I had to coax to eat but now he gets very excited about meal times. I do give him about a third of a cup of senior dog food with about a cup and a half of the natural diet. When I was feeding just the natural diet he seemed hungry all the time and by adding a little dry food he seems more satisfied.

If you are interested in feeding a natural diet, I posted the recipe in my June 27, 2009 blog. You can type "recipe" in the search bar at the right to pull that blog up. I am getting ready to start experimenting with different recipes and will keep you posted on how that goes.

Through my travels I have talked to a lot of pet owners and picked up good advice along the way. One owner's vet had told him the best thing he could do for his senior dog was to keep his mind stimulated. If a dog is left to just lay around all day in the yard, on a chain or even in the house, he has little to occupy his mind and will go downhill just like people do.

This owner's solution to keeping his senior dog's mind stimulated was to take him to the vet's office early every morning before the office opened and let him walk around the building smelling where all the other dogs had been the day before. His dog looked forward to this and thoroughly investigated every smell around the building.

Our solution to keeping Beau stimulated was to get another dog for him to play with. I take Beau for several walks a day and he enjoys checking out new smells but we could tell that he needed more. Beau has never been an only dog since I've had him so I knew he enjoyed other canine companionship.

We got Katie as a puppy and she fell in love with Beau instantly but it took him a couple of weeks to really start interacting with her. They love playing together and he is much more active and happy.

One of the first thing people ask me when they meet Beau is if he has any trouble with his hips. A couple of years ago I started giving him glucosomine hoping to delay any potential joint problems. He does have a little arthritis and needs help getting into the back of my jeep but he is doing great!!