What Should I Feed My Overweight Senior Dog
Choose a calorie-control formula without compromising on the nutrition. You cannot deny the fact that your aging dog needs a certain amount of nutrition for health maintenance. Fortunately, you can find some options in the market that claims to help with the weight management of senior dogs. Compare your options. Also, control the portion size you are feeding your dog. Eliminate all the excess food and treats and stick to a routine meal with controlled calories.
Related: Best Dog Foods for Weight Loss
Whats The Best Dog Food
Our list includes 10 of the best dog food brands available on the market right now. Of course, not every dog needs the same, and there arent any universal products. You should always bear in mind your pets specific needs, health, and requirements, plus, stay in contact with your veterinarian who knows your dogs medical history and all his health issues; then, you are the one who knows your canines preferences. With all that in mind, you will be able to find the best possible option vet recommended dog food. Our list is only suggestions, or inspiration, for you to learn all about the dog food and to start looking.
Senior Dog Food Buyers Guide
Nutrition is a highly important factor that cannot be ignored across the lifespan of your beloved dog. And when it comes to feeding your senior dog, it should be as important as feeding yourself or a family member. Even when old age takes a toll on your seniors health, you can still keep your dog happy, active, and healthy by ensuring they receive the best nutrition that will keep their immune system healthy, their joints flexible, coat shiny and sleek, and their digestive system smooth.
It is, however, important to note that different breeds may hit the senior stage at different ages and switching to a specified senior diet right away may not be appropriate. The key is to watch and observe if there are clear signs of aging before making that transition.
In this buyers guide, we will discuss all the important aspects related to buying the best senior dog foods to save you from getting all overwhelmed by the selection you can pick from.
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Is It Necessary To Switch To A Senior Dogs Diet Once My Pooch Starts Showing The Signs Of Aging
For dogs, their dietary needs start to change as they get older and it is important to switch to dog food thats specifically designed for seniors to meet their unique nutritional requirements. Making the switch in time can put you at peace knowing that your dog is getting the best diet in this crucial stage of life.
Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw Boost Puppy Blend

Ingredients:;Raw Boost is a premium blend with high-protein kibble and real, raw, freeze-dried meat ingredients to lock in nutrients and keep your puppy growing healthily. Youll find all of the nutrients you need, with a raw taste puppies love.;;;
Price/Where;To;Buy:;You can purchase a bag of Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw Boost Puppy Blend for $39.99 on Chewy.com. You can buy either a 4-lb. or 10-lb. bag.;;;
The Difference:;Natures Variety blends premium ingredients with a commitment to pet health and making a difference in the pet food industry. Its safe to say we can all get behind a cause like that!;;;
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Feeding Recommendations & Obesity
Exact figures vary, but numerous authoritative sources claim that about half of all pet dogs in America are overweight or obese. What accounts for these staggering figures? If you look at the feeding recommendations of your dog food, youll see why. Typically this information comes in the form of a chart with different portion suggestions based on a number of weight classes.
Look closer, though, and youll see that there is often a range of portion sizes offered for each weight. If, for example, youre seeing a suggested portion of ¾ to 1¼ cups for dogs in the 11-15 pound range, thats an increase of 67% . Since dogs are highly motivated by food, its only natural that their owners would make the connection between more food and more love, and base their daily feeding on the high end of that range. More food means more love, right?
Overweight dogs may look cute–who doesnt love a rolly polly pug, after all? But as with humans, the extra weight comes with a host of health issues, including diabetes, increased risk of cancer, hypertension, and a shortened lifespan.;
Except in cases of certain disorders, canine obesity is usually pretty easy to combat. To begin with, cut down on portion size to limit caloric intake, then take Fido to the park and throw a tennis ball around for an hour or so. Diet and exercise isnt just for people.
Can I Feed Regular Adult Dog Food To My Senior Dog
If your adult dogs food has the appropriate nutritional balance as recommended for senior dogs, you can continue and feed the regular adult dog food to your older dog. It is also important to check the ingredients in the recipe to ensure it does not include allergens that could be detrimental to your dogs health.
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Key Differences Between The Worst And Best Dog Foods
- The best dog food will exceed the minimum nutritional requirements Whilst all commercially available foods will reach the minimum required nutritional levels, the minimum is not enough to make your dog fully thrive.
- Protein According to Kate Barrington at Petsumer.com, the best dog food will have over 25% protein. This should be ideally from all animal sources, without using vegetable protein.
- Fat The best foods will have at least 10% fat content.
- Enriched with Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids.
- The first five ingredients on the label should not contain any fillers, by-products, or additives.
What Kind Of Food Should Puppies Eat
Your little munchkin needs to eat high-quality food because puppies are at risk when it comes to nutrition. Dangerous food ingredients can increase their chances of ending up with hip dysplasia. They need food that is easy to digest, especially if they are in a transition period when they start eating solid foods. You need to know how to switch dog foods! In this period, you can soak high-quality kibbles in warm water and blend it into gruel.;
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How Many Calories Should A Dog Eat To Lose Weight
Its recommended that you discuss your particular scenario with your vet. However, to give you a ballpark figure, you should calculate the current number of daily calories youre feeding your dog and reduce it by 250 calories per day until you reach your vets recommended daily calorie intake for your pooch.
Wegmans Bruiser Kibble Variety Mix
This brand of dry dog food has ingredients that have been considered dangerous for dogs to eat, including BHA, xantham gum, BHT, corn gluten, and food coloring.
Wegmans Bruiser Kibble Variety Mix demonstrates the motto that you typically get what you pay for.
It is affordable dog food, but if youre looking to give your dog stable nourishment, you should look for an alternative option.
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Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Urinary So Small Breed Dry Dog Food
Royal Canin products at Chewy
If you have a small dog with any type of urinary issues, this food will help you to keep him in better health and mood. It was specially developed to support the urinary tract and bladder health, which will keep your dog from frequent trips outside and peeing inside the house without making him dehydrated. Its effective and has a great influence on your dogs health, thats why you need your veterinarians authorization to buy it. Royal Canin is one of the most trusted dog food brands that keep providing the dogs with nutrition and foods of high quality.
How Should I Transition My Dog To A New Weight Loss Food

Slow and steady is the key. Change his food gradually over the course of 10 days. For days 1 to 3, mix in 25% new food with 75% old food. Switch this to a 50/50 mix for a few days, increase the ratio to 75% new food with 25% old food, and then start with all-new food after 10 days. If you stick to this simple framework, youll minimize the chance of your dog suffering from any stomach upsets.
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Fromm Gold Weight Management Recipe
This is a sponsored placement, in which an advertiser pays a fee to be featured in this article. Learn more
About: Fromm Gold Weight Management Recipe is a super-premium dog food, designed to taste great, while still helping your pooch to lose a little weight. Free of artificial colors, flavors, and dyes, Fromm Weight Management is full of nutritious ingredients including a few unusual items that are sure to please owners and pups.
Features: Fromm Gold Weight Management Recipe is a slightly unusual food, which distinguishes it from most other weight-loss foods. For example, turkey liver is the very first item on the ingredient list. Several other common proteins are included as well, including duck, chicken meal, menhaden fish meal and lamb.
Fromm is also made with a number of great fats, which help to ensure it tastes great. These include salmon oil and chicken fat, as well as cheese a rather unusual ingredient among dog foods. Along with the salmon oil, flaxseed is included to provide omega-3 fatty acids.
Pearled barley and oatmeal provide the bulk of the carbohydrate content, although brown rice, white rice, and millet also appear on the ingredient list. Carrots, lettuce, and celery also appear amongst the ingredients, and they are included to provide vitamins, minerals and a bit of fiber.
PROS
CONS
Calories per Cup: 341
Turkey Liver, Chicken Meal, Pearled Barley, Oatmeal, Dried Tomato Pomace…,
The 10 Best Dog Foods For Weight Loss
The best dog food for weight loss is one made from wholesome, natural ingredients in a nutritionally balanced formula. The food should be made with lean sources of animal protein, digestible carbohydrates, and limited calorie and fat content. Youll need to choose the right recipe for your dog based on his preferences and any existing food sensitivities, but there are plenty of options.
Heres our top pick for the best dog food for weight loss:
Our 2021 Picks: Best Weight Loss Dog Foods |
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Wellness Complete Health Healthy Weight Dog Food
Compared to the other products in this list, the Wellness Complete Health Healthy Weight Natural Dry Dog Food is not actually low-calorie dog food. Instead, it can be aptly classified as average. The good news is that Wellness has added chondroitin and glucosamine in the formulation to strengthen the joints and improve their ability to bear the weight of your dogs body. It comes with probiotics, too, to help improve digestion, ensuring that all of the nutrients in the dog food are utilized by your pet to the fullest.
Calorie content: 405 per cup
Minimum %age of proteins: 24
Minimum %age of fats: 10
1st five ingredients: deboned chicken and chicken meal, ground brown rice, oatmeal, and ground barley
With taurine, essential fatty acids, chondroitin, and glucosamine
With 20 million CFU/lb probiotics
- Brand: Wellness Natural Pet Food
- Model: 89103
Which Popular Dog Food Is The Cheapest
Varying package sizes and different portion size recommendations make it tricky working out how much your dog food is actually costing you each month.
We’ve compared the monthly cost of the three most popular brands of dog food, as well as the best and worst scoring brands from our survey.;
Costs are based on an average medium dog , like a French Bulldog, and an average large dog , like a Border Collie, on a simple dry food diet.;
Here’s an overall look comparing monthly costs between Burns, Royal Canin, Harringtons, Bakers, and Hill’s dog food.
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Aafco Nutritional Adequacy Statement
Check to see if the food has an AAFCO statement to indicate that the food is nutritionally complete and balanced for your dog’s specific life stage.;
Foods that contain an AAFCO statement have been verified through laboratory testing and in some cases, feeding trials to confirm they are complete and balanced for a particular life stage of a dog, says Dr. Erin Katribe, DVM, MS, medical director and veterinarian for Best Friends Animal Society. Other things to look for on the label include mention of the companys quality control process, and if the company provides contact information and is available for questions.
Choosing Nothing But The Best
To ensure that your dogs living his best life even at an older age, providing him with the best diet is essential. In an effort to help you narrow down your options and make a wise decision, we have listed and reviewed the 17 best senior dog foods in this article. With maximum customer approval rating and the best-sourced protein, I believe these options are great for providing your big guy with the nutrition they need to keep that tail wagging and maintaining excellent health.
References & Resources:
Read Also: What Dog Food Should I Feed My Dog
Whole Earth Farms Dry Dog Food
Rating:
Whole Earth Farms Adult recipe is one of 2 kibble recipes included in our review of the Whole Earth Farms product line.
- First 5 ingredients: Chicken meal, turkey meal, brown rice, oatmeal, barley
- Type: Grain-inclusive
- Other recipes: Small breed, turkey, salmon, pork, beef, puppy and more
- Price: $
- See both available recipes
This Whole Earth Farms product derives the bulk of its meat protein from chicken and turkey meals. Our dry matter label analysis reveals the recipe contains 29% protein, 16% fat and 47% estimated carbs which results in a fat-to-protein ratio of about 54%.
A quality yet affordable, grain-inclusive kibble made by Merrick. Highly recommended.
Sample buyer reviewI recently switched to this food due to the recent controversy over Grain Free. This was the only affordable food I found with quality ingredients listed. My dogs love it and it will be the only food I fees from now on.
This Holistic Select formula derives most of its meat protein from fresh salmon, as well as anchovy and sardine meal. Our dry matter label analysis reveals the recipe contains 32% protein, 16% fat and 44% estimated carbs producing a fat-to-protein ratio of about 48%.
An exceptional grain-free dog food offering numerous recipe and flavor options. Highly recommended.
What Are The Most Common Health Conditions Caused By Canine Obesity

Hypertension occurs more frequently in obese dogs. Obese dogs are also at heightened risk of diabetes and pancreatitis. Overweight dogs are much more prone to heart disease, and the structure of the heart undergoes changes in obese dogs that can lead to impaired function. Middle-aged and senior overweight dogs are also more likely to get arthritis. Losing weight can improve this.
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Blood Tests Dont Lieand Hoochs Numbers Shifted Drastically In Just The First 6 Weeks We Made These Diet And Lifestyle Changes
He noticeably had more energy, was suffering less from inflammation, was shedding less with a more luxurious coat, and for the first time EVER he had zero bloating! NO GAS for the first time in his entire life! The best news though, was that those stage 4 kidney disease blood levels he had at his yearly checkup had climbed back up to to midrange stage 1 kidney disease blood levels! The extra time and energy invested in making his food and the other small changes we made to his lifestyle have given us more quality time with our beloved Hooch which is more than we could have ever hoped for!
If youve made our Easy Homemade Dog Food for your pup I would be so grateful if you would;rate the recipe and let me know what you think in the comments below!;I just love hearing from you and your;reviews and comments really help others that visit This Mess is Ours.;Want to be a part of our online community outside of the blog? Its easy!! All you have to do is follow @THISMESSISOURS on , , , , or to see cooking demos, and peeks into our day to day life.
- Prep Time:30
790 grams cooked organic brown rice
700 grams ground lean beef, cooked through, fat drained
4 hard boiled eggs, peeled and diced small
207 grams carrots, shredded or thinly sliced
14 grams minced curly parsley
22 grams of olive or safflower oil
The Best Dog Food According To Experts And Veterinarians
Our editors independently selected these items because we think you will enjoy them and might like them at these prices. If you purchase something through our links, we may earn a commission. Pricing and availability are accurate as of publish time. Learn more about Shop TODAY.
Dogs provide humans with unconditional love and emotional support, which pet owners might be especially thankful for during the stressful times we are living through. Feeding your dog a nutritious diet is just one way to show them how much you care, in addition to providing them with the right dog bed, toys to play with and the occasional dog treat. Simply put, dogs deserve to eat well in fact, appropriate food is fourth in the American Veterinary Medical Associations Guidelines for Responsible Pet Ownership. And with currently underway, you can find savings on many top-rated pet products.
SKIP AHEAD How to shop for dog food
Aiming for the best food for dogs gives them distinct health advantages, too, said Jennifer Freeman, DVM, resident veterinarian and pet care expert at PetSmart. Premium dog food will include meat for protein, vitamin-packed vegetables and fruit, and omega fatty acids for a shiny coat, Freeman said, adding its also likely to have fewer fillers such as corn, wheat, and soy.
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