As man’s best friend grows alongside us, their needs gradually change. Everything in their life seems to slow down. What are changes to look out for and how to care for a senior dog?
How Aging Affects Dogs
The status of senior varies depending on the breed and size of the dog. Smaller dogs typically are considered seniors from 10 to 12 years old. Whereas, larger breeds enter seniority around the 7 to 8 years old. At this stage of life the needs of your dogs change compared to when they were younger. As such it is important to note that your pets can no longer be treated the same. As they age, they may experience:
- Joint stiffness and energy changes: Your dog is less agile, having difficulties moving around. Additionally, your pet is not as active as before, sleeping for longer, tiring more easily, or less enthusiastic about activity.
- Weight changes: As metabolism and activity levels decline, the same calorie intake may contribute to weight gain.
- Appetite changes: Your companion may lose interest in food it previously ate. This could mean it might be time for a change in diets.
- Poor coat of hair: Aging may affect the quality of your pet’s coat. Pet parents may notice a duller coat or increased shedding in their dog.
- Behavioral or cognitive changes: Your dog may change in the way it behaves. This can manifest as hearing loss, vision loss and canine cognitive dysfunction.
While your dog may not display any of these issues, it is still recommended to observe your dogs. Observation is key when it comes to taking care of senior pets.
But how do we actually care for our best friend?
How to Care For Senior Dogs
The goal of senior care is not slowing down aging, reversing aging, but to provide a comfortable life for your pets. It emphasizes the maintenance of their daily wellbeing, while retaining an active life, mental stimulation and providing support for your friend. There are several key ideas when it comes to providing care for senior dogs:
- Adjust Living Environment
As your pet becomes less mobile, it is important to adjust their living spaces to accommodate them. This plays an important and key role in reducing mental and physical strain.
The living environment should be arranged so that:
- Food and water bowls are convenient to access: They should be able to reach these without jumping or walking long distances.
- A warm and comfortable resting place: As senior dogs spend more time sleeping and resting, their sleeping area should be made to be as comfortable as possible, through cushions or orthopedic-style bedding. Their resting place should also be in a convenient area.
- A stress free and predictable environment: Senior dogs often become more sensitive to stress and environmental disruption.Your dogs need a stable environment with predictable and consistent routines. This helps them feel safe and more relaxed.
- Adjust Physical and Mental Activity
Senior dogs are not as active as before, however, they still require some forms of activity. This is to regulate their physical health as well as providing mental stimulation. It also helps provide routines and activities to keep your pet engaged, which is important when tackling pet boredom (a subject we discuss in detail here).
Pet owners should:
- Provide low-impact exercise: This allows your pet to be active while not causing too much strain on the body of your dog.For example, shorter walks, or swimming.
- Gentle play: This also allows your pet to be moved around, though not excessively, while stimulating them mentally.
- Interactions and companionship: Gentle interactions with your pet allows for your pets to receive mental stimulation. This also provides comfort for your pets which improves their overall emotional wellbeing.
- Veterinary Care
Regular veterinary visits become essential for senior dogs. With senior pet care, early detection and support greatly improves your senior dog's daily wellbeing. Early monitoring helps detect and then prevent common health issues amongst senior pets. Some issues include:
- Joint Problems:
As dogs age, the condition of their joints and the tissue surrounding it start to deteriorate. This can cause common joint problems such as arthritis, which leads to joint stiffness, limited mobility and chronic discomfort.
Veterinarian support allows for early detection of joint decline, and recommends supportive care that helps maintain comfort and movement for your pets.
- Dental Problems:
Oral health problems become increasingly common with age. Your pets’ dental hygiene may decline. This leads to common issues such as plaque and tartar accumulation, irritated gums or weaker teeth. These inevitably cause discomfort for your pets.
Routine veterinary examinations help identify dental issues before they become severe or painful, indirectly improving your pets appetite, nutritional intake, daily comfort and overall health.
- Organ Related Issues:
As dogs age, internal organs also experience gradual wear over time. While many senior dogs remain healthy for years, aging may increase vulnerability to conditions affecting vital organs such as the heart, liver, kidneys or digestive system.
Veterinary examinations help pet owners detect symptoms of conditions affecting these organs before they become severe.
Preventative care is almost always more effective than treatment, which is why pet owners should be vigilant and observe for any gradual changes.
While these actions greatly help support the daily wellbeing of your senior pets, the most vital aspect in senior care is nutrition.
Nutrition, Its Important Role in Senior Care
Senior dogs have different nutritional requirements than younger adults.. As they age, their needs change. Dietary needs change, energy needs shift, their bodies move from muscle development to muscle maintenance. It is also integral to understand that quality feed, such as KEOS and their newest senior care product, matter in the upkeep of your aging pets. The diets and feeding habits of your pets need to change accordingly:
- Feeding Habits
The feeding habits of your senior pet is integral for general upkeep of senior pets as older dogs digest food differently than younger adults. Your dog's digestion, metabolism and energy expenditures shift over time. This requires that your feeding habits become adapted to the current needs of your dog.
This means that consistency, portion control, and feeding routine all play an important role in supporting long-term health and comfort:
- Feeding routines
Senior dogs tend to value routines. It helps support stable and regular digestion and appetite regulation, which helps reduce stomach upset. Irregular feeding habits may place unnecessary stress on the digestive system, especially in older dogs that may already have more sensitive digestion.
But it also serves as an early detection system as any break from routine can be a warning sign for age-related health issues.
- Portion control
As dogs age, their metabolism slows, and activity levels naturally decrease. This means that the quantity of food needs may need adjustment based on body condition and activity level. However, pet owners need to be wary not to underfeed their senior dogs as they need to maintain muscle mass.
- Ensure Proper Hydration
Hydration becomes especially important for aging dogs because water supports digestion, nutrient transport and kidney health.
Senior dogs may sometimes drink inefficiently, or may have a reduced thirst response, which makes them vulnerable to dehydration.
- Adjusting Diet
The nutritional needs of your senior pets also change and must be adjusted accordingly. Senior nutrition is less focused on growth and high energy output, and more focused on maintenance, digestibility, and long-term support. There are several key nutrients to look out for when considering a senior care diet. High quality diets such as KEOS’ newest Adult Senior diet, typically contain:
- High-Quality Digestible Protein
Protein is integral for muscle mass maintenance. However, high quality digestible protein is the key differentiator. Digestibility is even more important for aging pets with less efficient digestive systems. High digestibility ensures that with the same serving, your pet extracts more protein, making better use of dietary protein.
- Omega-3 to Support Healthy Skin and Fur
Omega-3 is a versatile nutrient that helps develop healthy skin and fur as it maintains skin integrity, reducing dryness and promoting a shiny coat.
- Joint Support
Many senior diets also include joint-supporting nutrients which help support healthier joints such as:
- Glucosamine
- Chondroitin
- MSM
- Green-lipped mussel
- Digestive Support
Digestive efficiency is integral to the efficient absorption of nutrients. There are several nutrients that help with digestion namely:
- Prebiotics, which support the intestinal flora.
- Fibre, which helps ease bowel movement
- And digestible ingredients
- Omega-3 and Cognitive Support
Omega-3 fatty acids, particularly DHA (Docosahexaenoic Acid) and EPA (Eicosapentaenoic Acid), are important nutrients that help support brain and nervous system function. These fatty acids are commonly sourced from fish oils and are valued because they contribute to neurological development.
These nutrients may help maintain the cognitive function of your pet.
Ultimately, senior care is all about providing the utmost comfort for your pets in the later stages of their lives. Aging is a natural process of life, where the needs of your dog shifts and needs to be accounted for. Senior dogs may slow down with age, but with attentive care, appropriate nutrition, and consistent support, they can continue to enjoy comfortable, enriching, and meaningful daily lives.
Thoughtfully formulated diets such as KEOS+ Adult Dog Senior are designed to support the changing nutritional needs of aging dogs through balanced and digestible nutrition focused on everyday comfort and well-being.
Because our pups deserve all the care in the world.
