Time to change food... I think... my girl's getting old

[Rachelle]

Hi everyone!

I haven't been on for a long time! 

My mini Eskie, Dolly, was 8 last June.  She's a sweet girl and just gets better with age.

I'm wondering if it is time to change food to a senior food.  She is also overweight.  The overweight part is my fault.  Totally my fault.  I didn't notice the weight creeping up on her and now we need to get her down.  I've been managing her food intake like I should've been all along and getting more exercise, which she wasn't getting enough of... so we're on the way.

I considered switching to a weight control variety, but at her age, should it be weight control senior or .. ?  She's on Science Diet Lamb and Rice and I want to get away from Science Diet as well.  I do need to stay away from Chicken/Beef types.   So any food suggestions are welcome, but more to the point, wondering when going to senior is best for an Eskie.

Thanks!!!!!

[Whytepine]

I've got my older dogs on Fromm's Senior Gold which is also considered a reduced calorie formula.  It's one of the few senior formulas that the dogs have done really well on and also lost the weight that was needed.

If I remember right, Science Diet has corn in it.  The way I look at corn in any food is if you want to 'fatten' something up, feed corn.  That's why so many farmers feed corn to their animals to put weight on.

[eskieagilitygal]

I think a lot depends on the dog and their activity level.  I have a 12-13 year old who if I gave a Senior food too would look at me and say "What's with this?   Blah! "  He's the perfect weight now and maintaining it well.   I also had a little beagle who passed at 18 years,  who weighed 18 lbs. his entire life and I never fed him Senior food.   Don't think they had it back then.  LoL!

[Saint Mom]

In the link below, it explains a bit what is going on with our Geriatrics dogs and how to take care of them during that segment of their lives. It is a class I took (amongst many others over 3 years) on understanding our little dog world. Somewhere towards the end of my 1st post you'll see how this vet/teacher feels about dog food and the portion required.

http://forum.eskie.net/index.php/topic,13747.0.html

[Paula N.]

Rachelle (such a pretty name!) -

I had a big Reply typed and then a finger hit something (don't know what) and it vanished.  Aihme!!!  Gnashing of teeth.

My Angel now is going to turn 11 the first of 2012 and I am so far keeping her on the same food that she's been on for several years.  She tends to put on weight and I tried for years to get her to lose some with so-called "weight management" foods.  These were by and large mostly high carbohydrate.  Then one day I ran across an article from the Journal of Nutrition which said that high protein, low carbohydrate food helped dogs lose weight.  So I immediately put Angel on Wellness CORE and at about the same time adopted Sweet Pea.  I think the combination of food, and extra exercise with SP accomplished weight loss for Angel.

 Wellness CORE somewhere along the way added "low calorie" to their formula and now it is also "grain-free".  Whytepine nailed it when she said corn is used to fatten.  You might want to check to see if your food contains much corn.  Also I always look for calorie content, and it is not always printed on the bag.  Often you have to go to the manufacturer's website, or else email them.  The only one who never answered my email was Precise. 

I don't feel 8 is very old for one of our Eskies, but probably others on the Board can advise about that.  I do think, though, with Angel approaching 11 that she must be in the "senior" category.  Anyway, I always have the vet do the bloodwork - (never anything wrong), and I give her glucosamine and chondroitin in case she has or is developing osteoarthritis. 

Good luck with Dolly.  This Board is just terrific and you can learn a lot here.  Stay with us!

[Rigby]

Our 22 lb. Eskie (perfect weight - on a perfect day) is now 7 years and 5 months.  He has been eating Fromms Four Star Salmon A La Veg alternated with Fromms Duck & Sweet Potato since he was 9 months old.  Fortunately sold by our Toronto, Canada groomer because it used to be hard to find here prior to the China dog food scare.  But over the past month his poops have been getting softer - he will have normal ones and then soft for a few days (but not cannon butt).  I too have been wondering if a change in diet is called for.  He is still very puppy-like in his behavior.  It is possible that the softer poops are as a result of the eye drops/ointments etc. he has been on since May 25 when he was diagnosed with conjunctivitis that was really an ulcer beginning to form that healed and is now a corneal abscess which at our Aug. 23 appointment was scarring - turning white rather than yellow - but surgery is still not ruled out.  His drops have been reduced to once a day, but the poop issues started about a month ago - so not sure at this point if the drops have caught up with him.  I did not know that Fromms is making a Senior food - I will have to ask our Groomer about this - maybe she can bring it in.  She is selling a lot of Fromms these days and certainly many of the dogs she grooms are getting on in years.  Certainly our Eskie is not "old" for an Eskie - but when he had his last dental done in April he had just turned 7 so was automatically given the "geriatric" blood panel - 7 is the age that our vet starts doing this, unless there is a reason for doing it earlier.  We had a Beagle years ago who lived to be nearly 20 and never gained weight (and Beagles EAT) and in those days as other poster pointed out, we didn't even know about senior dog food. Heck in those days Alpo was considered a premium food.  No health issues at all.  Our Eskie has had to go on a diet twice now - thanks to husband who tends to be too generous with the extras - it isn't the size of the extra, it is the principle I keep telling him.  I finally got his weight down by reducing the amount of his breakfast and dinner kibble - no way could I cut down on his low fat treats - he can count.  Our canine eye specialist gave us permission to have him groomed last week - had to wait due to eye issue - so now he looks thinner but I think he is up 2 lbs.  Now if only our pet insurance covered the "rechecks" - the company doesn't and it has become a serious, non-funny joke.  But we are afraid to cancel the insurance in case he needs eye surgery or maybe the softer poops are a sign of something else.  Good luck with your pup's diet.  A dog  on a diet is a terrible thing.  The looks...

[katie's mom]

Helene:  Thank you so much for that information!  I copied it into a WORD document that I can continue to consult as Sadie negotiates her way through her "golden years."  It really is such a help!

[Rachelle]

Thanks so much for the replies! 

I can't believe I failed to say how much of an issue skin allergies are with her.  Duh.  She's been on Science Diet Lamb Meal and Rice her entire life, from pup formula to adult.  Never had anything else.  Her skin allergies have only gotten worse over the past couple of years.  I suspect a flea allergy as well, though I have three vets and two agree, one says no.. ugh. 

I recently added a new pup to the house and went researching pup foods.  I was embarrassed to see how many better, holistic, natural foods there are now that I could've tried long ago.  Bad doggy mama. 

Anyway I need to change and need to do it soon.  I am very worried about the meds she seems to have to constantly take, esp all summer, for her skin.  Very worried about the effects on her liver.  A new food may not help anything, but I know I can do better than Science Diet.

Can anyone whose dog has fairly severe skin allergy issues recommend a good food specific to that problem?  The weight loss is secondary; we have upped our walking and walking offleash on the trails, as well as cutting down food a bit and have lost a little.  Also from your responses, it would seem I'm a bit premature on the "sr" concerns.. if there are any at all.