Do senior dogs have special nutritional needs?
“Seniors and geriatrics generally need lower-calorie diets to help prevent obesity — a huge problem in seniors — and higher-fiber diets to improve gastrointestinal health,” Metzger says. “Probably the most important thing for a geriatric dog is that their energy requirement gets lower,” Nunez says. With a slower metabolic rate, older dogs are more likely to become overweight or obese. Many dog food companies now offer “senior” dog food formulations, which Nunez recommends as an “age-appropriate” diet for older pets because they’re lower in calories. If possible, owners should feed their pets foods that are suitable to their stage in life. However, some owners have more than one dog and would prefer to buy just one type of food. In that case, foods labeled “multi-stage” would be acceptable for puppies, adults, and seniors. “You make some compromises when you do the ‘multi-stage’ diets,” Nunez says. “So they’re my second choice. But some people just can’t separate the foods. The puppy
