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Switching to a "senior" diet…

Basenji Feeding
  • WooflessW

    Just curious about anybody's opinions regarding the necessity of switching to a "senior" dog food when the pups start getting older.

    I have heard both schools of thought on this. Folks say it's either necessary or it's not. I don't feed one of those "all life stages" foods (and buying one means either a 90 mile trip or mail-order, both of which are options I'd like to avoid :).

    Jibini will be 9 this December and he seems increasingly less tolerant to dietary changes. Now he seems to get loose stool a lot more frequently- even though he gets NO table food, no extra tidbits, and only one type of treat (Wellness brand) very infrequently. He is currently eating Blue Buffalo adult formula, which he's eaten for probably 3 yrs now with no problems. Chloe eats it as well & she is fine, so I think it's Jibini's problem, not a funny bag of food or something.

    I hope to be able to make the switch to raw once we complete our move; I plan on raising my own chickens & rabbits. But for now, kibble it is….and Blue Buffalo is the best food I can get within a reasonable distance since Tractor Supply sells it.

    So any opinions? Do I try Jibini on the Blue senior diet; is there a supplement that might help, or do I need to bite the bullet & put him on another brand (suggestions?)
    Thanks!

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  • BasenjimammaB

    You might want to try to give him some enzymes or probiotics. There are several pet brands out there, some people even give their dogs yogurt for probiotics and it works great.
    I have given Otis in the past, pumpkin in the can, not the pumpkin pie filling but the plain Libby's pumpkin and it works wonders on loose stool.
    Give him only 1tbsp mixed in with his food. All my dogs are on raw and I highly recommend it, but understand that you want to wait until you are in a better place in life..Blue buffalo is good food, I really like the grainfree version, maybe "wild??"something I don't remember, sorry.

    Petra and Pippin

    with Otis in my heart…

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  • BDawgB

    My dogs are both on senior diets. I think the main difference is the amount of calories. The senior food is less calorie dense because the assumption is your dog is less active. Most of them also have supplements for joints andother old age issues. My kids will pick Blue Buffalo apart and only eat one type of the pellets. Grrr. So they're currently on Merrick's Senior blend. And I also considered Wellness's Senior forumula. I've also heard salmon oil is supposed to be good for older dogs. ?? But I've never tried it.

    Miles & Lexi's Mom

    www.stelladot.com/barrick

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  • agilebasenjiA

    My boyz (almost 13, almost 12) are on Evo small bites. One gets probiotics in the evening meal, the other not. Both are on joint sups.

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    agilebasenjiA
    i should add that, as long as the hips/knees are good or excellent, I don't mind my seniors carrying a few extra pounds. years ago we had a lab who was dysplastic and I was very careful she NEVER carried extra weight. Jet's ideal weight is about 26 and he maybe a few pounds overweight. It's a little more difficult for the seniors to bounce back from any sort of illness and Jet's hips were OFA'd Good, so I don't worry about a little extra. The veggies will add fiber to the dogs' meals and help fill them up. I would not use canned as it tends to be high in sodium. If they don't like the veggies, you may want to try to cook them in a little chicken broth to help the flavor. or you can decide if they aren't hungry enough to eat the veggies, they aren't really hungry. My house is colder in the winter, so I tend to feed the b's 1/3-1/2 a cup 2x a day. And I tend to train more during the nicer days, so Z gets very little at meal time as I have to watch that. (I use lots of treats during training.) But really, I would not switch to a different food just to reduce the weight. For Z I also usually use a puzzle toy for feeding her meals so it lasts longer. For comparison, Zest!'s official measurements (for AKC agility) were 15.88 and 16 inches and I think she looks best at 20 pounds.
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    I agree with agilebasenji… yes he needs checked. But, I also need to ask if you are reading up and following raw diet protocols or JUST feeding meat. Dogs need more than meat. It is possible you are doing damage by not having that diet balanced since you say almost entirely protein.
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    "human" food or dog food?

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    P
    I once had a pup under treatment at the Bristol Veterinary hospital. When they finally sorted the problem I was told now you'll be able to give him real food meaning kibble!1 I always feed raw and whatever but never complete dog food. Having said that it seems that over here we get a new dog food manufactutrer every month and all claim that theirs is the best!!
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    BasenjimammaB
    I tried answering via my phone, but I guess it didn't work. I usually don't measure but mix it all into their meats, or kibble if they are on it. They love quinoa, shoot they love anything coming from the kitchen..:) Usually a few times a week, to maybe three times a week, veggies they get daily and green smoothies, at least Otis, he adores my green smoothies.
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    Hello, thebartsch! Welcome. I was told that itching that starts from the tail/back and moves forward is usually flea bites. But if the itching stopped with a change of food, that's great too. I realize this thread is slightly old, but those that feed Blue Buffalo should know about this: http://news.vin.com/VINNews.aspx?articleId=16468
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    tanzaT
    @mauigirl: I spent quite some time at Carol Webb's when I was going around meeting breeders and we talked about feeding and giving raw meat. One thing I remember her saying is that it's important to not feed raw meat and dry kibble in the same meal because they get digested at different rates. In the future I will probably try giving Zip a handful of raw meals a week and see how she does. I'm not sure how I'd make that transition though. Right now she's doing fine on Innova. She is correct about the kibble and the raw meat..