It’s a sad fact of life that every dog gets old eventually. What’s even worse is that many old dogs suffer from limited mobility due to joint problems or other issues. It doesn’t have to be that way, however. If you’re proactive about your dog’s health, you can give them the senior dog nutrition and supplement that they need to stay spry well into their golden years. All it takes is the correct regimen of vitamins and supplements.
1- Why Do You Need To Start Thinking About Senior Dog Nutrition and Supplement?
If you own a senior dog, then it is important to be familiar with the various supplements and nutritional options. This will enable you to preserve your dog’s health and improve its quality of life. Senior dogs, like most elder people, will start to experience various changes including weight gain or greying fur. However, they can also encounter a number of health problems, which might be hard to spot. These issues include joint pain, brain dysfunction, digestive problems, dental disease, and skin and coat issues. However, providing your dog with effective supplements is beneficial in treating these issues and boosting your dog’s life and overall health. As your dog grows older, you should consider providing them with different nutritional and supplementary needs.
This article will discuss the various supplements that you can use to address a number of medical conditions of your senior dog.
2- What Exactly Is A Supplement?
As a senior owner, the first question that should come to your mind is what a supplement means. Well, a supplement is just what its name suggests — a substance such as a vitamin, mineral, herb, amino acid, or a combination of them used to supplement the diet. Supplements are typically administered in pill, capsule, tablet, soft chew, or liquid form.
3- Various Senior Dog Nutrition and Supplements to Address Various Health Conditions
As a senior dog parent, you should keep in mind that a healthy senior dog requires higher quality protein levels in his food than a younger adult dog. Additionally, seniors might be able to digest and absorb nutrients from food. This is owing to several reasons, including dental disease and other medical reasons.
As a dog owner, you should know that many factors may influence the aging process of your dog. These include breed, genetics, physical exercise, and nutrition. Your dog is called a senior when he is seven years of age. Once your dog is a senior, you and your veterinarian should carefully examine his diet and nutritional habits.
Providing your senior dog with good quality nutrition is necessary to help your dog age into a healthy senior pet. A wholesome nutritional diet will help in decreasing the risk of developing serious health issues. This sometimes can be inevitable in the aging process.
If you found out that your dog is suffering from osteoarthritis, you might, after consulting your veterinarian, provide your dog with glucosamine, chondroitin, and green-lipped mussel. These can effectively help protect cartilage in the joints. Adding these products to your dog’s diet might aid him to return to his healthy state.
4- Other Supplementary Ingredients
Other essential supplementary ingredients are antioxidants. If you use these supplements with a variety of behavioral enrichment strategies, you will help in boosting your dog’s memory and cognitive functioning. There are several snacks, vitamins, and food- vegetables and fruits- that include high levels of antioxidants. These supplements include vitamins C and E, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, Granny Smith, and Red Delicious. However, before adding any of these supplements to your dog’s food, you should consider consulting your vet for more information.
For senior dogs who are suffering from cognition problems or arthritis, adding long-chain polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids like eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are great to help nurture and treat your dog for health. These fatty acids can be found in fish oil, or shellfish, such as green-lipped mussels. The addition of omega-3 to the diet may help cure many medical conditions. It can reduce inflammation in joints, help with the presence of any limping, and can also promote cell membrane health. If, however, you fear using any of these above supplements, you can instead opt for high-quality commercial dog food formulated for senior dogs that already contains beneficial ingredients.
5- What Have Researchers found out?
According to research, when dogs reach seven years, their brain’s ability to use glucose as a primary source of energy decreases in functioning properly. This may result in various damages to memory, learning, awareness, and decision-making. If this is the case with your senior dog, you might consider using ingredients, like medium-chain triglyceride oils (MCT oils), to support cognitive health. MCT oils provide the brain with an alternative energy source and improve your dog’s cognitive functioning.
Adding beneficial and proper nutritional and supplementary ingredients to your dog’s diet will have a positive impact on the aging process of your senior dog. Taking considerable care of your dog’s food is necessary to maintain his health and help him lead a good quality of life throughout his senior years.
You should note that every dog is a unique individual with unique needs and requirements. That’s why, before introducing any supplement to your aging dog, you should consult your vet to guide you toward adequate supplements to use for your dog. You also need to take your dog to regular wellness check-ups.
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Last Words
We cannot stop our dog from aging, but we sure can help him live happily up until old age. Moreover, we can surely increase his quality of life. Today’s market offers a wide range of senior dog nutrition and supplement. These can help your dog retain cognitive function, strengthen his heart, improve his bladder control and lubricate his joints. Ensuring that your senior dog stays healthy and comfortable isn’t easy, but it’s well worth it. Your dog deserves to live healthily and happily. For this reason, you need to do your best to choose the best food for him.
