Our boxer, Jagger, is 6 years old, the the vet is saying he's at the age to switch over to a more senior diet. We've had him on TOTW for a number of years now (prior to that California Natural, and Wellness puppy). He's done well with TOTW. But now we're having to look for a senior formula for him. Any suggestions?
Personally, I have never fed senior food! As long as your boxer is healthy and getting lots of exercise, I would feed him an all life stages food.
I had Arabella on TOTW for the first 6 years of her life, and the only reason we switched was she was having digestive issues. If your boy is slowing down and gaining weight you can just cut back on the food. The main difference in senior formulas are they are lower in fat. When I did switch Arabella over, I really liked Petcurean's NOW senior formula, but I can't find it in my area so I have switched to the Wellness Core Reduced Fat about two months ago . The problem with that is she now losing weight on it. I have just increased the amount I am feeding her to 3/4 cup more than what the bag recommended. So I will see how that goes.
I switched to senior food at the end of the summer because the vet said he needed to drop some weight which he did , however my Mum said just yesterday that she thought that he had dropped a bit more .. I'm not too sure so I'll just have to keep an eye on him .. I'd like to keep him as he is now even though there are no back ribs showing I don't want him that thin ..
I actually have a problem making sure Jackson, a senior, maintains a good weight. Right now, he's on Victor Grain Free Salmon. He's also been on TOTW Pacific Stream, which is lower in calories and fat than some of the other varieties (which is why I switched him to Victor). If you need a lower fat to control weight, try Wellness Core Reduced Fat (still has a good protein level), Annamaet Lean, or Now Grain Free Senior. I have a problem with most senior foods. Most are high in carbs and low in protein.
Yeah senior diets are a bit of a gimmick (Also, it's not possible for 6 to be a senior, because Juno is almost 6 and I refuse to believe she could be classified as such!! ) I also have a 9 year old dog and a 12-14ish year old dog who are just on regular adult, maintenance diets. Reasons senior diets usually get recommended: -Lower calorie/lower fat, since seniors "tend" to be less active and gain weight, but that doesn't have to be the case and if it is a problem... just cut back on food -They usually have glucosamine/chondroitin added, but the amounts added in food are so small and not nearly enough to be therapeutic -Lower protein, there is a belief that "too much" protein is hard on the kidneys, so seniors should be on low protein to put less stress on their kidneys. But this belief is shifting that high quality protein should not be difficult for the kidneys to process, and protein is good for a lot of things! SO if you're happy with what you're feeding him, I see no reason to change