Senior sheepdogs and weight
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| At fifteen her body is not using the food the way it should. Gradually switch her over to a senior product. Her kidneys probably aren't up to par now so you want less sodium as well. Dog treats are often high in sodium, might be time to teach her the wonders of apples and carrots. Older dogs are more prone to constipation, so higher fiber food is suggested. Seniors lose muscle mass so some of that weight loss may be muscle. You should probably have a senior blood panel done on her to determine the conditon of her thyroid, kidneys, liver etc. |
| My 1st thought was the senior panel as well. Otherwise, if you add in more protein or fat to try and put on weight, you may actually be doing more harm than good if her organs are compromised.  Congrats on your girl being 15 too! |
| The fact that she's always been lean is probably why she's 15.... My 14 year old has lost a lot of muscle tone and weighs much less than she did in her prime. It's not my ideal, but.... If no kidney problems (blood panel is a good idea) I actually feed my seniors a higher protein food, contrary to all popular wisdom, I know, but...in my opinion they need it. Just my opinion, mind you. Kristine |
| Not OES, but I currently have 2 senior basset who are 12.5 and 13.5 years old. Both have decent blood profiles (Simon's is a bit off, but he had an incident that left him with mitral valve damage and kidney damage) - both are lean, and both are doing great on a grainfree (higher protein) diet. Also, my lab Macy lived to 15.5 years, and was on a high energy (higher levels of fat and protein) diet as well. As long as you are monitoring them, it can work with really good results! |
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