What makes the best senior dog food?

There are officially only different nutritional requirements for puppies and adult dogs, not a specific profile for senior dogs. Most dog foods specially designed for seniors are more about weight management and marketing. A great senior dog food can also be great for adults and puppies. This is how we have designed Scratch.

If you’re curious, compare puppy food vs adult dog food.

Whether your dog is a “Senior” or not depends a lot on their size and breed. Giant breeds like Great Danes, Dogue de Bordeaux, Saint Bernards and Bernese Mountain dogs are senior dogs from 5 or 6 years old. Small dogs like Jack Russells and Chihuahua live the longest and are not seniors until they are over 10. Most dogs are seniors by around 8-9 years. This includes breeds like Labradors, Staffys & Border Collies and Beagles.

If your dog has had pancreatitis, they will generally be prescribed a low-fat diet. Scratch has 15% fat which usually is a great energy source. Vets often suggest a diet below 8% fat(on a dry basis) to avoid getting pancreatitis again.

Processing high amounts of protein is thought to put too much stress on diseased kidneys. Most vets will suggest a diet lower in protein than Scratch’s 28% if your senior dog has kidney disease. It is important to get specific advice from your dog’s vet if they have Kidney problems as they still need all the essential amino acids from protein to stay healthy.

After obesity, dental diseases is the most common health problem for the modern senior dog. Mature dogs that have not been getting raw bones and dental treats or toys to chew on – or regular tooth brushing and cleaning are likely to have dental disease. often making their mouth sensitive. They may also have missing or removed teeth that make it harder to chew.

If your senior dog is not enjoying their dry food anymore as it hurts their mouth, you can still use a great dry senior dog food – just add some water to it to soften it.

Older dogs will benefit from a dog food focused on supporting their immune system which weakens as they age. The immune system is very complex, but the keys to this are good quality sources of animal protein, zinc and vitamin C. Protein is crucial as it provides the essential building blocks for muscles, organs and the immune system.

A healthy senior dog food will also have good levels of omega 3 fatty acids (from cold water fish) to help reduce inflammation. Scratch uses Tasmanian Salmon Oil as the primary source of omega 3 as well as Turmeric to combat inflammation.

Our sustainable kangaroo dog food is supplemented with glucosamine, hydrolised collagen & chondroitin to protect and support damaged joints in senior dogs.

There is evidence that Green-Lipped Muscles help. The issue with including this as an ingredient in senior dog food is that it is very temperature sensitive and easily de-activated. It is best to use freeze-dried Green-Lipped Muscles as a treat or powder instead. This way you also know exactly how much your dog is getting.

Most commercial dog foods designed for weight management just include more fillers to make you feel like you are still feeding them enough. This can even be by adding sawdust! (appears as “Powdered Cellulose” on labels).

We take a different approach. If your dog needs to reduce weight, we personalise their feeding plan, provide you with a scoop and make sure that we make the best senior dog food with ingredients that the body can get the most out of.

It’s best to feed older dogs twice a day.

Senior dogs don’t necessarily need supplements, but many will benefit from them. Many dogs (particularly active and larger breeds) suffer from joint and cartilage damage over time. Too many zoomies ey!

Our sensitive kangaroo recipe already includes Glucosamine, Chondroitin and Collagen to strengthen damaged joint cartilage and treat and prevent joint disorders such as osteoarthritis.

For sure – as long as they’re not too salty, too sugary or fed too often (regardless of how many sad looks they give you).

Natural body parts are the best treat for most senior dogs, such as our kangaroo dog treats and lamb dog treats.

Wet dog food can be easier on dogs with severe dental disease, but much of it does them little good as wet dog food is often filled with a lot of gelatins and poor quality meat.

An Australian-made dry dog food like Scratch usually contains more meat, helps to control dental health and produces significantly less packaging waste.

Scratch is made fresher and with whole Aussie produce rather than the processed ingredients that goes into many dry dog foods.

Learn why we focused on improving dry dog food.

Grains themselves aren’t bad, but the majority of the grains used in dog foods are, and they’re used in way too high quantities.

At the end of the day, a senior dog needs a food that is easy to digest, is balanced so as to not overload particular organs, provides nutritious energy and limits inflammation.

In our view, there are many unhealthy grain-free dog foods, just as there are many unhealthy grain-inclusive dog foods.

Our 3 Scratch recipes (2 of which are grain-free) have all been designed under this ethos, helping to give senior dogs a quality (and longer) end to life.

We don’t have a recipe that is only suitable for older dogs. All 3 Scratch recipes are designed to exceed AAFCO standards for all life stages and are suitable from pup through to old fella.

How do we do it? Without the store mark-ups, we can afford to include better ingredients from the get-go – ingredients that build up gut health, offer protein from high-quality meat, skip fillers and support with various supplements.

See our dog kibble range.

Your large breed dog will be better off with a dog food suited to their reduced energy output and ageing joints, and would not benefit from a large breed dog food like they would earlier in life. Stick with a food such as our Kangaroo dog food with joint support.