When is a Senior Diet appropriate?

[Donna P.]

I am having a dilemma over choosing the right food for my 8 year old dog. Both dogs have been on Taste of the Wild, but my 8 year old, Mayzie, was just diagnosed with a heart murmur, a low level degenerative valve disease. We went to a canine cardiologist and her recommendations were that no medications or life style changes were necessary at this time, but to cut out salty snacks and put her on a good senior diet. She recommended the Wellness Senior.

Mayzie is incredibly athletic, runs at warp speed for at least a mile everyday, as well as playing Frisbee several times a week. She shows no signs of slowing down, and is at a perfect weight. It seems like most of the senior diets I've looked at are designed to be low calorie for dogs who are less active as they age. I don't really think that I should cut down on her calories at this stage, but I've been looking at foods with a lower sodium content.

It's frustrating how many highly rated foods don't mention sodium in their guaranteed analysis. But Acana has an excellent site, and several of their foods have a sodium content of .3 to .35.

I know there are several of you out there that are very knowledgeable about nutrition and I was just looking for some opinions and suggestions.  I'm going to start making my on dog cookies, and I just make a huge batch of beef jerky with no seasonings. Both dogs are loving it.  

So bottom line, should I switch to a senior diet or go with an adult diet that is a little lower on the salt content.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'm very impressed that the specialist recommended a good brand like Wellness and not an Rx food. 

That said, Wellness Senior formula contains grains, and it would be best to continue to keep Mayzie on a grain-free diet.

Senior formulas often have a lower fat percentage and a higher fiber content than ALS or regular adult formulas. That may have been part of the reason for the cardiologist's recommendations. You can also do better than TOTW in terms of Omega 3 fatty acid content and Omega 6:3 ratio. 

In terms of reduced calories, there are senior formulas with a higher calorie content than that of the TOTW you are currently feeding, so you don't have to cut down her calories by switching to a senior formula; it just depends on which one you choose. 

Champion Foods, makers of Acana and Orijen, is an excellent company and their products are the finest commercial pet foods on the market. I think Acana's senior formula would be an excellent choice. It contains more calories than most if not all of the TOTW formulas, and a better Omega 3 & 6 content.

[Donna P.]

I would like to try the Acana Senior, but I haven't been able to find anyone that sells it. None of the pet stores in my area sell it, and the online venders that sell Acana don't have the senior. Are you aware of a site in the U.S. that carries the senior. I can get the Orijen, so I might order some of that.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Hmmm, I didn't realize it was so hard to find. Maybe one of the stores that carries Acana could order the Senior formula for you. If not, trying the Orijen Senior would be another option. 

[Leslie and Halas]

On petflow.com, I don't see the Acana Senior, but I do see Orijen senior.  So that might be an option if you decide to go with Orijen.  We've been using petflow for about a year, and it works really well to have the food delivered right to us.

[Donna P.]

I called a pet store in a neighboring town that carries both Orijen and Acana. I was told that the Acana Senior is only available to the Canadian market. So I'm driving up to get a bag of the Orijen.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I just tried calling Champion to verify that the Acana Senior is not sold in the U.S., but I got voicemail. I'm going to try again later, though.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Maybe you can convince them to sell it here. Some of us like to plan ahead : )

[Jennie & Emma]

I ran in to this too, last year when I wanted to switch Emma from Wild Prairie to Fit and Light.

There is a supplement/herb added that is allowed in Canada, but not allowed in dog food in the US.

I'm sorry I can't remember what the ingredient was.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

You know, now that you say that, it sounds vaguely familiar, but I can't imagine what the ingredient might be. Here's the list of ingredients from the website; I don't see anything here that would be questionable: 

Chicken meal, steel-cut oats, deboned chicken, whole potato, peas, chicken liver, whole egg, deboned flounder, chicken fat, pea fiber, sun-cured alfalfa, herring oil, whole apples, whole pears, sweet potato, pumpkin, butternut squash, parsnips, carrots, spinach, cranberries, blueberries, kelp, chicory root, juniper berries, angelica root, marigold flowers, sweet fennel, peppermint leaf, lavender.

[Donna P.]

When I went to the pet store to buy the Orijen Senior, I asked the owner of the store to call and verify that the Acana Senior was not available in the U.S. She couldn't get hold of her distributor, so she called Champion Foods direct in Canada and they did confirm that the Acana Senior is not sold in the U.S. She didn't ask for a reason. But it is not sold here.

I'm  in the process of making some cookies in my dehydrator that are only made of ground turkey and sweet potatoes. They cook for 7 hours, so I'll let you know tomorrow how they go over.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Please do! 

[BG and Gavin]

Hmmm, I smell a business opportunity "BG and Gavin's Champion Dog Food Export."  Actually bringing dog food from Canada into the USA is problematic.  Our cottage neighbours who travel up from Ohio cannot return to the US with dog food bought in Canada.  I do not know the particulars, but they leave any unused food behind and purchase once they are back in the US.