[mmeberle]

Hello to all, i am a new member,but have had Hoagie for about 8 years. Hoagie is a Bassett
that was 'dumped!. I took him in, he weighed only
35 pounds, had heartworms and mange! Now he weighs 62 pounds and thankfully has had no
problems from the heartworm treatment. ( He is of course on the preventative all year round)
My question is now that Hoagie is a senior what is
the best diet? He can not tolerate any dry food
as it did cause bloat( several scary trips to the vet). He currently likes canned Alpo. He is eating 2 large cans in 3 feedings. Help!!!!!
I need to know what brand and type would be best for my wonderful Bassett. thanks!

 

[Barbara Winters]

Great subject! First I'd check with my veterinarian to see if s/he has any specific recommendations. For a general discussion of the nutritional needs of older pets see Geriatrics

Here's a few canned products from some well-known dog food companies:

Pro Plan® Chicken & Rice Entrée for Senior Dogs

Wysong Senior Canine Diet
Neura Life Stage Senior Premium Diet

Natural Life Senior

Hill's Science Diet Canine Senior

Eukanuba Senior Maintenance Formula

Nature's Recipe Lifestages Senior Lamb & Rice Canine Formula

[ March 24, 2004, 08:09 AM: Message edited by: Barbara Winters ]

 

[Mikey T]

FWIW dry dog food is not implicated as a cause or contributing factor to bloat in a recent study done by perdue university

Bloat notes April 1996
"Dietary factors which appeared to increase risk were fast eating, fewer meals per day, less canned dog food, less table food, and fewer snacks between meals. Several suspected dietary factors did not increase risk, i.e., there were scarcely any differences between cases and controls. These included consumption of dry dog food (almost every dog did); amount of dry dog food consumed; consuming dry dog food that had not been moistened before feeding; and nutritional supplements or vitamins (few dogs received them)."

Dietary Risk Factors for Gastric Dilatation-Volvulus (Bloat) in 11 Large and Giant Dog Breeds: A Nested Case-Control Study

New significant findings included a 2.7-fold (or 170%) increased risk of GDV in dogs that consumed dry foods containing fat among the first four ingredients. The risk of GDV was increased 4.2-fold (or 320%) in dogs that consumed dry foods containing citric acid that were also moistened prior to feeding by owners. Dry foods containing a rendered meat meal with bone among the first four ingredients significantly decreased GDV risk by 53.0%. Approximately 30% of all cases of GDV in this study could be attributed to consumption of dry foods containing fat among their first four ingredients, while 32% could be attributed to consumption of owner-moistened dry foods that also contained citric acid. These findings can be used by owners to reduce their dogs' risk of GDV.