While every dog or cat that enters a veterinary or retail facility needs a pet diet, animal health pros may shy away from a discussion of individual pet diet needs. Especially true as pets age, nutritional recommendations are important at all stages of pets’ lives, but they’re critical as pets age. Animal owners are bombarded with marketing messages about pet diets. They need guidance.
There’s no senior nutritional profile for all dogs or cats, writes Sarah Wooten, DVM. She recommends animal health pros keep protein, energy and Omega-3 fatty acids as primary content priorities. She discusses the topic of senior diets with Joe Bartges, DVM and Ernie Ward, DVM.
Nutrition should be individualized . . . Just because a dog or cat is 15 doesn’t mean it needs a “senior” diet—it depends on the dog’s activity, metabolism and health status.
Source: DVM 360, March 2019. Link.
. . . there’s no simple rule of thumb based on age—each individual animal will require nutrition based on its particular genetics lifestyle, and medical history. – Ernie Ward, DVM
Age is not a disease and nutrition should be individualized. Some older dogs require less protein, some more; some need less fat and energy while others need more; some need more fiber while some need less, and so on.
INSIGHTS: Nutritional assessment should be done on every patient, during every exam and nutritional recommendations made on those assessments, says Dr. Bartges. He references the following resources:
- AAHA’s Nutritional Assessment Guidelines for Dogs and Cats< link >
- Nutrition Toolkit from the World Small Animal Veterinary Association < link >