Updated: October 14th, 2022
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A look into the top 5 best senior dog foods.
Introduction
Like with all pets, they get older and the pet food you give them can make a difference. And it is no different with dogs.
Whether you have a large breed or small breed your dog will eventually start getting older and showing signs of needing a bit more age-appropriate care in the nutrition department to keep him going!
So, what is the best senior dog food brand for your furry friend that is sure to give them the nutrition they need and the taste they love?
After all, they are in the relaxation time of their lives and deserve to eat the best of the best!
We will look at the best canned dog food for senior dogs as well as the best dry dog food brand for older dogs—a complete look at the high-quality dog food market to ensure you get the best options for your pup!
Whether grain-free dog food, dry food with meat by-products, poultry by-products/chicken meal is best for your dog… read on.
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Orijen Senior Grain-Free Dry Dog Food – Best Overall
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Wellness Complete Health Senior Deboned Chicken & Barley Recipe Dry Dog Food – BEST FOR OLDER SMALL DOGS
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Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Active Longevity Chicken Meal, Rice & Barley Recipe – BEST FOR OVERWEIGHT OLDER DOGS
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Blue Buffalo Homestyle Recipe Senior Chicken Dinner with Garden Vegetables Canned Dog Food – BEST CANNED SOFT DOG FOOD FOR OLDER DOGS
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Nutro Max Senior Recipe with Farm-Raised Chicken Dry Dog Food –BEST TASTING DOG FOOD FOR OLDER DOGS
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An Overview of the Best Dog Food for Older Dogs
| IMAGE | PRODUCT | |
|---|---|---|
 | Best Overall
| VIEW LATEST PRICE → |
 | Best for Older Small Dogs
| VIEW LATEST PRICE → |
 | Best For Overweight Older Dogs
| VIEW LATEST PRICE → |
 | Best Canned Soft Dog Food for Older Dogs
| VIEW LATEST PRICE → |
 | Best Tasting Dog Food for Older Dogs
| VIEW LATEST PRICE → |
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Top 5 Best Dog Food for Older Dogs: Reviews
1. Orijen Senior Grain-Free Dry Dog Food
As your dog gets older, it is very important that you provide them with high levels of protein in their diet.
That is exactly what Orijen Senior Dog Food does for your aging best friend! With ingredients such as free-run chicken and turkey, whole eggs, and wild-caught fish, Orijen has natural ingredients that will provide your dog with the best nutrition.
While this dog food is a bit on the pricey side, the 4.7 out of 5-star rating proves that customers (humans and puppies) are pleased with this product including taste and effects on their aging dog!
2. Wellness Complete Health Senior Deboned Chicken & Barley Recipe Dry Dog Food
This USA made product sure to give your senior dog the best nutrition in the latter years of their life. Ingredients include deboned chicken and added glucosamine and chondroitin for the promotion of healthy hips and joints.
No wheat, corn, soy, meat-by-products, artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives, which means your dog is sure to have easy-to-digest food that will sit on your furry friend’s tummy nicely!
This moderately-priced dog food will leave your wallets feeling fine, but this is the lowest rated food out of the 5. Customers reported that the transition can be difficult for some of the senior pups, but for the most part, the dogs love it!
3. Hill’s Science Diet Adult 7+ Active Longevity Chicken Meal, Rice & Barley Recipe Dry Dog Food
This is the best priced dry dog food for your aging furry friend! With a clinically proven blend of antioxidants of vitamins C + T, healthy immune system support is sure to keep your pup on the up and up as they age.
When people ask what the best senior dog food is for their beloved pup, this is surely one to have on your list! If your dog is 7 years old or older, this is surely a great choice for the best food for your senior dogs!
4. Blue Buffalo Homestyle Recipe Senior Chicken Dinner with Garden Vegetables Canned Dog Food
If your dog is not a fan of dry dog food for one reason or the other, take a look at the top-rated canned senior dog food such as Blue Buffalo Homestyle Recipe.
This chicken and vegetable canned dog food is sure to provide your aging friend with great alternatives to raw diets that are hard to attain due to the need of additional supplementation in order for your dog to receive complete nutrition!
This is considered one of the best canned dog food options for senior dogs and can be used as either sole nutrition or a topper on dry food.
The carbohydrates included in this canned food’s ingredient list are sure to keep your dog’s energy up all day long! 4.8 stars surely shows that pups everywhere are happy with this delicious dog food!
5. Nutro Max Senior Recipe with Farm-Raised Chicken Dry Dog Food
Nutro Max Senior Recipe with Farm-Raised Chicken Dry Dog Food is a great second choice for best canned dog food for senior dogs.
The amino acids found on the ingredient list promote strong, lean muscles, which keeps your senior pup going for days on end!
Whole grains are super important for any dog, but they are especially important for aging dogs!
A healthy digestive system is key to optimal health and long lasting lives!
With 4.9 out of 5 stars, this canned dog food has proven to be one of the best dog food for senior dog choices! And, this is a moderately priced option, too.
Things To Consider When Buying Dog Food for Older and Senior Dogs
Not every commercial dog formula is well suited for older dogs. There are a few made with specific ingredients and in a way that enables them to help your little friend not experience loose stools anymore. Here are the most important factors you should watch out for:
Probiotics
Diarrhea rids your pooch of much more than just poop; there’s the good bacteria as well. Yet these need to be replenished for the wellbeing of your dog’s digestive tract.
So, choose food rich in ingredients that promote the growth of probiotics to help inject the natural balance back into your animal’s digestive system.
The food should also include prebiotics, which helps protect and maintain the balance of probiotics in the digestive tract.
High Protein Content
The more the lean premium content, the better your dog’s poop. Protein is great for the digestive system because it deposits the much-needed nutrients as it passes through it, ultimately firming up your dog’s poop.
Avoid Inferior Quality Grains
Stay away from dog foods that use corn, wheat, or fillers. Poor quality grains usually provide no nutritive value to your pooch. Instead, opt for foods that feature whole grains or no grains at all. A great start to this would be to learnhow to read a dog food label.
Avoid Too Much Fat
Fatty diets are known to cause diarrhea in your pooch because they can barely be absorbed in the digestive system.
Natural Ingredients
Artificial ingredients include food coloring, flavoring, and any preservatives. All the above offer no nutritional value to your dog. In fact, they could end up irritating the sensitive stomach of your pooch, causing diarrhea and other horrible stomach issues.
As a general rule of thumb, pick a food that has a low-glycemic index. Low-GI diets help to discourage the blood sugar in your pooch from spiking because they are usually slowly digested and absorbed.
Foods with high fiber are also ideal for older diabetic dogs. This is because of their ability to slow down the rate at which glucose is released into the bloodstream. Besides, a diet with high fiber makes your pooch feel fuller for longer.
Another thing to consider is fat content. Diets with less than 20% fat are a preferable option. In fact, the lower, the better because too much fat can lead to complications such as hyperglycemia.
Other considerations include:
- Avoid foods whose first/main ingredient is carbs. This should be further down the list.
- Ensure the complex carbohydrates are healthy.
- Ensure the brand has stringent safety standards.
- Steer clear of foods whose ingredients are questionable, such as the use of unidentified byproducts, meats, and meals.
- Avoid food with artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives.
Conclusion
Finding the best dog food for your older dog is not an easy decision! You want to make sure that you are giving your dog the best food no matter the age, but especially when they reach that tender age of being a ‘senior dog’.
Bones creak, joints ache, and bodies bulge the older your pup gets, and it’s important to have a peace-of-mind when it comes to deciding which food is best for them!
This comprehensive list gives you great choices to choose from to keep your best fur friend around for a very long time! Here’s a video that tells you more about feeding an older dog.
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