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Old Dog Diet

Bigstic

Bigstic

Red Skull Member
Joined
May 19, 2020
Member Number
79
Messages
32
Loc
ND
Got an old (14yo) lab mix. His joints are getting stiffer and stiffer. He gets "Taste the wild" non grain dry food. Some friends have suggested going to a raw meat but others have said that might be to much for him. Others have suggested getting him on the chews that are advertised all over to help dog joints. If he gets into any different food it turns him into a fart machine and fear of shitting all over. But it's taking him longer and longer to get moving in the morning. Anyone have any suggestions?
 
We had an english mastiff that made it to almost 12 and near the end she was on a few things for her joints... Canned/Fresh pumpkin or sweet potatoes, with tumeric mixed in at times... just buy the non sweetened stuff if ya get cans, too much sugar is obviously bad... I think a lot of the root vegetables are supposed to help but do your own research... I know all of our dogs have eaten LOTS of carrots because its good for them and cleans up their breath/teeth...
 
Your vet can get you a script for Rimadyl/ Carprofen

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Get off the grain free crap. It was a fad that was proven to be bad for the heart.
 
Bigstic said:
Others have suggested getting him on the chews that are advertised all over to help dog joints.
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We get supplements from Smart Pak. It's where the wife gets all of the supplements for her horse, so it was an easy add-on.
 
Bigstic said:
Got an old (14yo) lab mix. His joints are getting stiffer and stiffer. He gets "Taste the wild" non grain dry food. Some friends have suggested going to a raw meat but others have said that might be to much for him. Others have suggested getting him on the chews that are advertised all over to help dog joints. If he gets into any different food it turns him into a fart machine and fear of shitting all over. But it's taking him longer and longer to get moving in the morning. Anyone have any suggestions?
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We have our 13yr old lab on a decent dry food, and then i also cook up 3lbs ground turkey, 1lb ground pork, and about 6 bags of mixed veggies. Divide it up for the week, and both dogs get a scoop of that with their dry food every day. (other dog is 1yr old, but if you don't share it he just uppity lol).

The old dog has improved dramatically, honestly. He's no young pup and but he got a lot of energy back lately.

We've been doing this about 4 months now. It came about from the old boy basically refusing to eat anything but the most insanely expensive dry food recently. They both go crazy for this. I think they enjoy thinking it's people food they keep getting.

We buy the stuff in bulk from sam's or costco for way less than local prices
 
Toss in some plain scrambled eggs and unsalted green beans in with the dry food, really brightens up their day.

X69 on the Glucosamine treats.
 
Seubs070 said:
Get off the grain free crap. It was a fad that was proven to be bad for the heart.
Click to expand...
He has been on the grain free crap for 12 years. If he gets into any of the foods that have grain or if he even runs through a field of grass/grain he will start to chew his skin off. He gets allergy shots fairly regularly.

Will be ordering up some of the suggested supplements from above and give it a shot. Might try the half dry and half raw diet.
 
Seubs070 said:
Get off the grain free crap. It was a fad that was proven to be bad for the heart.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it was primarily a fad. No, it was not proven to be bad for the heart and they had to walk back those claims.

You can make a good dog diet with or without grains but if you're feeding a kibble packed full of corn and wheat it's probably not a good diet. I used to work for one of the biggest dog food companies in the world. Their "research" is largely full of shit and the "veterinarians" working for them are just hired degrees that sign off on whatever the marketing team and penny pinchers tell them to.
 
east_beast said:
Yeah, it was primarily a fad. No, it was not proven to be bad for the heart and they had to walk back those claims.

You can make a good dog diet with or without grains but if you're feeding a kibble packed full of corn and wheat it's probably not a good diet. I used to work for one of the biggest dog food companies in the world. Their "research" is largely full of shit and the "veterinarians" working for them are just hired degrees that sign off on whatever the marketing team and penny pinchers tell them to.
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The FDA seems to think it is linked to heart issues. FDA Investigates Potential Link Between Diet & Heart Disease in Dogs

Taste of the wild is third on the list as linked to the most cases of heart issues.
 
Seubs070 said:
The FDA seems to think it is linked to heart issues. FDA Investigates Potential Link Between Diet & Heart Disease in Dogs

Taste of the wild is third on the list as linked to the most cases of heart issues.
Click to expand...

They quietly retracted this at a symposium at Kansas State later that same year but there was hardly any publicity about that. Last year they officially announced they had stopped even looking into the issue because there was nothing there. It was a hit job by the big boys like Mars Petcare, Hills, Purina, etc. because they were seeing smaller brands eroding their marketshare. Big corporation weaponizing our governmental agencies is becoming the norm. It's a revolving door of folks who bounce between the big players in industries and the regulatory bodies that oversee those agencies. It's all a gigantic grift.
 
east_beast said:
They quietly retracted this at a symposium at Kansas State later that same year but there was hardly any publicity about that. Last year they officially announced they had stopped even looking into the issue because there was nothing there. It was a hit job by the big boys like Mars Petcare, Hills, Purina, etc. because they were seeing smaller brands eroding their marketshare. Big corporation weaponizing our governmental agencies is becoming the norm. It's a revolving door of folks who bounce between the big players in industries and the regulatory bodies that oversee those agencies. It's all a gigantic grift.
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No way
 
Both of my GSD's get 2-1/2 pills of the Costco canine glucosamine daily. It's cheaper at the store vs on-line. 180# bottles. The female also gets Tramadol and Carprovet, but she has one bad hip and arthritus. Can still jump on the bed and into the Burb. Plus cooked chicken, steamed green veggies and some dry food. They eat better than I do. And half of grocery bill is for them. Keeps me hopping taking care of them. Wouldn't change a thing tho.
 
Have a 14yo Heeler and a similarly aged Anatolian Shepard. Both have been on Costco food since pups both are on the Costco glucosamine and Tropfen (Carprofen by another name). Frankly the only reason I'd ever go different foodwise would be allergies and they and our other 3 don't have any. Yes they get raw bones (never had hassles with teeth or other issues claimed about bones), yes they get cheap treats from Murdock's.

Only downside is they are all car stupid so we have to have folks call before coming to the house so we can get them inside...
 
Our 10 year old Husky was getting a little slow awhile back. Added some joint supplements and actual food into her diet in her kibble. Adding chicken, beef, burger along with some veggies and pumpkin seems to help them a ton. She's back to 10 going on 2 again and batshit crazy.

Hamburger and rice is good for dogs that get the shits and such. Burger already contains bone and cartilage peptides due to the way it's made and is easy to digest.
If he's already getting sick off additional food perhaps adding a little to his normal food would help. Our lab would eat anything you put in front of her but often it didn't agree with her.
 
Bigstic said:
Got an old (14yo) lab mix. His joints are getting stiffer and stiffer. He gets "Taste the wild" non grain dry food. Some friends have suggested going to a raw meat but others have said that might be to much for him. Others have suggested getting him on the chews that are advertised all over to help dog joints. If he gets into any different food it turns him into a fart machine and fear of shitting all over. But it's taking him longer and longer to get moving in the morning. Anyone have any suggestions?
Click to expand...

PM me your address and I'll send you some stuff.
 
east_beast said:
They quietly retracted this at a symposium at Kansas State later that same year but there was hardly any publicity about that. Last year they officially announced they had stopped even looking into the issue because there was nothing there. It was a hit job by the big boys like Mars Petcare, Hills, Purina, etc. because they were seeing smaller brands eroding their marketshare. Big corporation weaponizing our governmental agencies is becoming the norm. It's a revolving door of folks who bounce between the big players in industries and the regulatory bodies that oversee those agencies. It's all a gigantic grift.
Click to expand...
I hadn't hear this, but can certainly see that being true. Just like anything you have to follow the money. I know everytime we go to the vet they make a big deal about asking what food we feed and making sure its not a grain free.
 
Our Gsd/ Golden Retreiver mix was having skin issues.
Vet suggested it was a reaction to store bought food.
Wife started making dog food,skin problems gone.
We pick up whatever meat is on sale, liver chicken, pork etc. Any organ meat if available.
It's basically a rice hot dish .
It's better for them,and it's way less expensive.
 
Seubs070 said:
I hadn't hear this, but can certainly see that being true. Just like anything you have to follow the money. I know everytime we go to the vet they make a big deal about asking what food we feed and making sure its not a grain free.
Click to expand...

I'm just gonna be honest here, most vets don't know their ass from a hole in the ground when it comes to nutrition. I used to do seminars for them. They take, one at most two classes on nutrition in vet school and that class is almost always taught by an adjunct professor who is a veterinary scientist working for one of the big three vet kibble companies who like I said before are just hired degrees. They're paid to say what they're told with a degree hanging on the wall behind them to give them credibility.

Anyone trying to sell you a bag of corn and wheat based dog food for $100 a bag is a fucking grifter at best. That is a kibble formulated for maximum profit, period. It's why I had to bail on the industry. The more questions I asked the more I realized it was all bullshit and the more I was pulled aside and told to shut up and know my role.
 
east_beast said:
I'm just gonna be honest here, most vets don't know their ass from a hole in the ground when it comes to nutrition. I used to do seminars for them. They take, one at most two classes on nutrition in vet school and that class is almost always taught by an adjunct professor who is a veterinary scientist working for one of the big three vet kibble companies who like I said before are just hired degrees. They're paid to say what they're told with a degree hanging on the wall behind them to give them credibility.

Anyone trying to sell you a bag of corn and wheat based dog food for $100 a bag is a fucking grifter at best. That is a kibble formulated for maximum profit, period. It's why I had to bail on the industry. The more questions I asked the more I realized it was all bullshit and the more I was pulled aside and told to shut up and know my role.
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I agree with this 100%.

I wish i had the time to try a raw diet, but I just don't have time for something like that. I've been feeding Inuksuk on the recommendation of the breeder and been very happy with it. It was originally formulated for sled dogs, but they have gotten into the bird dog world now too. Found someone semi local that buys it direct by the pallet and get it for about $30 a bag cheaper than chewy.
 
Dogs are not vegetarian or anything similar. Cereal grain is about as far from a good canine diet as you can get. Pack chase tear kill rip meat eaters. No alfalfa, Willow shoots or corn there unless it’s been tun through another animal snd upgraded to meat tissue.
 
Splib said:
Dogs are not vegetarian or anything similar. Cereal grain is about as far from a good canine diet as you can get. Pack chase tear kill rip meat eaters. No alfalfa, Willow shoots or corn there unless it’s been tun through another animal snd upgraded to meat tissue.
Click to expand...

Dogs do have genes turned on that wolves lack that allows them to digest carbohydrates much better. That's what thousands of years of coevolution with humans will do. But yeah, by no means should the diet for a dog be primarily grain based. Dog foods are formulated the way they are for profit margins. Almost all kibbles are too high in carbs to be ideal.
 
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