# What food should I feed my senior schnoodle?



## xpierced_goddessx (Jan 5, 2008)

He is now 11 years old, will be 12 in March. I dont have him on senior food yet :S 
I was thinking about putting my 3 cats and my dog on wet food only, but I think im gonna mix in kibble with the wet food for the dog. Im also wondering what kind of things I should give him for his teeth. They arent horrible, but are starting to get bad in the back. I feed him dentastix almost every day and it's like the best treat he could get. He LOVES them. But if I feed him mostly wet food, I wanna give him something else to keep his teethin good shape. Any suggestions on food and teeth??


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## PugChick (Nov 5, 2007)

Kibble really doesn't do much of anything to clean teeth, despite maker's claims. It's nowhere hard enough to scrape the teeth clean, can't compare to feeding raw bones or having the teeth cleaned at the vets. 

Bad teeth in dogs are helped the same way bad teeth are helped in people - regular brushing and visits to a dentist(vet).


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## xpierced_goddessx (Jan 5, 2008)

I know that now. Ive been hearing a lot of conflicting things about wet food/dry food. 
I cant get him put under anaesthetic because he is too old, i would be too worried, so I had gotten his teeth cleaned once at the groomers. I have also bought a toothbrush and toothpaste for dogs, but have not been able to reach his back teeth.


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## DJsMom (Jun 6, 2008)

This is a good thread, one I'm interested in, as I also have an elderly dog, a 12 to 14 year old Australian shepherd.
Recently I've been moistening his kibble to soften it a bit for him, hopefully making it easier for him to chew, & he really does seem to be eating a lot better & it doesn't seem to be having any adverse effect such as loose stools.


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## xpierced_goddessx (Jan 5, 2008)

I just want to know what to feed him to keep him in good health, and be able to live a long and happy life. He seems to be in good health, but he does seem to be going deaf and a bit blind. He doesnt always hear the doorbell anymore which would normally send him in a fit of barking, and he has troubl finding treats i put in front of him, he sniffs it out instead of seeing it. But otherwise he seems to be ok. After Christmas im getting bloodwork done to see if he has any problems we can't see. But I wanna put him on the best dog food I can afford.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

You don't have to use a senior food if he's doing well on his current food. If he's overweight, a senior food can help, but if all is well, it's not usually worth switching. A good-quality canned food (read the label; you want to see lots of meat, not soy protein) is good, but so is a meat-based kibble. An all-canned-food diet has a lot of benefits for cats, but I don't think the benefits are as dramatic for dogs. 

I give my dogs raw beef ribs for their teeth. Keeps 'em shiny clean  . My mom's dog weighs about 35 pounds, and she can hendle a beef rib with no problem, so I think a Schnauzer/Poodle mix should be able to handle beef ribs, too, unless he's unusually small.


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## briteday (Feb 10, 2007)

I second the motion for not changing much about the current diet. Kibble has no value as far as dental disease over wet food. So which ever he prefers is fine. I would aim to be feeding a high quality food, skip the grocery store dog foods. 

My dogs are about 7-10 pounds each and do fine with the v=beef rib bones as well, the kind you buy in a slab for bbq'ing, each rib is about 6-8 inches long. Just cut the ribs apart and freeze them individually to hand out as needed. Since my dogs are raw fed I leave the meat on for them to eat. But if you prefer, take most of the meat off, just leave bits clinging to the bone so he has something to gnaw on. If he doesn't do well with the ribs you can always try some chicken wings, particularly the tips which a lot of stores cut off before they package chicken wings. So look for wings with the little tips onthem. The tips have great little strings of cartilage that are sort of like dental floss. They are also pliable enough for even the smallest of dogs to crunch down and eat.

I think it's a good idea to have your dog vetted with blood work in the near future. Even if all appears to be well you will have a baseline when he starts to have inevitable age-related problems.


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## xpierced_goddessx (Jan 5, 2008)

Well the reason I wanted to feed him at least half canned food diet is because he seems to be eating less and less lately. The only thing he will scarf down is crappy foods like beneful/kibbles and bits/ol' roys. But thats when I visit my mom and that's what she feeds her rottweiler/shepherd mix. I won't buy that crap for my dog. But he loves wet food, so if I fed him a half can of wet food a day plus a cup of kibble to eat for the rest of the day, at least I know he is eating something. He just spent 4 days away from home, his old owner grooms him for me for free because she is a proffesional groomer, and she had him there, and said that she didnt see him eat at all the whole time, that he ate caesar treats she fed him and that was it.

The thing I would be worried about with the ribs and chicken wings is him choking on it, or something dangerous hurting him in some way.


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## flipgirl (Oct 5, 2007)

Don't worry about your dog choking on the wings or ribs. The beef rib bones are hard but they're good to clean the teeth. I give my dog, who is 17 lbs, chicken wings and beef ribs all the time. The chicken wings are gone in two seconds. Although it was just suggested to me that I should break them in half because they could expand in the stomach. So do that. Dogs were made to eat bones and meat. Chicken and turkey necks are good too. 

As for the kibble, he's probably eating the crap stuff because of the sugar content of the crap foods. even if you cook ground chicken or turkey and feed that to him, it's better than ol roy Ceasar and beneful. Just tell your mom and groomer not to give him treats anymore or send some meat treats with him. You can also add some chicken broth to the food for pallatability and nutrition. 

Like previous posters said, I don't think you need to change the kibble.


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## Cheetah (May 25, 2006)

I agree with everyone else here - raw bones and regular dental cleanings (which for older dogs is even MORE important) will keep his teeth healthy - not what food he eats.

The vets have a special procedure for senior dogs before they will do a dental cleaning on them. They will run a full blood panel on your dog - this is to make sure it is safe to put your dog under anesthesia.

Regular dental cleanings is VERY important when you have a senior dog, because when a dog becomes older, their teeth become worn and vulnerable to disease. Also, unhealthy teeth can be a root cause of many serious health problems which can shorten your dog's life.


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## poodleholic (Mar 15, 2007)

xpierced_goddessx said:


> He is now 11 years old, will be 12 in March. I dont have him on senior food yet :S
> I was thinking about putting my 3 cats and my dog on wet food only, but I think im gonna mix in kibble with the wet food for the dog. Im also wondering what kind of things I should give him for his teeth. They arent horrible, but are starting to get bad in the back. I feed him dentastix almost every day and it's like the best treat he could get. He LOVES them. But if I feed him mostly wet food, I wanna give him something else to keep his teethin good shape. Any suggestions on food and teeth??


I don't feed senior food to my senior foster dogs. For many of the seniors, Toys, especially, bad teeth are an issue, so I do give them wet food (Wellness or EVO canned). For tartar buildup and stains, try PetzLife Gel (www.petzlife.com), which really, really works. Raw bones are great to keep teeth clean and healthy. My adult Standard Poodles are going on 8 yrs. old, have never had their teeth cleaned at the vet's, yet have no stains or tartar buildup, and gums are healthy.


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