The goal is to give your dog the right balance of nutrients at every stage of her life to meet her nutritional needs. Additionally, improving life quality and reducing the prevalence of age-related illnesses are goals for feeding mature adult dogs.

As dogs age from puppyhood to adulthood, their nutritional requirements change. Protein requirements are highest at weaning, gradually decreasing over your dog's lifespan. There is a debate about the protein requirements for senior dogs within the veterinary field. 

One school of thought is that dietary protein levels should be increased to avoid wasting muscle mass, while the other opinion is that protein should be decreased due to the toll it takes on aging kidneys. Let's examine both theories to arrive at the correct conclusion.

Dogs age progressively, so it is difficult to assign an age when a dog is considered mature or senior. Small dogs can have a life expectancy of up to 20 years, whereas a large or giant breed dog's life expectancy is eight or more years. The age transition can also be based on the breed, as each breed has unique genetic characteristics that can affect aging. 

The Senior Care Guidelines Task Force of the American Animal Hospital Association suggests that "pets are considered seniors in the last 25% of their predicted life span based on species and breed". Many veterinarians consider your dog "older" when she reaches half her life expectancy. However, monitoring your dog for age-related diseases and disorders can provide insight into her aging process, such as the onset or progression of chronic age-related diseases. 

Many veterinarians are still recommending a decrease in protein for older dogs due to a faulty study performed on rats. The study suggested that excess dietary protein would cause kidney damage in older rats. Other studies that used dogs have concluded an increased incidence of renal disease in dogs over five years, presumed due to too much protein in their diet.

However, additional studies using dogs disproved this theory and showed that dogs fed lower protein levels had a higher mortality rate. It also revealed that even dogs with chronic kidney disease (CKD) did not have any adverse effects from a high-protein diet, and some of those dogs fared better on the higher-protein diet. An article published over 50 years ago revealed that switching a dog from dry dog food to a meat-based diet benefited the dogs' kidneys by improving the glomerular filtration rate. 

Reasons to Increase Protein in Your Senior Dog's Diet

As dogs age, their lean body mass tends to decrease. This phenomenon inspires the philosophy that older dogs be fed higher protein levels. During average protein turnover within the body, liver and gastrointestinal tract proteins are utilized. If there is a deficiency, your dog's body will scavenge proteins from the skin and lean muscles. Because the body's recycling of proteins and amino acids is not entirely efficient, there needs to be a sufficient dietary protein intake each day. 

There is an age-related decrease in protein synthesis and increased protein turnover in older dogs, which means they have an increased need for dietary protein. Without an adequate daily supply of protein, there will be a reduction rather than the needed increase in protein turnover. If the reduced protein turnover continues, secondary complications such as immunodeficiency and increased susceptibility to infections and injuries can arise. 

Weight gain and dietary caloric intake are often concerns for pet parents with older pets. Suppose you are not providing adequate protein levels. In that case, your dog's weight can remain stable but with an increase in the percentage of body fat versus lean body mass, making it challenging to associate diet with age-related diseases. The decrease in lean body mass is associated with increased illness and decreased longevity in dogs. So if you are concerned with your dog's weight, the diet to choose utilizes protein as its primary energy source.

Dog parents should not feed healthy older dogs a protein-restricted diet as it can harm their well-being. The protein requirements of the older dog increase by 50% while the energy requirements decrease. A diet that provides at least 28-32% of its calories from protein will meet the increased protein needs. 

The protein quality is as essential as the quantity, as poorly sourced proteins do not provide sufficient amino acids for proper protein turnover. Feeding dogs a diet insufficient in protein can exacerbate age-associated lean body mass loss and even contribute to early mortality.

The best diet for your senior dog is a raw diet. Your dog will get better protein and benefit from the natural antioxidants and other nutrients provided in the raw diet. A raw diet lends itself to feeding a variety of foods, which is essential to meeting your senior dog's nutritional needs. It is also easier to add beneficial supplements for ailments as they arise, such as arthritis.

Dogs with kidney disease should have free access to fresh, filtered water. Bottled water is preferred over well water or city water to minimize excess minerals and other contaminants that need to be filtered through the kidneys.

Green tripe is often referred to as a superfood for dogs and is an excellent food source for seniors, including those diagnosed with kidney disease. Tripe is the stomach lining of a ruminant and is rich in nutrients when served raw or unbleached. It is low in phosphorus, and dogs love it. A lack of appetite is often an issue for senior dogs, so offering green tripe may encourage your senior dog to eat.

As your dog ages, the goals for feeding are to enhance the quality of life and decrease the incidence of age-related disease. 

As dogs age, they require more protein and less energy in their diet.

Weight management of older dogs is best accomplished with high-quality protein and less energy-dense foods. 

Brady, C. (2020). In Feeding dogs: dry or raw? The science behind the debate  Farrow Road Publishing.

Debraekeleer, J. et al "Feeding Mature Adult Dogs: Middle-Aged and Older" Small Animal Clinical Nutrition, 5th ed., (pp. 275-276) Mark Morris Institute, 2010.

Metabolic effects of two low protein diets in chronic kidney disease stage 4–5—a randomized controlled trial

Effects of dietary protein on whole-body protein turnover and endocrine function in young-adult and aging dogs 

Habib, Rodney; Becker, Karen Shaw. The Forever Dog. HarperCollins. Kindle Edition. 2022.

Articles from future units will be accessible once you have completed that unit.

The goal is to give your dog the right balance of nutrients at every stage of her life to meet her nutritional needs. Additionally, improving the quality of life and reducing the prevalence of age-related illnesses are goals for feeding mature adult dogs.

Your Aging Dog's Protein Requirements

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