7 Must Feed Ingredients for your Senior Dog’s Health!

Depending on the breed, a dog is a considered a senior at 7-8 years of age. However, some breeds with certain genetic predispositions may actually start the ageing process sooner. These breeds include Great Danes and other large breeds and also smaller breeds like Chihuahuas and Jack Russell Terriers.

One way in which you can prevent or slow the ageing process is by adjusting your dog’s nutrition to include ingredients which maintain their brain and physical health. Making sure that your Senior dog is supported with optimal nutrition can drastically improve quality of life and give them an obvious pep to their step.

To give you a helping hand with supporting your senior dog, we’ve created a list of must-feed ingredients (according to recent studies into dog nutrition) below. We’ve also taken the hard work out of sourcing and providing sufficient quantities of these ingredients by creating Calm-K9 Senior Boost. Read on to the end to find our more!

Superfood ingredient #1 – LEMON BALM

Lemon Balm – Lemon balm is a perennial, lemon-scented herb native to southern Europe, Asia Minor, and North Africa. Lemon balm, when given ahead of stressful events, has been shown to help to improve a negative mood, increase calmness and alertness, as well as focus. Lemon Balm’s strong performance in Alzheimer’s and cognitive decline studies make lemon balm a compelling addition with senior dogs with cognitive decline and associated anxiety. Read the full study here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4245564/

Superfood Ingredient #2 – LUTEIN

Lutein is an antioxidant that can protect the body against disease and boost the immune system. Lutein has also been found to have anti-inflammatory properties.

Studies show that (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4891559/) that lutein has several beneficial effects, especially on eye health. In particular, lutein is known to improve or even prevent age-related eye disease which is the leading cause of blindness and vision impairment in Senior dogs. Lutein has also been shown to have positive effects on enhancing cognitive function, decreasing the risk of cancer, and improving cardiovascular health.

Lutein can be found in green, leafy vegetables like broccoli, kale and spinach!

Superfood Ingredient #3 – L CARNITINE

L Carnitine turns fat into energy. L Carnitine also has been shown to enhance exercise capacity and helps the recovery process after exercise, essential in senior dogs. L-Carnitine alleviates muscle injury and muscle fatigue. As an added bonus, L Carnitine enhances blood flow and oxygen supply to the muscle tissue.

L-Carnitine can lead to increased muscle mass and reduced physical and mental fatigue. Great in the prevention of age-associated muscle degradation, this is certainly a top ingredient for senior dogs that find themselves moving into the ageing process. L Carnitine can be found in dairy, poultry and meat!

Superfood Ingredient #4 – A PROBIOTIC

Probiotics help to create a balance of the good bacteria within your dog’s digestive system. Probiotics will restore that balance if there are more “bad” bacteria than “good”. Often having that imbalance can prove to create behaviour struggles that we may not always connect with gut health.

Probiotics can help reduce diarrhoea, improve mental health, lower blood pressure, help to reduce certain allergies, and can boost the immune system. That’s an amazing support and much needed support to help boost a senior dog’s quality of life. Yoghurt is a great food source to provide probiotics in your dog’s diet.

Superfood Ingredient #5 – B VITAMINS (B6, B12, B1 and B2)

B Vitamins are one of the most powerful ingredients for your dog. This is because they play a significant role in your senior dog’s brain function, in keeping their energy regulated, and encouraging their body to remain healthy and as flexible as possible.

B6 (found in bananas, pork and peanuts) can improve dogs’ immune system response and provides additional support for dogs’ nervous systems.

Vitamin B6 also helps to regulate mood! B6 is responsible for creating mood regulators like serotonin and dopamine. This is important for Senior dogs as they start to have less tolerance to frustration and start to show signs of ‘grumpiness’ as they age. Mood regulators help to lessen these symptoms.

Vitamin B12, which is found in milk, cheese and eggs, can help with blood cell formation. B12 can also have an impact on bone health and prevent decreased bone density. This super vitamin also can help to prevent age-related retinal degeneration and improve mood! Helpful also in slowing or preventing the progression of dementia. Last, but certainly not least, B12 can be super for your dog’s coat and skin.

Vitamin B1 was one of the first discovered B vitamins and can be found in peas, wholegrain breads and liver. Vitamin B1 impacts the nervous system, heart, and the brain which, for Senior dogs, can be especially helpful in supporting cardiovascular health, eye health, and kidney health.

Superfood Ingredient #6 – L-TRYPTOPHAN

Found in turkey and pumpkin seeds, L-Trytophan can help to improve power during certain exercise and can improve sleep quality and mood (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7425858/).

L-Tryptophan also has shown improvement in anxiety, a symptom in the senior dog aging process, and improves or reduces the decline in cognitive skills.

Senior dogs can struggle with a sleep routine and L-Tryptophan can help to regulate, not only their sleep patterns, but also their mood, which can also be affected by the aging process.

Superfood Ingredient #7 – PHOSPHATIDYL CHOLINE

Phosphatidyl Choline – The body uses Phosphatidyl Choline to make a brain chemical that improves brain-centred conditions such as memory loss, cognitive decline, anxiety and more. Not only does it help to target these brain-centred conditions, Phosphatidyl Choline also boosts the immune system and is a preventative in the progression of ageing.

Given that most of these are symptoms in the ageing process, making sure you are supporting your senior dog with this incredible ingredient as a preventative measure can be a game changer. You can add it to your dog’s diet by including more lean chicken, salmon, eggs and broccoli.

The problem with these ingredients, and how to solve it: Introducing Calm-K9 Senior Boost

The ingredients in this list are absolute game changers for Senior dogs’ health and cognitive function and they are all natural. The only problem is the amount of each food that is needed to get the perfect dose of each vitamin. That’s where we come in!

We’ve taken the hard work out of getting these essential nutrients into your dogs’ diet by creating Calm-K9 Senior Boost; a supplement designed for the needs of a Senior Dog. We have carefully selected and extracted the perfect ingredients to contain the vitamins and minerals from the list above and we worked alongside an amazing nutrition team to develop the best possible Senior supplement out there.

With Calm-K9 Senior Boost, we have made sure to create a formula that will have noticeable impact on your Senior Dog’s day to day life. Our focus was brain health, which so often deteriorates as dogs age. With Calm K9 Senior Boost, the rate of deterioration can be influenced, the progression slowed.

Our product for younger dogs, Calm-K9, flew off the shelves as soon as it was launched, and owners have seen dramatic changes in their dogs: read the reviews here! However, we knew that Senior dogs needed something more to combat the signs of ageing, and so we created Calm-K9 Senior Boost.

Do you have any other tips that help your Senior dog to feel their best? Let us know in the comments!

7 Must Feed Ingredients for your Senior Dog’s Health!

7 Must Feed Ingredients for your Senior Dog’s Health!