adp_description_block346
How to Find the Right Food for Your Mature Dog

If you see signs of aging in your dog, don't wait to feed him the proper diet. Feeding a high-quality, premium food throughout your dog's life is the best way to help him age gracefully. When your dog reaches his mature years, choose a food like IAMS™ ProActive Health™ Mature Adult for nutrition suited to this stage of life. 'Good nutrition starts early,' says Dr. Michael Hayek, an IAMS research nutritionist who specializes in geriatric nutrition. 'It should be viewed as proactive health care because it may be a deterrent to aging later on.'

If your dog already exhibits signs of aging, look for a high-quality, balanced maintenance food that caters to his changing metabolism. When you're shopping for a formula that's right for your dog, look for and compare these important points:

High-quality animal protein. Just like us, as dogs grow older, they naturally tend to lose lean muscle mass. High-quality protein can provide the essential amino acids your dog needs to minimize the loss of lean body tissue. Dogs function best on high-quality animal-based proteins from sources such as chicken or lamb. Some believe that aging dogs should be fed less protein to prevent kidney disease. However, the evidence is just not there. Reduced protein has a significant effect only after a certain level of kidney dysfunction occurs. If you're concerned about your dog's kidney health, your veterinarian can run assessment tests and recommend appropriate treatments if they are needed. 'If your dog is generally in a state of good health,' explains Dr. Hayek, 'protein should not be restricted. Rather, it should be available for building those all-important muscle reserves.'
Lower fat. A less-active, mature dog needs fewer calories. Look for a food that's low in fat compared to adult formulas, but don't eliminate fat completely. Pick a formula with at least 10% fat. Older dogs still need essential fatty acids in their diets to help promote healthy skin and coat.
Moderately fermentable fiber. Fiber promotes digestibility and helps your dog absorb nutrients. At the same time, it should help maintain a healthy intestinal tract, which can be problematic for aging dogs. IAMS includes dried beet pulp, a patented fiber source, in all of its foods to make elimination easier and regular.
Antioxidants. These help maintain balance within the body by ridding it of harmful free radicals, which increase as a dog ages. Antioxidants fend off free radicals and help protect cell membranes. To maintain your dog's immune-system response to free radicals, feed a formula with antioxidant nutrients such as vitamin E.
Vitamins and minerals. A high-quality, nutritionally balanced dog food should include all of the essential nutrients in the proper proportions. You might think your mature dog needs vitamin and mineral supplements. In fact, unless your veterinarian specifically identifies a deficiency, vitamin and mineral supplements are unnecessary and, in some cases, may do harm by creating an unhealthy imbalance.

adp_related_article_block165 249 YOUR --spice-- MAY ALSO LIKE …

adp_related_article_block165
Caring for Your Dog’s Joint Health

adp_related_article_block165
Understanding Puppy Food Nutrition Labels

adp_related_article_block165
How to Help Your Dog Lose Weight

adp_description_block454
Why Large-Breed Puppy Formulas Are Different
Share
If you’ve got a big love for big dogs, IAMS™ has a large-breed puppy formula specially made for their nutritional needs.

Nutritional Objectives
Many large-breed puppies have a tendency to grow very quickly. Unfortunately, if this tendency is encouraged by overfeeding, developmental bone problems can occur. To avoid these problems, careful feeding management is necessary. This should include
Consideration of optimal protein quantity and quality
Restriction of the energy-containing fat
Careful control of the calcium and phosphorus levels

Our specially formulated large-breed puppy formulas make feeding management easier because they are designed for fast-growing, large-breed puppies (those with an expected adult weight of more than 50 pounds).

Protein in Puppy Food
A protein level approximating 26% in these formulas promotes healthy body condition and balances the protein with the reduced number of calories in the food. Research has shown that
Dietary protein levels from 15 to 32% have no adverse effect on skeletal development.¹
Body condition decreases as protein gets too low.

The protein in our large-breed puppy formulas supports normal skeletal and muscular growth.

Calories and Fat in Puppy Food
Fat contributes more than twice as many calories in a diet as proteins or carbohydrates do. As the fat level increases, the energy content of the diet also increases, making feeding management more difficult for large-breed puppies. Several studies have shown increases in developmental bone problems when a diet was overfed.^2, ³

By reducing the fat content of large-breed puppy formulas to about 14%, the metabolizable energy (ME) of the diets can be kept to a low level of about 1,800 kilocalories per pound.

Calcium and Phosphorus in Puppy Food
Fat contributes more than twice as many calories in a diet as proteins or carbohydrates

Comparing with Our Other Puppy Foods
Our large-breed puppy formulas, such as IAMS ProActive Health™ Smart Puppy Large Breed, are made specifically for growing puppies with expected adult weights of 50 pounds or more. These puppy foods are unique because they are formulated with:
Less fat for fewer calories to optimally reduce growth rate of large-breed puppies and help safeguard against overconsumption of energy
A lower level of protein to ensure a proper balance of protein with energy content

Reduced calcium and phosphorus levels with a normal calcium-to-phosphorus ratio to promote proper bone development in rapidly growing large breed puppies.

¹ Nap, et al. Growth and skeletal development in Great Dane pups fed different levels of protein intake. J Nutr 1991; 121:S107-S113.

² Hedhammer, et al. Over nutrition and skeletal disease: an experimental study in growing Great Dane dogs. Cornell Vet 1974; 64:1-159.

³ Lavelle. The effect of overfeeding of a balanced complete commercial diet to a group of growing Great Danes. In: Nutrition of the dog and cat. Burger and Rivers (eds). Cambridge Univ Press, 1989:303-316.

⁴ Hazewinkel, et al. Influences of chronic calcium excess on the skeletal development of growing Great Danes, J Am Anim Hosp Assoc 1985; 21:377-391.

⁵ Goedegebuure, Hazewinkel. Morphological findings in young dogs chronically fed a diet containing excess calcium. Vet Pathol 1986; 23:594-605.

⁶ Hazewinkel, et al. Calcium metabolism in Great Dane dogs fed diets with various calcium and phosphorus levels. J Nutr 1991; 121:S99-S106.
adp_related_article_block463 401 YOUR --spice-- MAY ALSO LIKE …

adp_related_article_block463
Puppy Basics: Selecting the Right Food
Read More

adp_related_article_block463
Our Response to COVID-19
Read More

adp_related_article_block463
A Healthy Diet for Your Dog Can Mean Good Health for You
Read More