1st May 2006

What sort of foods would benefit my dog?

Read more: Dogs Food Conditions | Comments (0)

Question:

What sort of foods would benefit my dog? He is a 7-year-old Labrador and has just been diagnosed with arthritis in both knees. I have recently changed his diet from Moist (Hi Life) to Iams 7+ (senior) but he won’t eat it and sometimes I have to feed him by hand. He has been prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs.

Answer:

Sometimes anti-inflammatory drugs can cause loss of appetite. This tends to be just a temporary change while the body gets used to the anti-inflammatory. It also takes a little while for dogs to adjust to a new diet. You should introduce changes gradually, by slowly increasing the amount of the new food offered while reducing the amount of old food over a few days, allowing your dog’s body to accept the new diet. It is very important that you make sure that he is fed a complete diet. Ensure it is not too high in calories, as you must avoid him putting on too much weight. If he is carrying excess weight, his arthritic joints will be overloaded which will exacerbate the problem. Otherwise, it should not be necessary to supplement his diet.