Senior Dogs

Receiving a cancer diagnosis for your dog is one of the hardest moments an owner can face. While your veterinary oncologist leads the medical treatment, nutrition plays a crucial — and often underestimated — role in supporting your dog through surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation. If your dog has recently undergone a surgical procedure, our guide to nutritional support after cancer surgery in dogs covers the immediate recovery feeding protocol in detail. The right diet won’t cure cancer, but it can help preserve strength, reduce treatment side effects, and maintain quality of life. ...

Osteoarthritis — the gradual breakdown of cartilage in the joints — affects an estimated one in five adult dogs, rising sharply with age. If your dog has been diagnosed with arthritis or joint disease, you’re probably already aware of the medication options. What’s less widely discussed is how powerfully diet can influence joint health: reducing inflammation, easing pain, and slowing the rate of cartilage loss. Nutrition won’t reverse arthritis, but it can make a meaningful difference to your dog’s comfort and mobility. ...

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is one of the most common conditions in older dogs — and one of the most manageable with the right nutritional approach. If your veterinarian has recently diagnosed your dog with kidney disease, one of their first recommendations will almost certainly be a specialized renal diet. Here’s why that matters, and what to look for. What happens to the kidneys in CKD? The kidneys filter waste products from the blood and excrete them in urine. In CKD, the kidneys gradually lose this filtering ability. As a result, waste products — particularly phosphorus and certain protein metabolites — build up in the bloodstream, causing the symptoms we associate with kidney disease: lethargy, loss of appetite, nausea, and weight loss. ...