A dog’s life: diet tips for every age

As our beloved dogs change and grow and meet all their milestones, it only makes sense their food should follow.
“It’s important to change the dog’s diet as they age because the nutritional needs change throughout their life stages,” says Dr Morkel, Technical Services Veterinarian at MasterPet.
So, what are the different life stages our dog will go through? And what should we feed them when they get to each one?
Dr Morkel walks us through everything we need to know as our dogs go from puppy to junior to adult.
Welcoming a puppy into your family is a joyous and—let’s be honest—chaotic experience. And it’s at this exciting stage when your bundle of fur is most in need of some honed-in nutrition.
Dr Morkel says puppies need a diet rich in energy and nutrients to support their growth and development.
“A puppy diet should help to build a healthy intestinal microbiome, which is crucial for overall immunity, and should contain the nutrients essential for developing healthy eyes, neural tissues and bones,” she says.
One very important nutrient to include in your puppy’s diet is DHA, which is an omega-3 found in fish oil, and will help your puppy’s brain development and vision.
A balanced ratio of calcium and phosphorus is also important, Dr Morkel says, “to support proper bone development and to prevent what we call DOD or developmental orthopedic diseases.”
And, because they’re growing at the speed of light, your pup will also need the help of good proteins like chicken to keep them strong. And lots of it.
Between six months to two years, your dog will join the junior, or “adolescent”, phase.
“They’re still growing, but at a much slower rate than they were in a puppy,” Dr Morkel explains. “The energy requirements will start to decrease slightly compared to their puppy stage. And if you don’t decrease the energy there, they might become overweight.”
Dog food brands like VitaPet come with handy feeding guides, so it’s worth paying attention to the recommended serving sizes.
As well as the calcium, phosphorus and omega-3s you set them up with in the puppy stage, junior dogs will also need that high-quality protein to help build muscle and to maintain their organs.
High quality being the most important factor.
“It doesn’t matter how much protein you put into a diet, if it’s not digestible, they can’t use it,” says Dr Morkel. “It goes through to the large intestine and it just causes flatulence and stinky poos and all sorts. So, a high-quality protein, I would say will always be important.”
Finally, when your dog has reached adulthood, their energy will slow down and so too should their food consumption.
“At this stage, they still need those vitamins and minerals, but in less concentration than when they were a puppy because they’re not growing and making tissues,” says Dr Morkel.
She adds that it’s more important than ever to keep an eye on portion sizes, lest they develop weight-related issues like diabetes or joint problems.
Here, you can even start to introduce joint-supporting dog treats made with glucosamine and chondroitin to help maintain their motility.
And consider supplementing their dry food with wet food.
“[Dogs] often do well if you give them a little bit of a variety,” Dr Morkel says. “Wet food contains about 70 to 80% water while a dry food contains about eight to 12% moisture. So if your dog is not really good on drinking enough water, then it can provide them with extra hydration.”
That extra water content means it’s less energy dense too and can help with weight management.
And that’s the simple formula.
Ultimately, Dr Morkel says, if you pick the right food formulated for the right life stage with the right high-quality ingredients, your dog will have the right nutrition to thrive.
VitaPet has you covered at all stages of your dog’s life. With high-quality, all-natural food formulated for puppies, junior dogs and adults, VitaPet is Food4Life.