food choices for senior whippets

[Junior's mom]

My Shelby died at age 11 after a 2 week battle with Cardiomyopathy. It hit her hard and fast. She ate Iames dog food (mini chunks) Iames bones, and some table scraps........She was a picky eater and never got over 28 lbs.....She was about 25 lbs all year and would put on some winter weight. Any way.......I thought she was really healthy, she never and I mean never had to go to the vet for any other reason besides her yearly checkup. When I was told about her murmur, I wasn't concerned, she never acted different. I will now get to my point. What have you been feeding your senior whippet all these years to get them past 11...
I have Junior now and he eats Canidae and Canidae canned. He gets the "junky" snacks, milk bones, beggin strips ect...........I guess there are no guarantees in life, I am hoping feeding him holistic dog food will give him a longer life. I guess I won't know that until he reaches 12!!!!
But I would like to hear what you guys are feeding your whippets, apparently you are doing something right!!!!

[CW]

It was only within the past year or so that I changed food from Purina ONE Rice & Lamb to Wellness SuperMix Senior Formula.

Baylee is 9 years and dealing with congestive heart failure (enlarged heart diagnosed at about 6 years). In addition to protein levels and other "senior" considerations, the vet also said to be aware of sodium content. It's not usually listed and I e-mailed several companies including Canidae, Natural Balance and Blue Buffalo (found in PetsMart). The vet's "standard" was Science Diet H/D prescription with a sodium content of .06%. Wellness responded that there is no salt added to any of its formulas and the sodium content is what comes naturally in the ingredients, and per 8 oz. cup Wellness Senior 0.06%. The 6 yr. old also eats the Senior, and I've started the puppy on Wellness SuperMix5 Puppy formula.

[Shelbie and Shane's Mom]

Shelbie is 9 1/2 y.o. and is fed presciption diet i/d due to her finicky pancreas. I'll sometimes sprinkle in chopped cooked chicken breasts and white rice. Breakfast and dinner are the highlights of her day! Well, next to snuggling, under the covers, next her daddy in the mornings. He works midnights, so she gets to be a 30 minute hot water bottle with her daddy in the big bed. When I go in and scoop her out of the bed, she's all limp like a wet noodle .

[rrkingmccue]

Morgan is 11yrs old, I've had her for 5yrs. My other whippet, 7yr old Roamin LOVES the kennel food the GH get. It's a mix of raw beef, Purina Hi Pro, pasta, and the possability of cooked chicken, lamb, and/or veggies. It took Morgan awhile to eat raw meat. I would put it in front of her and she would just look at me like I forgot to cook it! Now, she loves it. Days that I'm not in the kennel, I split 1lb of raw beef(hamburger) between the two whippets. They always have Natural Balance down to snack on. Both dogs look and act great. They have wonderfully soft, slick coats. No one can believe how old Morgan is.

[Devo's pleaser]

Old Devo (14) and Spot (15) get Pedigree Senior dry kibble and Alpo Beef Chunks canned now. They had been getting the Pedigree canned but would just pick at it. A friend had visited us this summer with her Aussie and my pups kept raiding the visiting dog's bowl for the Alpo. I gradually began mixing it in their meals. It has a good gravey which is why I think they like it. I know it's not as fancy as some of the other stuff out there, but they love it! So, they don't need to be coaxed to eat it. They also get all kinds of table scraps, except for my 6 Alarm Chili! Neither have ever been on vitamins, but 2 years ago I started them on Glucosamine Condroitin for their joints. As for treats, I've always bought whatever box of the small colored biscuits was on sale. Again, none of this is fancy. I know nutrition is very important, but I think a whole lot of other factors come into play as well for longevity... exercise, environment, bedding and LOVE!

[Tigger and Kira's Mom]

Tigger (who will be 12 on Valentine's Day) and Kira (who will be 12 in June) eat half Iams minichunks and half Hill's prescription t/d for the teeth, along with fish oil and yeast and garlic tabs. Sometimes I add cooked meat, eggs, or veggies.

[Wiley coyote's mom]

Wiley c ate Iams with a couple handfuls of Purina One lamb and rice mixed in for a long time. He never liked healthy treats. The ones * bought at the dog bakery went to the Springer down the street". The only cookies he would eat was alpo liva snaps. Not the variety snaps, he would pick out and eat only the real liva ones Now he eats Hills K/D. Hill's also makes a bone shaped cookie. that he likes as long as I break them up small. For the senior with kidney problems [which seems pretty comon] Hills's makes a good product it seems. They also make a canned K/D food that is alot of eggwhite. I mash it up real soft and fluffy w/ a little garlic powder. Wiley runs hot and cold on this. Also the hamburger rice mix, sometimes he loves it but gets tired of it fast. What he lives for is the chicken and rice mix beat real well with garlic. He looks at me and crys when he smells it cooking His dry K/D he free feeds all day. I think when his tummy starts to hurt he crunch's. He is doing real well on these. I've stopped the kitty food problem, so no more sick whippy.