Advice on which food to choose: Senior Doxie

[hadewhole]

I’ve dug deep into a lot of research but just can decide what “feature” to focus on to help narrow things down.

I have two doxies so I’d like to keep them on the same food. One is 12 with a heart murmur & early heart disease. No meds needed yet but I’d like to keep the sodium levels lower for him. He also has some stiff joints / arthritis and gets plaque build up on his teeth pretty easily.

My other doxie is 6 and gets plague build up very quickly and has a bit of a sensitive stomach as in he will vomit if hasn’t eaten in a long while. Pepcid ac has helped and green beans as night snack helps too but I wonder if there is a food that could help us remove the Pepcid ac.

They also need to watch their weight- just a normal doxie concern so low calorie.

I’ve been going back and forth with Putin’s pro or Purina one, also Royal canin and hills because of wsava.

But I don’t feel like any one food really covers all the concerns. Do I pick the biggest concern - heart / low sodium or healthy weight?

What really is the difference between pro plan and purina one?

 

[sevilodorf]

@hadewhole Pro Plan has more specialized options than Purina ONE. If you can find a formula in the ONE line that works, there's no problem going with that option.

Unfortunately though I'm not sure we can help that much with this concern -- if your dog needs a low sodium food for heart issues then that really really is something you need to discuss with your vet. And that's not something you should de-prioritize.

I do think you could add in some dental health stuff outside of food to help with plaque. The veterinary oral health council has a list of items that are approved and proven. A combo of a water additive and toothpaste, or dental treats and toothpaste (would definitely recommend brushing if possible) will help!

 

[rsanchez353]

@hadewhole I recommend having a consult with your vet since you are trying to feed 2 dogs with potentially incompatible problems. Any diet can be adjusted to keep a dog at a healthy weight, it’s a matter of portion control, less treats and exercise. Here is a list compiled by the veterinary nutritionists at Tufts university for cardiac patients. It lists dog food according to sodium content and was updated in 2023. Some of them are off the shelf and aren’t prescription diets. Hope that helps you. Keep up with dental health since bacterial overload in the blood stream from gingivitis can cause heart valve damage.

https://heartsmart.vet.tufts.edu/wp-content/uploads/low-sodium-diet-lists-dog-mar-2023.pdf