17/05/2026
Lilly - growing old (dis) gracefully!
2. Diet
Last week we talked about the importance of hydration especially for senior dogs. This week we will focus on Lilly's diet.
All of our dogs, past and present, have been raw fed. It wasn't planned that we would go down this route but our big lad Domingo had a sensitive stomach and we were struggling to find food that was suitable.
During a conversation with a fellow hound parent who fed raw we decided to do some research.
More than 10 years on and we are still raw feeding and the dogs love it.
I need to say here that I'm not suggesting that you all switch to raw, it's not for every dog (or guardian) but Lilly loves it and it's doing her good.
Up to quite recently she ate 'complete' raw foods. A complete is classed as a meal containing 80% muscle meat, 10% offal and 10% bone, otherwise known as 80:10:10.
The guide relating to how much to feed is 3% of your dog's weight over the course of 2 meals but this can vary depending on the dog.
We found that Lilly was struggling to tolerate a 10% bone content and it was making her poo really crumbly and, on some occasions, hard to pass.
We were 'diluting' the completes with boneless but we were still having the occasional issue.
One of our clients feeds their dog Bella and Duke raw food which has a much lower bone content so we decided to give it a try so Lilly started on this food about 4 months ago.
She still has a block of green tripe 🤢 now and then because she loves it and it is really good for dogs as it's full of nutrients and is a probiotic but you'll need a peg for your nose as it STINKS!
Since starting on this food Lilly has had no issues and she looks fab, her coat seems to have improved and she's really enjoying it.
As I mentioned last week, raw food contains a lot of water so it also helps with hydration.
Lilly now has no teeth having had the 6 remaining ones removed last month but she is so much happier and has managed to adapt her eating method.
She has lots of different proteins, the recommendation is around 7 to 8 different ones (minimum) over the course of about a month to ensure they are getting sufficient nutrients and a balanced diet. They also need offal, in particular liver as it contains lots of vitamins and minerals including iron.
We also add a spoon of tinned pumpkin and a sprinkle of chia seeds to add fibre, bone broth and wheat germ oil.
Because Lilly can't chew we give her soft treats, she absolutely loves the pate which is really tasty and just meat and a bit of sweet potato and a variety of 'softies' which are soft sausage bites in a variety of flavours.
We are very careful what we feed as some treats contain filler, colourings, e numbers and other nasties so we avoid these.
I checked the nutritional value of Bella and Dukes meals on the website All About Dog Food which gives brands of dog food a rating. All of the different flavours scored 90% or above so we knew it was a good food.
That website is great for checking out what's good and what's not and you may be surprised to discover that some of the 'prescription foods' have very low nutritional values so it's always worth checking out what your dog is actually consuming.
Lilly is doing well on raw, she can't wait for her meals and thoroughly enjoys every flavour.
If you do plan to switch, do your research first but you can swap right away, no need to transition slowly at all but recommendations are to start with tripe then add new proteins each week.
There is a great fb page called BARF UK as they have loads of info and advice including a starter guide.
Whatever you feed your hound make sure that they enjoy it, that it's beneficial and that you check the nutritional value as it could make all the difference to your dog's health.
Next week we will cover walks, enrichment and fun 😍
