Feeding older Shih Tzu dogs; etc.

[Guest Anonymous]

I have 2 Shih Tzu dogs that are almost 11 years old and have had them since they were 6 weeks old. One has lost some of his bottom teeth so he has to eat canned dog food. The other is fed the same since he will eat a whole pizza when a teenage son of mine dropped it....of course it didn't stay down long. He lives to eat so we watch his weight and when he was having joint problems put him on a diet and he is fine now. These 2 just go crazy at feeding time in the a.m. and I wondered this:

Is it a good idea at their age to start feeding 1/2 of their food in the a.m. and the other half in the p.m. One (with the missing teeth) is pretty active, whereas the other is more laid back.

These guys will bite sometimes pretty unprovoked....ie when not being looked in the eye...only done it once....but little kids that look them in the eye they will growl and bite them in the face only making a scrape on their face. Scares me that they might be a danger....I keep kids away but kids being kids and loving dogs sometimes they don't listen.

Any help will be great to any and all questions and concerns. These 2 guys are such a huge part of our family...they are family...children #6 and #7 are RyeLee and CharLee. Thanks again.

[imported_Kat]

Hi there, at your dogs' age, their metabolism will be slowing down so it certainly will be more beneficial to the dogs if they are fed 2 meals a day instead of one large one. If they are happy eating the food that they are eating, then as long as it is nutritious for them, then I would be reluctant to change that factor as it would possibly upset their stomachs. What you can do though is put them onto 1 vitamin E tablet daily if thay are not already on it which will be beneficial for their heart and general muscle tone.

[imported_Matty]

This is a great site for people owned by older dogs. :wink:

[url]http://www.peteducation.com/category_summary.cfm?cls=2&cat=1650[/url]

[Guest Anonymous]

Matty,

Thank you for that site. It does talk about aggression; fears, etc. I don't feel as bad about their aggression now; not that it is alright but I figured it was age and size related and according to that site it addressed age. These little guys don't run after kids on our street and there are many on bikes, etc. Only the cat has a run for it's money. :P

Thanks again for your help. You just get so use to them being around and then them getting older and a lightbulb moment happens and one realizes they might need some special attention over and above running the house.

Thank you everyone for your help.

[imported_Matty]

Desiree Francis,
Your welcome :wink:
The behavioral changes in our ageing dogs can be quite extreme at times.
I found with one of my older dogs that her eye sight started getting weak and her hearing went. She startled easiely making her a little unpredictable at times.

I read some where that its a good idea to give older dogs digestive enzymes in their food to help absorb nutrients. Some people also give their dogs probiotics which helps maintain normal bacteria in the dogs system.