The Best Senior Dog Food (Review) in 2020

A quality all-round, balanced dog food for senior dogs, Blue Buffalo’s Life Protection Formula has been designed to nourish your pet and help keep him on the move. It is nicely packed with the protein and nutrients your dog needs, with added supplements for additional health reassurance.  It uses chicken, whole grains and vegetables to create a delicious dry meal that will not irritate or slow down your pooch’s digestion. Added L-carnitine works to support strong muscles while glucosamine and chondroitin can help support joint, hip and overall mobility in your older dog if stiffness is a problem.

As one of our best senior dog foods, we like this formula as it is easy to digest and is not packed with calories, making it a good meal for any over-weight pet, while the fiber helps to keep everything smooth running. It is also free from artificial flavors, preservatives or colors.

If your old-timer is a little lackluster and down on energy levels, then his or her diet could do with a turbo-boost so they can get back some of their youthful bounce.

Hill’s Science Diet specifically formulated for senior dogs could be the answer, with its carefully balanced mix of protein, nutrients, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and healthy fats that will hopefully put more spring back into their step.

Tantalize your old pooch’s taste buds with this delicious chicken meal dry food blend that can also help sharpen his mind as well as his body.

Premium dog food company Purina has created a winning mix in its Smartblend Vibrant senior dog food that brings together quality chicken protein, animal fat and whole grains with added botanical oils to lubricate the body and nourish the canine skin and coat. The oils are also a natural source of glucosamine, which can support healthy joints and keep your senior pet on the move. Top it all off with a texture combination of meaty and crunchy and you also have a nice meal for dogs who may be starting to struggle with harder, dry foods. If you dog has severe allergies or an overly sensitive stomach, it’s worth just testing them on it first as there’s a lot of fiber and botanicals.

Bringing together a trio of quality animal protein, plus whole grains, seeds, fruit and vegetables, Nutro Ultra is a nutrition-packed dog food for senior dogs that will have them licking clean their feed bowl.

Nutro’s senior dog food is a carefully balanced blend that takes your pet’s culinary enjoyment into account as well as offering health boosting benefits. And we all know a taste-satisfied pooch is a happy pooch, whatever their age. And there are some serious superfoods in the bag, including coconut, kale and blueberries to put some serious sparkle into your older dog, including their brain, joints, digestion and overall physical condition. With no artificial ingredients, flavor or preservatives, this is great gourmet dry food for senior dogs that will keep them happy and healthy in more ways than one.

If weight and reduced mobility is starting to affect your senior dog’s day-to-day routine, this well balanced dry dog food from Wellness Complete could be the dinner to perk him back up.

One of the best senior dog foods available, Wellness Complete uses only natural ingredients to create a balanced daily diet to boost your ageing pooch. Its delicious formula keeps his hunger satisfied, helping to manage and maintain a healthy weight while the quality chicken protein can boost his energy and activity levels. And there’s a whole host of nutritional good stuff in there to help keep your senior pet in good working order, including glucosamine and chondroitin to help maintain hip and joint health and probiotics and good fats for a soothed digestion. The fiber count is balanced but just check if your dog is prone to serious skin allergies.

If your dog prefers it wet or is having a little trouble chewing its usual dry food, then check out Hill’s Science Diet wet food for senior dogs. This balanced and tasty senior canned dog food has all the credentials of Hill’s dry mix but is a little kinder on ageing teeth and gums, without losing the nutritional quality.

Made from premium-quality beef or chicken meal, with added vegetables and brown rice for a rich, stew-like meal, this canned senior dog food is also easy to digest and gentle on the stomach. It can also be mixed up with kibble for a crunchier texture.

If your pooch has digestive issues or suffers from skin allergies and you think their dog food could be making it worse, then check out this grain-free dry dog food specifically formulated for senior pets.

Wheat can irritate the stomach of older dogs or inflame skin conditions and for many senior canines, it can also be a little difficult to digest.  Blue Buffalo has used deboned chicken, chicken and fish meal as the high-quality protein basis for this tasty kibble, with added fruit and vegetables, including sweet potato, tomatoes and blueberries to bump up the carb and nutrient quota. The result is a taste-dense dry food your senior dog will really enjoy without any upset. Plus, it is fortified with glucosamine and chondroitin for joint health, L-carnitine for stronger muscles and taurine for the heart. This is a wild-grade food that follows the principles of the canine omnivore diet to really help to boost the health and happiness of your older dog.

For that stage in your dog’s life when only a wet food meal can really hit the spot, try this delicious canine-teeth and digestion friendly senior canned dog food from Wellness.

Food enjoyment is key to your dog’s overall happiness and wellbeing but as a dog gets older their appetite and ability to chew and eat can dwindle. Wellness’ senior formula is designed to pique their interest and help to get their love of eating back. Calorie-managed but still packed with nutritional goodness, including premium chicken whole grains, fruit and vegetables, this is a tasty can of senior dog food to nutritionally support the health and wellbeing of your older pup. The wet food can also help with hydration and energy levels as well as the quality of your dog’s coat, digestion, eyesight, teeth and gums.

To boost your pooch’s protein nutrition or to help him eat well if he has a problem with digestion, then you could consider the raw food route. Instinct Raw’s grain free dry dog food is good way to up the protein without losing the wider nutritional benefit of an all-round dry dog food. Using freeze dried raw chicken, combined with dry, grain-free kibble, senior dogs on Instinct Raw Boost could well be getting the best of both worlds.

The protein is really good quality and the whole mix has been minimally processed so you can get all the goodness to your senior dog. Add in natural DHA for brain and eye health, glucosamine and chondroitin for hips and joints, natural probiotics and omegas as well as antioxidants for digestion, immune system and a healthy coat and this raw-mix for older canines packs a powerful nutrition punch. 

Your dog may have always preferred wet food to dry and with Nutro’s Ultra senior you get a super-tasty wet food that has been specifically formulated for the older dog. Made from natural and nutritious ingredients selected to boost and maintain the health of your senior pup, your dog does not have to compromise on taste just because he is getting older.

The core protein is a trio of chicken, lamb and salmon, blended with an impressive range of 14 superfoods including sun-ripened fruits and vegetables and whole grains, bound together with sunflower oil and a rich, tasty gravy. Although good for all dogs, the Ultra is a particularly good comfort food for the older spectrum who need soft food that they can easily digest without compromising on mood-boosting flavor.

For when you are prepared to pay a little more for a quality food product to keep your best friend fed and happy, Orijen’s Senior Dry Dog Food is hard to beat. Grain-free so kind to canine tums, this premium protein dry food has been freeze-dried to lock in all the nutritional goodness of a raw food diet. Using chicken, turkey and fish pieces, boosted with egg then frozen and packed into bite-sized kibbles, your old guy will love to chomp down on this high-quality senior dog food. 85% meat, the remaining 15% is made up from wholesome fruit and veg for additional vitamins, antioxidants and minerals. The only addition is zinc and copper and the dry food’s low-carbohydrate, low-glycemic formula also supports healthy blood sugars. For the money you are getting a lot, not least a real superfood to keep your senior dog active and happy.

Prevention, they say, is better than the cure and while you can’t turn the clock back for your ageing dog, you can help him to enjoy his later years in good health.

Iams’ Proactive Health Senior Dog Food adopts the same principle, putting together a well-thought out dry mix that can boost your pooch’s immune system and strengthen him against the wear and tear of getting old. Easily digestible and with a good blend of fiber and prebiotics to keep his tum settled and happy, this dog food for senior dogs also included quality chicken protein plus a nice range of fruit and veg. Add in L-carnitine, glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate plus extra vitamins and minerals and you have a low calorie, tasty meal to help manage and limit those first signs of canine ageing.

If your older dog is turning into a bit of a sensitive soul, then try this stomach-friendly grain free dry dog food from Canidae. Just because your senior pooch has digestive problems, doesn’t mean they have to be consigned to a later life of bland food and simple meals, as Candidae can show. Their dry dog food for senior dogs packs a delicious taste experience using chicken and turkey protein, mixed with whole ingredients such as sweet potato, peas, lentil and chickpeas for a calm and happy stomach. No corn, wheat or soy – all irritants that can inflame your dog’s ageing digestion.

Probiotics have also been added to every kibble after cooking to help support healthy digestion, antioxidants for a healthy immune system, and omega 3 and 6 plus fatty acids to help support their skin and coat. And, as it is flavor-packed, your pooch really won’t know any difference, he’ll just chow down, happy.

If your senior dog has become a fussy eater, is off his food or you just want to give him a taste-packed treat, then this slow simmered chicken and rice wet dish from Cesar is going to be a real pick up.  Specially formulated for the older canine, and with a consistency that also works well if they are struggling to chew their food, you’ll be giving them some top-notch nutrition in an easy to serve portion.

To your precious pooch, this will taste as good as it looks. A good quality chicken protein, with palatable rice and a tasty gravy, there is also more to this senior dog dish than meets the eye. Enhanced with vitamins and minerals and with a good water content for added hydration, this is a quick and simple way to ensure your older dog is getting the core nutrition they need in a way that they can comfortably eat it.

Who knew the power of the avocado when it comes to boosting the diet of a senior dog? AvoDerm it seems, who have made the green fruit a key element of their Advanced Senior Health dog food. This premium grain-free dry dog food focuses on keeping the older dog active and replenishing their nutrients and energy levels, using quality protein and a host of superfoods to help that happen.

With a lamb and chicken meal formula, these flavorsome kibble bits have a host of health and nutritional benefits for your senior canine buddy. The avocado is omega-packed for a healthy immune system, eyes, skin and coat while vegetables, alfalfa and flaxseed provide vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and essential fatty acids. Plus, there’s natural chondroitin and glucosamine to take care of your dog’s hips and joints.  A great, nutrient-packed all-round dog food for the senior dog to help keep him at his very best.