When is a dog a senior? Age, changes and feeding

Small dogs usually become seniors at around 8–10 years old, while large dogs get there earlier, sometimes at around 6. There's no single date when everything changes, but from that age it's worth seeing the vet more often and watching appetite, weight and movement more closely.

So if you're asking when is a dog a senior, there's no one number for every dog. Size matters most: small breeds live longer, so they age later. A maltipoo usually lives 12–15 years, and in our guide we treat the senior stage as starting at around 8.

When is a dog a senior: life stages of a small dog

These limits are rough and apply to small dogs. In large breeds the senior stage starts earlier, and the AAHA guidelines define it not by a fixed age but as the last quarter of a dog's expected lifespan. How long maltipoos live, and what shortens that, is in our article on maltipoo lifespan.

My maltipoo Zuzi is 6. She isn't a senior yet, but this is a good time to know what's coming.

What changes at the vet

For an adult dog a yearly check-up is enough. For a senior, a visit every 6 months makes sense, because many conditions develop slowly and show no signs for a long time. A blood test shows how the kidneys and liver are working before you notice anything at home.

The vet focuses on three things: heart, teeth and joints. In small breeds the teeth matter a lot. If your dog needs a dental cleaning under anaesthesia, blood tests will be needed anyway. More on that in our article on tartar on dog teeth.

Exercise, sleep and daily life

An older dog still needs exercise, just in a different dose. Instead of one long walk, plan two or three shorter ones. Give your dog time to sniff: it tires the brain, not the joints.

At home, a soft bed away from draughts helps, plus steps or a ramp by the sofa so your dog doesn't have to jump. On slippery floors, put a rug where your dog walks most.

Behaviour can change too. A senior dog sleeps more and may hear or see less well, so it responds more slowly when you call. That isn't always stubbornness, and sudden changes are always worth showing your vet.

Food for a senior dog: what changes

An older dog usually moves less, so it often needs fewer calories. The opposite also happens: some seniors start losing weight. That's why there's no single "senior portion". Weigh your dog every 2–4 weeks and adjust the portion by 10% in whichever direction is needed.

The second issue is appetite. Senior dogs are more often fussy about food, and many older dogs lose some of their sense of smell, so the smell of the food matters even more. A few things that help:

1. Warm the food to room temperature. Food straight from the fridge smells weaker.
2. Split the portion. The standard is 2 meals a day. If your dog eats little at a time, divide the same daily amount into 3 smaller meals.
3. Think about texture. A dog with sensitive teeth finds soft wet food easier to eat than hard kibble.
4. Fixed times. Routine builds appetite in older dogs too.

Zuzi gets roughly one 180 g jar of ZoozyJars a day plus a few treats. First meal in the morning when I sit down at the table, second around 17:00. Sometimes she gets a piece of apple or a few blueberries.

If an older dog refuses food and the vet hasn't found a cause, the rules in our article dog won't eat will help.

The first step

If your small dog is 8 or older and the last blood test was more than a year ago, book a check-up. Until then, weigh your dog and write the number down. It's your baseline for every visit after that.