Senior food for Rhodesian Ridgeback aged 8

A Rhodesian Ridgeback at eight is an interesting case — they're technically entering senior territory, but they're a large, deeply muscular breed that can stay remarkably athletic well into their later years. The risk with switching to a standard senior food too early is that many are calorie-reduced at the expense of protein, which is exactly what you don't want if the goal is preserving lean muscle. Senior dogs generally benefit from lower calories, better digestibility, and joint support — but the protein question really depends on the individual dog. To point you in the right direction: what does your Ridgeback currently eat, and have you noticed any specific changes — weight gain, stiffness, slower recovery after walks?

That's a really solid starting point — Orijen Adult is high-protein, low-carb, and clearly working for him. The morning stiffness and reduced distance are classic early joint signals in large athletic breeds, even without a formal diagnosis. Given he's maintaining good weight and muscle, I wouldn't drop his protein dramatically. What I would prioritise is a food with meaningful levels of glucosamine and chondroitin built in, plus EPA and DHA from fish for inflammation. Is he on any joint supplements currently, or are you hoping the food itself can cover that ground?

Makes sense — fewer moving parts is easier to manage. In that case I'd recommend Forthglade Complete Meal Senior with Chicken, Brown Rice and Vegetables. It's a wet food, which gives you better digestibility and hydration — both useful as dogs age — and it's formulated with glucosamine and chondroitin at levels that actually register, not just token amounts. The protein is still prioritised from named meat sources, so you're not sacrificing muscle support, and the calorie density is appropriate for a dog that's still active but not running marathons. For a Ridgeback his size you'd be using it as a full diet or pairing it with a moderate dry food if you want to keep some crunch in his routine. It's available on Amazon UK in multipacks. The transition from Orijen should be gradual over about ten days given how rich his current diet is.

At 38kg you'd be looking at roughly 800–900g of Forthglade per day based on their feeding guide, which works out to about four of the 395g trays. That's manageable but some owners of larger dogs prefer a mixed feeding approach — so two trays of wet plus a portion of a good quality dry senior kibble, something like Barking Heads Golden Years. That way you get the digestibility and joint ingredients from the wet, the dental benefit and satiety from the dry, and the total cost is a bit more predictable. Either approach works — it really comes down to what fits your routine. The key thing is keeping his protein up and the joint support consistent.

Good luck with the transition — go slowly and watch his stools for the first week or two, since any diet change can cause temporary looseness, especially moving from a very dense kibble like Orijen. If the morning stiffness doesn't improve at all after six to eight weeks on a food with proper joint ingredients, it's worth revisiting the vet about a targeted supplement like YuMOVE alongside the diet. Ridgebacks often do really well with attentive management at this age — he sounds like he's in good hands.