Standard Poodles

Question
I have two 10 yr old, standard poodle females, both 55 lbs. - vet says in exc. health, form and temperament.  they have yearly check-ups & I brush their teeth 3-4 times per week, groom them every other week.  Over the past month they seem to have slowed down considerably.  They love their walks about one mile, at least  2 to times per day and sometimes 3 times and they also get to run off their leads...but after a few minutes they seem to have had enough. They are very well-behaved.  Now they sleep quite a bit...it seems to me too much.  What is normal activity for soon-to- be 11 year old "pups"?  What kind of activity can I expect from an 11 year old dog throughout day?  Thanks!

Answer
Hello Joanne,
According to the Dog Age Calculator, your dogs are around 80 yrs old in human years.  I would suggest not necessarily slowing their activity, but maybe spreading it out some with rest in between.  If they don't already have it, getting them supportive dog beds will be helpful for their joints.  
 
Supplements can be beneficial and will help increase energy and stamina in older dogs.  Some that would benefit your girls will be:
COQ-10 & L-Carnitene- I give my boy 1 caplet per day combined COQ-10 and L-Carnitene 100mg.
Fish Oil-  1000 mg per 30 lbs body weight.
Vitamin E- 10 IU's
ProBiotics-1/2 the dose for a human
Resveratrol- 5-7 mgs per 30lbs of body weight
These are some of the more important ones that I know of.  Below is a link to the Natural Dog Health page and has alot more information than I can give you.  

This site is VERY helpful in knowing what supplements are beneficial for dogs of all ages.  It gives the supplement or vitamin, the dose and also what foods it can be found in.
http://www.natural-dog-health-remedies.com/natural-supplements-for-dogs.html

I give my dogs NuVet Plus Pet Tabs for their health.  They contain most of the supplements, Vitamins and Minerals that your dog needs all in one tab.  I am also a distributor because I have tried these and have seen results in my own dogs.  I like that they cold process the foods to get the Vitamins and Minerals out of them rather than cooking the food, which destroys the benefits of the supplements.  
You can find out more about the NuVet Plus Pet Tabs by going to http://www.nuvet.com/53330  My distributor number is 53330 so if you call to place an order, please give them my number.  
If you click on the link you can go to Products + Ingredients to find out what is in each tab.  You can also click on the Testimonials link and read about other peoples sucesses with NuVet Plus.  

Give this a try and if you have other questions about this for me, please feel free to ask me.  
Thanks for using AllExperts.com,
Kim