Kibble And Wet

[Guest aowam]

This might coincide with my grey's sudden behavior problems after a month, but he ate every last bit of his kibble last week and suddenly he eats about 1/4 and refuses to eat again. It's annoying because it concerns me and as a newer adoptee he definitely needs to gain weight. I'm going to try the tough love way for this coming week, but if he starves us out, then I might have to try another method. I know that if I were to mix wet food in, he would gobble it up in a second, but I don't really want to get him used to that if I can help it. With this in mind, I'm curious to know how many of you routinely mix wet in with your kibble?

[Feisty49]

Luckily, Annie Bella eats just Kibble with a bit of water and a couple of squirts of fish oil. Sometimes I toss in a few veggies or a piece of cheese just for the change. Maybe if you did the same with a veggie, etc. -- not every meal necessarily but often -- he might eat the kibble more readily.

[PrairieProf]

Beth is on Prescription I/D and gets 1/4 can of the canned mixed with a cup of the kibble at every meal. She never had any reluctance to eat plain kibble but it's just what we do.

[GreyTzu]

Kibble that I wet.

[Hubcitypam]

I had to start mixing in a bit of wet when Poodle became diabetic to make sure that he ate with his shots.

 

If I just mixed canned with dry Poodle would suck the canned off the dry and spit the kibble out. My routine now is to wet the kibble and let it sit about 10 minutes and then mix in a big tablespoon of canned for the little two and a couple for Budd and stir well. It doesn't take a lot. Works much better using the ground varieties.

 

 

[Guest jbbuzby]

I do, but not always. I'd say 40-50% of the time. I've not had any picky eaters as result, knock on wood.

 

What I did do is pick a wet food with lots and lots of protein and fat so they can eat less but still get the calories they might have to double the amount to achieve. Evo 95% meet is excellent and the dogs adore it. I mix like 1/4 can occasionally (after very gradually introducing it to get their tummies used to it), and they are all happy puppies

[Guest IrskasMom]

Two Cups of Kibble in the Morning dry and 2 Cups of Kibble with a half Can of Wet Food mixed in in the Evening. No Problem

[Guest IrskasMom]

Two Cups of Kibble in the Morning dry and 2 Cups of Kibble with a half Can of Wet Food mixed in in the Evening. No Problem

[DesiRayMom]

2 tblspns wet with enough water to make a slurry, mixed in with kibble. Twice a day.

[XTRAWLD]

When Kasey would be fussy with kibble - we moved to free feeding, just leaving it out there and he would eat as much as he wanted, when he wanted. When THAT didn't work and he would barely eat, we would add fish oil to it. The sure fire way he would eat would be to mix rice.

 

Honestly since switching to raw, he seems to have a bottomless pit, and I think that's a combination of having a second hound in the house...because if Kasey didn't eat his food, Ryder would and therefore no food anywhere for Kasey. Don't think he liked that very much!

[Guest sirsmom]

I add a tablespoon or 2 of canned food or some meat bits.

[GeorgeofNE]

Kibble and warm water. And unless your dog is underweight, it's a myth that ALL new adoptees need to gain weight. My dog weighs the exact amount as he did when he raced and I've had him four years. He looked great when I got him, and he looks great now!

 

I feed him about half of what everyone else seems to feed, so he must have a slow metabolism or something!

 

No reason NOT to use wet food, unless you don't want to buy it. Our family dogs when I was a kid always had kibble, warm water, and some canned food. I don't use it only because George will eat ANYTHING and I am challenged for space as a condo dweller.

[Guest WhiteWave]

I never feed just dry food. Not that my dogs won't eat it dry, but I find it boring and wouldn't want to eat it that way. So basically it makes me feel better to add stuff whether it is necessary or not!

 

I add can food (usually the high meat ones or meat only), can Tripett, or fresh foods (cottage cheese, yogurt, leftovers, homemade can food, can mackeral, etc). Plus add some water to their food.

 

I also rotate their dry food after a bag or 2 of the same food.

 

Plus my dogs get raw 2-3 days a week.

[Guest Celestrina]

1.5 cups dry and .25 cups wet with small amount of water twice a day.

[Brandiandwe]

I've started wetting the kibble because PK is a little bit picky and seems to prefer it that way. Some plain yoghurt, some probiotic mixed with some water, mix through the kibble and serve. Brandi will eat anything any time and still pretend she's starving.

[Guest WhenIGiveIn]

My greyhounds are not picky eaters at all so I have never mixed in canned. My biggest concern is are you sure he needs to gain weight? Not all dogs coming right off the track are overly skinny. It could be how hes comfortable. I have met more than one dog that will "self regulate" their weight. If you really think hes skinny mixing in isome can will get him to eat but if you want to stop your goign to have a period of stubborn dog that wont eat dry kibble.

[Guest aowam]

Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of happening. He is not neraly as skinny as he was when I first got him, but his hip bones are still showing. I'd like him to gain just a bit more. Do you think it will work if I just "wait out" the pickiness? I don't want him to starve himself, as he rarely eats everything from his bowl anyways. Always leaves something behind.

[Guest WhenIGiveIn]

Well I have used the tough love method more than once for my dogs and they do eat. Some will stay on the thinner side but never have I thought they were too thin. Adjusting to retirement and being lazy will have him put on weight too.

 

How often are you offereing him food? He could be used to only eating once a day. Instead of letting him pick maybe take up all the food and then offer him dinner. If he doesnt eat pick it up and offer in the morning. If you leave it down he will graze, he might even be a dog you can free feed if hes your only greyhound. If you let him graze he will eat a litte bit here and there and never eat a big meal which isnt a bad thing. It all depends on what you want him to do.

 

I feed my dogs in crates, when I go to work in the morning everyone gets their food some of my dogs its gone in 20 minutes other there is still food in their crate when they go to bed and its gone by morning.

[Guest WhiteWave]

Hip bones showing does not mean he is underweight. You have a Greyhound, not a Lab. The last few ribs, some of the back bone and hip points normally show when the dog is at a good weight. Some Greyhounds, it shows more than others due to their build. Ronon has a flatter back, so his doesn't show as much. Rebel is more roach backed so his backbone and hips stick out more.

 

If Gable Blue Cash is the dog we are talking about, his racing weight was 75lbs.

 

What does your dog weigh now? Can you post a picture of him now? His weight looks good to me on the photos on Greyhound-data. I wouldn't put anymore weight on him than he was when those pics were taken.

[Guest aowam]

To be honest I don't know what he weighs now. His racing weight was 75 lbs but he was 71.4 when I got him. Definitely more than before!! I just reposted the greydata pictures. I feed him about 4 1/2 cups a day: 2 in the morning and 2.5 at night. He will usually eat a total of 3.75-4cups of the total 4.5. Upon looking again at the before and after pictures, he does look decent in terms of weight. Huh. It's interesting that some dogs self-regulate.

[Guest WhiteWave]

I would just cut his food back to 4 cups and see how he does. Based on those pics, I wouldn't put anymore weight on him. And 4 cups is plenty of food.

[Guest WhenIGiveIn]

That is a lot of food! What type of food are you feeding? My dogs eat between 3-4 cups a day. Dusty who is 80(ish) lbs eats about 4 cups a day. Lily who is 45 eats a little less than 3. My dogs in the middle eat around 3-3.5.

[Guest aowam]

Huh, is it a lot? SHould I cut it to 3.5 or something now that he's at a good weight? I was just going by what the adoption group recommended which was about 4-4.5 for most males.

[Guest WhiteWave]

Most young male Greyhounds can eat 3-4 cups depending on activity.

 

Mine are pretty active. Ronon is 6 1/2 yrs and eats 3 1/2 cups and is around 75lbs. Rebel is 80lbs, 2 yrs old and eats 4 cups.

 

But for comparison. Casper my Dogo Argentino is 120lbs and only eats 3 cups a day and Ripley my Amstaff is 70lbs and eats 2 cups.

 

You have to feed your dog for what he needs and he is telling you, he doesn't need that much food. So I would start with 2 cups 2x a day and maybe go down from there is he is still leaving food.

[silverfish]

I cook up a big lot of 'add-in'. Usually this is chicken carcasses plus wings, maybe with a bit of organ meat added in. They get a tablespoon on their kibble.

 

I do think you need to be a bit careful about what you add in on a regular basis. If it's too much lean meat, you can unbalance the diet and make them calcium-deficient.

 

I'm not an expert in nutrition, but I've learned over the years and read a lot. I wrote a blog post about add-ins the other day. Not scientific perhaps, but it's the best I can do!