Guest kkaiser104 Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 Every night around this time Teddi acts absolutely starved. Roaming around the house looking for things, licking the floor, going back to his crate (where he's fed) searching for extra bits, the whole 9 yards. I was wondering if maybe I'm not feeding enough and I'd love some feedback on how much you feed your greys (especially younger, 75llb boys). Right now he gets 3 cups in the morning and 1 cup at night (which is what the adoption group suggested). He gets breakfast after his morning walk, usually around 8 but as late as 9 and then he gets dinner around 530 (and reminds me if I'm late!) I'm wondering if I should maybe give 2 cups in the morning, 1 cup for dinner (same time) and then another cup after his evening walk, around 930. Or, do you think I'm not feeding him enough? How often and how much do you feed your greys? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lady_Catherine Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 (edited) I feed Bessie 4 cups a day, 2 in the morning, two at night. That will decrease as we gradually switch her over to her new food, which is higher in calories than her other food. She weighs 41 lbs (and needs to gain weight). I also give her a scoop of plain, full fat yogurt with each meal. Edited July 13, 2012 by Lady_Catherine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubcitypam Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 How much depends on what food you are feeding. I found that out the hard way when I switched Buddy to a "better" food and he gained weight. Buddy is now 92 pounds (down from 102) and he eats 4 cups of Purina One weight control - two morning and two at night (roughly noon and midnight by my clock). He wakes up every morning around 7 stretches, walks to his bowl to see if any food has magically appeared whie we were sleeping, then stands and stares at me. It I don't stir he whines, then woofs, then full out barks - sort of like an alarm that gets louder if you don't turn it off. He gets a milkbone and back to sleep we all go. I might try two in the morning, 1.5 or so in the evening and a big dog cookie right before bed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jtecd Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 We adopted Skipper in May and gave him 4 cups per day 2 in the morning and 2 in the evening, same has he received in foster. We increased to 2.5 cups when he lost some of the weight he'd gained since coming to us (we kept his food the same as in his foster home so knew it wasn't a change in diet...Nutro Natural Choice). Now he's gaining again (ribs not as prominent), so we're decreasing to 2 1/4 each meal, but I'm thinking of 2.5 in the morning and 2 in the evening since he seems to look for more in the morning. Does anyone change amounts based on activity? We were walking nearly every day until it got so humid and I'm not sure how well he'll tolerate the winter cold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kkaiser104 Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 Oh sorry--He's on the green bag of Iams for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kkaiser104 Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 How much depends on what food you are feeding. I found that out the hard way when I switched Buddy to a "better" food and he gained weight. Buddy is now 92 pounds (down from 102) and he eats 4 cups of Purina One weight control - two morning and two at night (roughly noon and midnight by my clock). He wakes up every morning around 7 stretches, walks to his bowl to see if any food has magically appeared whie we were sleeping, then stands and stares at me. It I don't stir he whines, then woofs, then full out barks - sort of like an alarm that gets louder if you don't turn it off. He gets a milkbone and back to sleep we all go. I might try two in the morning, 1.5 or so in the evening and a big dog cookie right before bed. I get this bark in the morning too! He's in his crate though, at least for the time being, so his woof is a little less frightening Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJNg Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 How much food to feed should depend on the dog's weight, not on how hungry the dog acts. If your dog is maintaining a healthy weight, then you're feeding enough. I'd start by changing your feeding schedule, which you're already considering. You might just need to switch to 2 equal meals, which seems to be what most people do - so try 2 cups in the morning and 2 cups in the evening. Or you can divide it into 3 meals as you suggested. As others have mentioned, the amount of food a dog needs varies greatly depending on the type of food, as well as on the individual dog's metabolism and activity level. I feed twice a day, and my 57 lb girl eats 1 and 1/2 cups each meal, while my 65 lb boy only needs 1 and 1/8 cups. I know a lot of greys who only eat 1 cup twice a day and maintain their weight Many of my fosters fresh off the track, especially the bigger boys, need 2-3 cups twice a day. But as they settle in to retired life, and hormones change due to being spayed/neutered, their caloric needs will decrease. I adjust feeding amounts depending on how their weight responds. Because of how they're built, it's fairly easy to assess a greyhound's weight. Ideally, you should be able to see the tips of the hip bones and the last 2-3 ribs. If you lose sight of these, and the dog starts to look 'round', he may be getting overweight. Quote Jennifer & Willow (Wilma Waggle), Wiki (Wiki Hard Ten), Carter (Let's Get It On), Ollie (whippet), Gracie (whippet x), & Terra (whippet) + Just Saying + Just Alice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kkaiser104 Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 He's only been home 2 weeks and was just neutered in May. He still needs to bulk up...i can see all ribs still. We are pretty active--at minimum, 20 minutes in the morning and 30-40 minutes at night and a trip to the dog park for zoomies 5-6 times a week. He's gained s little weight, but not much (i don't know an exact number). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJNg Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 In that case, you probably have room to feed a little more for now. Just be sure to watch his weight and cut back if he starts to gain too much. I usually prefer not to feed much more than 2-2.5 cups each meal. Our group has noticed a few dogs that can't seem to handle more than that per meal without getting loose stools. If they need to gain weight, they seem to do better with the addition of a 3rd meal. Quote Jennifer & Willow (Wilma Waggle), Wiki (Wiki Hard Ten), Carter (Let's Get It On), Ollie (whippet), Gracie (whippet x), & Terra (whippet) + Just Saying + Just Alice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kkaiser104 Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 Thanks for the advice! Tomorrow I'll try an extra cup in the evening (or a large milkbone, as someone else suggested) as well as even-ing out the first two meals to 2 cups each. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeofNE Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 My dog is one of those one cup, twice a day fellas, but he's only 64 pounds. My last dog ate 2.5 cups twice a day when he was young. As he aged, he needed less and less. He was a mix, not a Greyhound. I've had George for five years, and he weighs exactly the same now as he did when I got him. He walks about 2 miles with me every morning--he's going to be 10 in September. He does get a generous amount of biscuits during the day--which is why I keep his meals so small. I would definitely even out your dog's meals, but don't let him fool you. George would eat any time, night or day. If I were to believe him, he's ALWAYS "starving." Quote Susan, Hamish, Mister Bigglesworth and Nikita Stanislav. Missing Ming, George, and Buck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest KsFrets Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 4 cups/day for 75 pound Magnus and 3 cups/day for 60 pound Maggie and Lisa. This gives us a little room for some scraps, and they always get a milk bone after our evening walk, and two milk bones a piece at bed time. They look good... they actually could shed a pound or two and be fine. Purina green bag mixed with premium stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Wasserbuffel Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 3 cups Taste of the Wild or 20oz of home made wet food for my 60lb girl. She's always ready to eat and her favorite phrase is "I'm starving to death! You can see my ribs and everything!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleptogrey Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 felix 77#- 2 cups 2xs a day annie 57#- 1.5 cups 3xs a day both are 5 years old annie initially(first 6 months) ate 4 cups a day, then she started to fill out. try 2c am, 2c pm, i would put a 3rd feeding in- more poops! also, do you give your pup biskets or kongs? night time might be a good time for a couple of large biskets or a bisket and kong to keep him busy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feisty49 Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 When her appetite is normal, which it isn't in this hot weather, Annie Bella, who weighs about 68 pounds, gets 1.5 cups twice a day: about 6:30 AM and 4:30 PM. She's on sorta a buffet of food right now in an attempt to tempt her into eating and to get rid of mushy poos. She's on Nutro-Venison, a bit of Iams in the red bag and a bit of regular ole' Purina dog food. Alone, she won't eat any of them. Mixed together, she will eat, eventually, and her output is better than it's been in a while. She also gets treats during the day but I generally stick to small-dog size treats that have only 8 calories. She gets one large Milk Bone a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kkaiser104 Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 (edited) felix 77#- 2 cups 2xs a day annie 57#- 1.5 cups 3xs a day both are 5 years old annie initially(first 6 months) ate 4 cups a day, then she started to fill out. try 2c am, 2c pm, i would put a 3rd feeding in- more poops! also, do you give your pup biskets or kongs? night time might be a good time for a couple of large biskets or a bisket and kong to keep him busy. Today I tried 2 cups this morning and 2 cups this afternoon, and will probably give another cup tonight. He still needs to bulk up, and I don't mind the extra potty trip! I'm going to go to Costco tomorrow and buy a box of the big dog biscuts and once I'm happy with his weight he can get one (or two) of those at night instead of the extra cup. I think he would appreciate that! He gets a few little treats during the day, and a kong with peanut butter about once a day (when he goes in his crate) ETA: Clarification Edited July 14, 2012 by kkaiser104 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WhiteWave Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 Ronon is 75lbs and gets 1.5 cups 2x a day with a spoonful of can. He is eating Nutrisource grain free lamb. My 115lb Dogo eats the same amount. You feed for the dogs body condition, not what they want. All my dogs would eat until they popped, but anymore food and the ribs start disappearing. As long as he is in good body condition, you are doing fine! If my dogs harass me for food, they get a carrot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fruitycake Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 Monty gets fed 3X per day, 1.3 cups morning (7AM), evening (6PM) and night before bed (10 PM). He is on Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream, which is slightly more concentrated than yours. We found that feeding more at any time would cause digestive issues for him, and this way it is just right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest iconsmum Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Mine gets fifteen ounces per meal, twice a day. It can be a chicken quarter, leg-thigh, a bowl of green tripe, a pork rib rack, cooked egg and fish oil, frozen mackerels...any combination as long as the price is right. I never feed any carb, not even treats. He's shiny, never has gas and most important of all, it takes him a solid 5 minutes to eat. I priced a bag of iams the other day and realized it was just about exactly what I'm paying for the real thing - plus the time it takes to source it and freeze it. It's a good option from the standpoint of dental health and overall eating satisfaction Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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