Please Help, Our New Girl Is Eating Us Out Of House And Home

[Dawnnziggy]

Okay, we got Myrtle yesterday and she is always hungry! She has eaten 4 and a half cups of food today! Isn't that a lot? She is 21 months old. Should I be feeding her puppy food? She is very thin. The gentleman who picked her up for us told me to fatten her up. She was wormed a week ago. I am still seeing worms in her poo. Most of them are dead but some of them are still alive. Could this be part of the reason she is so hungry?

 

I appreciate your words of wisdom!

Judy

[JJNg]

Yes, worms can definitely be contributing to her appetite and being thin. If you're still seeing live worms, she needs to be dewormed again. What do the worms look like?

 

How long has she been off the track? I find that young greys that are newly retired and just recently spayed/neutered often need more food to gain/maintain weight. It will take some time, but their metabolism will slow down since they are no longer in training, and also as the hormones clear their system. My 56-lb female initially ate 2 cups twice a day when I first adopted her at 2 years old, and she's now down to 1 and 3/8 cup twice daily. Most of my fosters start off eating anywhere from 2-3 cups twice daily.

 

I wouldn't feed puppy food. Just give her a little more of the regular food, and monitor her weight. You'll probably need to decrease the amount you're feeding in a few weeks as she fills in. Not sure if you feed twice a day, but some dogs do better with an additional meal than just increasing the size of each existing meal.

[JohnF]

And Greyhounds are used to eating whatever is put in front of them really quickly too. Keep to a de-worming program and don't feed much more what it says on the bag for the weight - I always find it to be more than actually necessary if the dog also gets treat things.

[a_daerr]

I don't think 4.5 cups is too terribly much. Granted, I have two big boys, but they each eat 4 cups of kibble per day. My puppy just turned one-year-old, and he eats canned food, greek yogurt, cottage cheese, eggs, rice, oatmeal, and a bunch of other mix-ins in addition to his kibble. If she has worms and is at her racing weight, she needs to eat a bit more for awhile.

[Guest BrianRke]

I would worm her again and continue feeing her 4-5 cups a day until she reaches a good weight. I would split it into at least 2 meals, 3 meals would be better.

[cleptogrey]

a twenty-something-month old grey is going to look scrawney, they are really young and that's what they look like! keep track of the worm situation and feed a good quality food- max 4 cups and white some rice and wait. it will take some time for her to start to fill out- a combo of just leaving the track and being young. also you are battleing a worm situation, so be patient. one of the adopters in our group fattened up her do so quickly that she lost all greyhound characteristics! also, she's down right FAT and most likely will never get the weight off if need be. she upped this female to 6 cups a day- be patient, somewhere around 3-4 years of age she will finally get to her adult weight. been there w/ not only greyhounds but salukis as well- 2 sloooooow maturing breeds. greyhounds are fast maturing as compared to salukis!

[TheFullHouse]

Yes, worms can definitely be contributing to her appetite and being thin. If you're still seeing live worms, she needs to be dewormed again. What do the worms look like?

 

How long has she been off the track? I find that young greys that are newly retired and just recently spayed/neutered often need more food to gain/maintain weight. It will take some time, but their metabolism will slow down since they are no longer in training, and also as the hormones clear their system. My 56-lb female initially ate 2 cups twice a day when I first adopted her at 2 years old, and she's now down to 1 and 3/8 cup twice daily. Most of my fosters start off eating anywhere from 2-3 cups twice daily.

 

I wouldn't feed puppy food. Just give her a little more of the regular food, and monitor her weight. You'll probably need to decrease the amount you're feeding in a few weeks as she fills in. Not sure if you feed twice a day, but some dogs do better with an additional meal than just increasing the size of each existing meal.

 

This has been true with every single dog I've gotten directly from the track. The ones that sat in adoption for a while, not so much because they've had time for their metabolism to slow down as well as the hormones. My dogs from the track I fed 4 cups a day until they slowed down and then cut them back when they started gaining weight.

[Guest kahjul]

Ive had our new girl since mid-april. 1 year old, right off the track, was only at her foster home for 2 weeks. Her coat was really poor and she was scary thin. She has been on 4 cups a day (2 feedings). I tried some mix ins with her, but everything upset her tummy. On straight kibble, she has good, firm poop, no vomiting and has gained 5 pounds. She finally has a great coat and her weight is really good. She's built different than our other female, this one is short (only 23") and quite stocky in the chest, so it was hard for me to gauge her weight. Our other girl is tall and leggy, with a long back and barrel. I would say its just been in the last 2 weeks that she looks good, so it takes a while! She also gets/needs a lot more excersize, (still a pup). She goes for 2-4 mile walks or jogs almost daily.

[Burpdog]

If you are seeing worms, she needs to be wormed. Probably tape? Take a sample into the vet.

 

You are feeding the worms in addition to her so feed more until she is wormed and clear.

[Dawnnziggy]

I have more wormer but I am not supposed to use it until October 1. She still wants to chew, chew, chew. Are all of her puppy teeth gone? I assumed that they were. I appreciate all of your help!

[Yamaha_gurl]

It REALLY REALLY depends on the food too. I have Bella on one type of food, and she was seriously fine on only 1 cup a day...not skinny at all, and not hungry! Then I changed it and she is now on 3 cups and maintaining the same weight.

[TheFullHouse]

I have more wormer but I am not supposed to use it until October 1. She still wants to chew, chew, chew. Are all of her puppy teeth gone? I assumed that they were. I appreciate all of your help!

 

She's still going to act like a puppy even though she doesn't look like it. Toys she can chew on like a kong and a lot of exercise! A tired hound makes for happy parents. Baby proof your home. The fewer things left lying around the less damage she can do. Long walks and if you have a yard, some good runs around the yard will help to tire her out.

[a_daerr]

She still wants to chew, chew, chew.

.

 

My one-year-old puts anything and everything in his mouth. It's good that she likes to chew, because chewing helps keep teeth healthy! We like dehydrated knee bones and CET compressed rawhide strips.

[Brandiandwe]

We adopted our two at 20 months old. They were both still puppies. Now 2.5 they are gradually maturing. Sort of. Still definitely more puppy than adult, with lots of energy and playing. Both are starting to fill out a bit but they will never be huge.

 

Chewing is normal. Make sure she has something or things to play with. Play it by ear with the food. I'd worm her again personally if you're still seeing live worms - take her to the vet and see about a session of daily wormers maybe? Otherwise, mine are on about 3 cups of kibble a day with yoghurt, treats, cheese and greyhound biscuits for their teeth. They seem to be a good weight but the amount you feed will depend on the calorie content of the food and whatever else you are giving her.

[JJNg]

Puppy teeth are gone by 6 months old, but chewing is still normal, as others have mentioned. If you're still seeing worms, it's a good idea to have your vet check a stool sample, and have a look at the worms you're seeing. No all dewormers cover all types of worms, so the dewormer you have for October may or may not be appropriate for what she has.

[Guest Gemma]

Definitely take a stool sample to the vet, as others have said. They can advice you on which wormer is safe to use again.

 

I've also had newly retired, young greys who eat a lot to begin with. We had a tiny peanut of a foster, just shy of 2 years old, and quite underweight even for a recently retired/'flunked' greyhound. She ate close to 4 cups a day of a high quality kibble for the first 5-6 months. As her weight reached a more healthy level, she was less ravenously hungry and we dropped her food down to 3 cups.