Example Of Your Daily Greyhound Dog's Meals

[Guest mischaluvsgreys]

Hi all greyhound owners/lovers. I'm Michelle and I'm picking up my newly adopted hound Dominica soon (This is a pic of her from the kennel's website I promise to take more as soon as I have her home). I have read a greyhound new owner manual & my question is regarding dog food. I was planning on purchasing a premium dog kibble and I've heard that mixing broth or water to soften the kibble is best. Do all of you do that? What brand of kibble do you use? Also may I please have an example of when you feed your dog and what you feed him/her? If anyone has time to do this it would be soooo helpful. I was also planning on eventually adding lean meats and veggies to her meal plans. I am a first time dog owner however luckily my boyfriend has owned many dogs (His last dog was a female greyhound). Therefore, any advice would be much appreciated since I'm having first time dog owner anxiety. LOL.

 

[philospher77]

Katie gets a cup to a cup-and-a-half of Taste of the Wild in the morning (depending on activity level, flavor (they have different caloric densities, and how well she ate the previous day) and a cup at night. A reasonable amount of treats. That's pretty much it. Sometimes I do the wetting of the food, but I have mostly stopped doing that unless she seems to be a bit "off" on eating.

[krissy]

I never soften a dog's food unless there's a reason... like after surgery of the mouth, or diseases of the mouth (I had a patient who had cancer in her jaw bone that was very painful, it also ate away at some of her teeth and left a big gaping whole in her gums... I recommended her owner feed canned or soften kibble). Soft food is a great way to help promote dental disease, a problem that the breed struggles with already. A hard food will help a bit to keep those teeth in better shape (though of course I recommend brushing every day as the best defense against dental disease).

 

Summit eats 3 cups a day of J/D dry (kibble) split into 1 cup in the AM and 2 cups in the PM. He gets treats for training and the odd ones here and there.

 

Kili gets 2 cups a day of Purina Pediatric dry (puppy kibble). She eats out of kongs throughout the day so she doesn't really get fed meals. The kibble is stuffed into the kongs with canned dog food or baby food usually. I use some of the 2 cups for her kongs and the rest for training, though she also gets lots of treats for training as well.

[Feisty49]

Good morning. You'll get lots and lots of responses and with luck, most of us will make sure that you understand that we feed what we do because it works for our dogs, our households and our budgets.

 

Background: Annie had diarrhea issues when I first adopted her. After reading lots of posts on here, I thought that was typical. (What new people need to remember is that a lot of this forum is to help each other out so more posts are written about issues and problems than other types.) I now doubt that soft serve or diarrhea that lasts for a few weeks is typical post adoption. The foster homes in my group change food fairly regularly and they claim with no problem.

 

After some experimentation, Annie Bella is now on Taste of the Wild-High Prairie formula and does well with help from beet pulp. She gets 1.5 cups for breakfast and another 1.5 cups for supper. In her b'fast I might put in a heaping tablespoon of beet pulp because it firms up her stools. I put water in the food to help slow her down, but I don't let the kibble soak before giving her the dish. She tends to scoff things down and then hack as if she's choking so the water slows her down but it doesn't make the kibble soft.

 

She gets a few treats during the day, but, with the exception of Large Dog Milk Bones (half a one after morning walk and the other half after afternoon walk), I buy treats for small dogs, with less than 20 calories each, so the "few" treats don't pile calories into her system. Maybe once a week she gets a bully stick. She also gets a tarter-helping chew once or twice a week. She almost never gets people food. It's just not my thing to give her people food. The up side to this is she never begs for food. Her vet says she's doing great and her weight is maintained at 65-66 pounds, 5 pounds over her racing weight.

 

The quality of kibble is up for debate among every dog owner, not just Greyhounds. I tend not to buy into the hype about grains, etc. I do buy into what keeps Annie healthy, makes her poo good and is something I can afford.

Edited April 24, 2013 by Feisty49

[greyhoundlady]

I feed both my greys Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream - 1-1/2 cups morning and 1-1/2 evening (total 3 cups a day) (dry). Sometimes I add a little sardine on top or some cooked sugar snap peas. They are both good eaters and not picky. They also get dog biscuits - usually Milk Bones. Also, occasionally they get Kongs filled with some kibble and topped off with peanut butter.

 

I don't moisten their food - but I have read that for some dogs it is easier for them to eat it that way. I have also seen where a lot of add ins can make them picky eaters. As Feisty49 mentioned, there are going to be adjustments as you go along, to see what works best.

 

Congratulations on your new greyhound! You will be so happy with her - she looks beautiful!

Edited April 24, 2013 by greyhoundlady

[Guest mischaluvsgreys]

Krissy, I was JUST on the Kong site debating whether to buy one. I think I'll get one eventually now that I've read sooo many positive reviews and that a greyhound owner, like you, uses them. Also thankyou Philosopher & everyone else for telling me what brand of kibble. I really appreciate it. I appreciate any input to my question.

I feed both my greys Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream - 1-1/2 cups morning and 1-1/2 evening (total 3 cups a day) (dry). Sometimes I add a little sardine on top or some cooked sugar snap peas. They are both good eaters and not picky. They also get dog biscuits - usually Milk Bones. Also, occasionally they get Kongs filled with some kibble and topped off with peanut butter.

Do you buy your taste of the wild at Pet Smart? Thankyou 4 responding to my post greyhoundlady

Edited April 24, 2013 by mischaluvsgreys

[a_daerr]

You will get a million different answers, because the "best" dog food is the one that works best for YOUR dog, and that varies greatly from greyhound to greyhound. Many people try several different foods before they settle on one that works. My only advice is to not read too much into what's considered "premium." Those are all marketing buzz words and fads (organic, wholistic, limited-ingredient, grain-free). When I was brand new, I wanted to give my dog the most expensive, highest rated food I could find. After five different "premium" brands, he was still getting diarrhea and constant digestive upset. We now feed Iams Proactive Health. Many people on this forum refer to it as "green bag." Yes, it's cheap and I buy it from a grocery store (gasp!) but it's the only food I've found that doesn't give my dogs problems. If you look above, the poster with the username Krissy is a vet, and she feeds her dogs Hill's and Purina.

 

I also supplement their meals with rice, oatmeal, cottage cheese, ravioli, bananas, greek yogurt, lean meats, bones, and lots of different homemade cookies, muffins, and biscuits. They won't touch vegetables (some will). It's all trial and error for the most part.

 

Best of luck with your girl! She's gorgeous!

[greysmom]

We feed Nutra Nuggets Lamb and Rice kibble. My adults gets a bit less than 1 cup 2 times a day, plus a couple tablespoons of canned food (generic or Pedigree), and a couple tablespoons of full-fat yogurt for the probiotics. I also put water on their food to stop the gakking from eating too fast. They also get some add-ins of various meats, fruits and veggies, as available (ie - leftovers!), and lots of commercial treats.

 

As far as dry kibble helping their teeth, none of mine actually *chew* their kibble - it's more of an inhale - so that doesn't really make any difference. The only one that does is my puppy, and she eats her kibble

one.

piece.

at.

a.

time.

Some greys just have bad teeth. It's probably genetic. You can help them with brushing, chewing products, tooth gels/sprays, and frequent dentals, but I've never had any of that "cure" their yucky mouths. I'm so glad I have a houseful of good teeth now!

 

Mine all do well now on this feeding regimen - firm and smaller poops, no gas, easily holding their weight, they eat it - which is the criteria I use to decide what and how much to feed them. We've spent tons of $$$ on "premium" foods and we've gone the cheapo dog food route with it making absolutely no difference. So we decided we would feed something we could afford, that we could buy at the store we do our food shopping at, and they liked.

 

Some dogs need a particular food for digestive issues (allergies or IBD, for example). That's a separate subject.

[krissy]

If you look above, the poster with the username Krissy is a vet, and she feeds her dogs Hill's and Purina.

 

I also supplement their meals with rice, oatmeal, cottage cheese, ravioli, bananas, greek yogurt, lean meats, bones, and lots of different homemade cookies, muffins, and biscuits. They won't touch vegetables (some will). It's all trial and error for the most part.

 

Guess I'll add to this that I feed "vet brands" because I'm a vet and it's convenient way for me to feed a "premium" food. But I think what others have said about finding what works for your dog is important.

 

Kili now eats the Purina Veterinary Pediatric formula. However, I went through several foods before we settled on this one. She came home from the breeder on Purina Pro Plan Puppy, and I already had a bag of Medi-Cal Gastro Puppy because it was going out of date soon. She actually did pretty well on that but I think I forgot about it when we started having issues. Not sure why! The only puppy food we typically carry is the Medi-Cal/Royal Canin Development. This was right as the companies were merging. So the first bag was original Medi-Cal and worked great. Bought the second bag which was Medi-Cal/Royal Canin and the formula must have changed because it gave her terrible gas and soft stool. Switched to the Hill's Healthy Advantage Puppy, even worse. Finally tried the Purina Pediatric and that has been the golden ticket ever since.

 

And I used to feed Summit some IAMS Lamb and Rice (the "red bag", lol) when I was still a vet student.

 

Feed what works. Don't get sucked into advertising. Don't fall for marketing gimmicks like "holistic" since there is no legal definition of that. Just pick a food you feel comfortable with and try it. If it doesn't work, try something else. Give a good 7-14 day transition if she tends to have a sensitive stomach for foods.

 

Kongs are awesome. I use them for both my hounds. And they get lots of supplemental foods in those just like Alicia was mentioning... cottage cheese, yogurt, peanut butter, baby food, soft dog food, etc.

[greyhoundlady]

Do you buy your taste of the wild at Pet Smart? Thankyou 4 responding to my post greyhoundlady

 

I buy Taste Of The Wild on line - either wag.com or Amazon. If you want to try it, start with the small bag and see how your girl does. It is also sold at the Tractor Supply/Feed store here. Not sure if it is sold at Pet Smart.

[Guest RMarie]

Breakfast: 1/2 cup kibble in water (no soaking, just enough to slow him down, otherwise he hacks on dry kibble)

Post-breakfast: dental chew

Get off the couch and go for your morning walk treat: small cookie

Post-post-breakfast/leaving for work snack: large milkbone

Mid-day post-dog-walker leaving snack: kong with approximately 1 cup kibble, plugged with peanut butter

Dinner: 1/2-3/4 cup kibble in water, then 1/2-3/4 cup kibble in his tug-jug

Get off the couch and go for your nightly walk treat: small cookie

 

Get off the couch and come upstairs and go to bed treat: small cookie

 

Current kibble is Iams green bag.

 

Dominica is BEAUTIFUL!!!

[4My2Greys]

Those are all marketing buzz words and fads (organic, wholistic, limited-ingredient, grain-free).

 

While I do agree that organic and wholistic can be thrown out the window, limited-ingredient is very important and grain-free to an extent to those whose dogs have issues with certain ingredients. This is especially important to me as Nadir has allergies to numerous proteins and rice. One of his allergies is to fish, that includes fish oil. The smallest amount in a food will set off his symptoms. Try finding a dogfood that doesn't contain fish oil. That is where limited-ingredient is very important.

Currently I'm feeding Nadir Blue Buffalo Freedom GF because chicken is one of the few proteins, so far, he has not reacted to. He gets 8.5 ounces, about 2 cups, in the morning and in the evening. My other grey Chase gets to finish up the bags of food Nadir has developed problems with. He gets 7 ounces of kibble in the morning and again in the evening. Nadir and Chase are good examples of how each greyhound is different in the amount they need. Nadir's racing weight was 67 lbs, he has been retired about 7 years now and I have always found it hard to keep weight on him. Currently he is at 65 lbs. On the other hand, Chase who weighs in around 85, gets less food and maintains his weight.

I like to think of shopping for dogfood as I would food for myself. If I were a meat eater I would as a rule not make hotdogs, which are nothing but leftover parts of the slaughter process, the staple of my diet and thus I would not feed my dogs a food with unidentifiable parts .

[Guest ShanYu]

Nike has a cup and a half of Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin Sensitive stomach for breakfast and dinner with a spoonful of plain yogurt on top. Occasionally he gets a can of sardines in water instead of the yoghurt. I add water to the kibble. He has a kong when I leave for work with a couple of pieces of milkbone and peanut butter inside. For treats he has milkbone pieces or dried liver pieces.Every morning he has a fish pill and I brush his teeth every night - and give him a dried chicken foot as a reward. No digestive issues.

Enjoy your new dog - she looks gorgeous!!

[a_daerr]

 

Guess I'll add to this that I feed "vet brands" because I'm a vet and it's convenient way for me to feed a "premium" food. But I think what others have said about finding what works for your dog is important.

 

In the U.S., people bash Hill's and Purina all the time for not being "premium" foods... even the veterinary formulas get a bad wrap! When I think of "premium," I think of the foods that are $70 a bag foods that are sold at private, boutique-y stores. In my humble opinion, totally unnecessary. So Kristie, even though you're feeding the higher end formulas, you helped make the point that the term "premium" is relative. Thanks!

 

Bottom line: it just depends on what works best for your individual dog.

[Hubcitypam]

Buddy gets 4 cups of Purina One healthy weight - 2 cups at around 11 a.m. and around 11 p.m. - I was a bartender by trade and we all still keep those hours. He gets one big milkbone a day and a three or four little liver treats. They don't get a lot of people food, but if I make scrambled eggs the three of them split 2 eggs. If I get a burger the three split one plain small burger with one bun thrown away.

 

I tried lots of high end foods with my Rex...Blue Buffalo, Solid Gold, Wellness, California Natural and a few others. Nothing came out of him I could scoop as oppose to hose in. I finally got so fed up I tossed a green bag of Iams in my cart. I'd fed it for years before internet "experts" started lecturing about the demon corn. Fixed him right up and cured me of being a food snob. Buddy is prone to gain weight so the Purina One works for him.

[Guest wylie_coyote]

We have 4 hounds and all get different amounts of food depending on activity and time of year.

morning is usually kibble (sams brand lamb and rice) 1 cup to 2 1/4 cups per dog.

 

Sherry(3yrs-60lbs) 1 cup

Charlie (7yrs 79-80lbs) 1 cup low metabolism puts on weight easy

Echo (2yrs 85lbs) 2 to 21/4 cups still learning him he came home last month

Magic (6yrs 75-76lbs) 2 cups at minimum he is a hard keeper and I have to adjust his if he is looking skinny.

 

They all get either leftover pulp from (wife's juicing) or vegetable juice added, Pumpkin, salmon oil or sardines, oatmeal, 1 egg 2-3 times a week, chicken livers and hearts (or some other organs). That's breakfast...

 

Treats or kongs

maybe a meat bone or something.

 

Dinner is a meat of some kind the staple is raw chicken quarters, ranging in weight from 8-14oz typically. Each dog will get 1 each if they are really small maybe 2.

 

Just remember each dog is different and you will need to experiment to get it right for you and them. Also don't be surprised if he does not eat well the first few days. It can take sometime for them to adjust.

[4My2Greys]

 

I tried lots of high end foods with my Rex...Blue Buffalo, Solid Gold, Wellness, California Natural and a few others. Nothing came out of him I could scoop as oppose to hose in.

I'm currently feeding Blue Buffalo and having really good poop results. Prior to that I was feeding California Natural GF Venison and Potato and had arguably the best formed output of any with this food. Not only were the feces well formed and compact they disintegrated quickly if I wasn't quick about picking them up in the yard, unlike many foods where the poop will sit there for eternity until you pick it up.

[Hubcitypam]

I'm currently feeding Blue Buffalo and having really good poop results. Prior to that I was feeding California Natural GF Venison and Potato and had arguably the best formed output of any with this food.

Rex was about 10 years ago, before grain free became all the rage. If it existed they didn't carry it at the high end pet boutique. Blue's mantras then were "no corn, no wheat, no soy" and "human grade ingredients".

[OwnedBySummer]

I have gone through numerous kibbles with Summer, searching for the one which works best. Some she absolutely refuses to eat, like Blue Buffalo. Others she gets tired of. And if I have to add stuff to it to make it more appealing to her, then out goes that kibble because I won't do it. Eventually I stopped with the "high end" foods and slunk into the grocery store to buy a bag of Iams "green bag". SURPRISE! -- Summer loves it and does well on it! I still find myself researching "better" foods and then forcing myself to leave everything alone -- if it ain't broke, etc. Her poops are smaller than they were on the high-end foods and beautifully formed, she has no dandruff or itchy areas and her coat is velvet soft. And the one that I really love is that she has more energy than many of the younger dogs at greyhound playdates!

 

She gets 1-3/4 cups for breakfast at 9am when we get up, with very hot water on it. And nope, I don't wait for it to cool down -- she likes it hot! And she'll eat it up right away, so no soggies. If I know she's going to very active during the day and maybe that dinner will be late, I'll give her 2 cups.

For dinner, around 6pm, she gets one can of moist food.

Bedtime, which is anywhere from 11pm-3am, she gets a cookie.

Treats are irregular/whenever but they are healthy and locally made -- dehydrated liver/lung/trachea/tendon/pizzles. Also dehydrated duck feet/chicken feet/rabbit ears with fur on. A weekly raw duck or turkey neck.

Edited April 24, 2013 by OwnedBySummer

[Guest mischaluvsgreys]

She gets 1-3/4 cups for breakfast at 9am when we get up, with very hot water on it. And nope, I don't wait for it to cool down -- she likes it hot! And she'll eat it up right away, so no soggies. If I know she's going to very active during the day and maybe that dinner will be late, I'll give her 2 cups.

For dinner, around 6pm, she gets one can of moist food.

Bedtime, which is anywhere from 11pm-3am, she gets a cookie.

Treats are irregular/whenever but they are healthy and locally made -- dehydrated liver/lung/trachea/tendon/pizzles. Also dehydrated duck feet/chicken feet/rabbit ears with fur on. A weekly raw duck or turkey neck.

 

I read about the turkey neck being good for greyhound's teeth in "Adopting the Racing Greyhound" by Cnynthia Branigan. I definitely will try that. Where do you get them? The butcher?

[greyhoundlady]

You might want to start out slowly with giving your grey only a few new things to see if she is tolerating them. I start out with the new food (unless the adoption group has told what she is on now) and a dog biscuit, etc. for treats. I have one grey who took a long time for me to find the right 'mix' - doesn't do well on chicken, or milk products like yogurt, and one who tolerated everything right from the beginning. By that I mean 'poop' - which is a whole other discussion!

[Guest WhiteWave]

Not every dog is going to do well on every food, so sometimes it is trial and error. She will come to you eating Pedigree is that is what they feed at the rescue and they usually give you some sample bags you can mix with whatever you decide to try. Find something that is affordable and easy to get and then see how the dog does on it. Most healthy dogs do fine on most foods. It is normally the people who make it difficult by obsessing over every little ingredient and trying to listen to what everyone online says!

 

Joey is high energy and a growing puppy. He was eating a food called Redpaw, but for the summer I switched him to Victor Hi Energy b/c is less expensive. Although I think the Redpaw was a better food and may end up going back to it. But it would be nice to save $30 a bag!

 

He eats 2 1/2- 3 cups plus either canned/homecooked or raw hambuger in the AM and the same in the PM So about 5-6 cups a day plus extras.

 

Ronon is eating Annamaet Lean a grain free food b/c there was a mix up in my order and I have 30lbs of this food so it has to go somewhere. He is actually doing quite well on it. It is high protein, but low fat. He gets 1.5 cups AM and 1.5 cups Pm with toppers.

 

Casper one of my other dogs is eating 4 Health Grain free beef from Tractor Supply and he likes it. It runs $33 for 30lb bag and last over a month for him Their can food is pretty good too at $1/can.

[RedHead]

Morning meal here is a kibble/meat mixture (raw beef, chicken, pork muscle, organ meat and tripe) + kibble. I tend to switch kibble up, but I usually do Acana/Taste of the Wild as most others cause problems.

 

Evening meal is sometimes the same thing, or a variety of stuff. Chicken quarters/beef/lamb or pork, tinned fish, eggs, canned dog food, or healthy leftovers (pasta, potatoes, veggies) mixed in kibble. In the winter I make them a "doggy" soup or stew on the weekend to warm us up after our cold walks lol can you tell I have no kids?

 

I fed mix-ins from the get go. From my experience, all of my dogs have actually had firmer poops that way, and it is what they are used to from the track.

[DevilDog]

Breakfast: Sage and Finn both get 1.5 cups of dry kibble. Natures Domain turkey and sweet potato from Costco. Finn inhales it, Sage rarely touches it and I have to pull it up or Finn will help himself.

 

Dinner: Sage gets 3.5 cups kibble (to partially make up for skipping breakfast), and Finn gets 2 cups kibble. I add 1\4 can of either the chicken or beef wet food (from Costco), OR pumpkin, yogurt, cheese, pasta, rice, veggies or chicken. All depends on what I'm cooking or if there are leftovers in the fridge that are acceptable for them. Finn would eat an old shoe if I put it in his bowl, but sage is sooo wishy washy, sometimes the only way to get her to eat is to sprinkle Kraft grated parmasan on her food.

 

They get one big cookie every night. Sometimes they get a dental stick instead. If Sage is going through a picky eating stage I'll give her an extra cookie. Oh, and whenever we have pizza they always get pizza bones!

Edited April 25, 2013 by DevilDog

[philospher77]

Just thought I would add that Katie is a very small greyhound girl, at 56-58 pounds, and she lives a pretty sedentary life, since she is a bit of a spook and still has some issues with being out in the big wide world. Plus I like to keep my dogs very lean, too keep their joints healthy.