Food Reccomendations For My New Retired Racer

[Guest seanpatrick]

Hi there!

 

I'm about a week and half away from bringing my new racer home from his foster Mom's. He's super affectionate and I'm looking forward to bringing him home.

 

Unfortunately he's been having some loose stools - I'm not sure how well he's taking to what he's being fed at the fosters, and am looking for suggestions for good healthy food. He's a 4 1/2 year old male. I've done some reading (retired racing greyhounds for dummies) and am aware of some suggested parameters, such as protein between 20 to 25 %, fat between 10 - 15 % and 5 % fiber. With that in mind I've found a few, and was hoping I could get some feedback or orther suggestions. This is what I've come up with:

 

http://www.petvalu.com/dog/food/product/10328/adult-large-breed-formula-performatrin

This has the required amount of the aforementioned levels of protein / fat / fiber with plenty of healthy ingredients including pearl barley which is listed at Number 2 on the healthiest ingredient list.

http://www.petsmart.ca/dog/dry-food/blue-trade-life-protection-formula-adult-dog-food-zid36-3322/cat-36-catid-100032?var_id=36-3322&_t=pfm%3Dcategory%26pfmvalue%3Dfaceted

This seems to get rated highly - and has lots of vegetable ingredients.

http://www.petsmart.ca/dog/dry-food/iams-proactive-health-large-breed-adult-dog-food-zid36-3469/cat-36-catid-100032?var_id=36-3469&_t=pfm%3Dcategory%26pfmvalue%3Dfaceted

This has a decent balance of protein etc, though it’s got chicken meal as it’s second ingredient - It’s cheaper but I think the first two might be better.

http://www.petmax.ca/product_families/view/933/Eukanuba_Dog_Large_Breed_Adult

This might be ok also, but has “meal” listed a little to high on the ingredient list for me.

What do you think?

Thanks!

Sean.

[RedHead]

I wouldn't worry overly much about the percentages that you have listed. Many dogs on here do well on a variety of diets (high protein, low protein) as long as you can find something that works. Greyhounds are notoriously very difficult to find the right food for. There are MANY threads on here with suggestions, but it really comes down to your dog.

 

Out of the food you have mentioned, I have only fed the Performatrin Grain Free (I am guessing you are in Canada?). My dogs did fairly well on it. A lot of people here swear by the Iams, as it has beet pulp in it to firm up stools. It can be overwhelming sometimes with all of the food selections available now.

 

Oh and before you do anything, I am assuming your grey has been dewormed? They often come with worms which can be difficult to get rid of completely.

[Guest karilynn]

I went through 5 brands of food before I found one that finally gave my hound solid poops 100% of the time. It took almost a year and a half, but I had to go with a grain free, chicken free formula. It sometimes is just trial and error to see what works and what doesn't.

[ramonaghan]

Since so many people here have had luck with "green bag" Iams, I'd be inclined to try that first. Sweep does well on it, and she also did well on the Blue Buffalo Life Protection formula you have listed, although many other greys seem to have loose stools with Blue. Just don't change too rapidly or too often. Best of luck, and please post pics when you have your new boy!

[Guest seanpatrick]

I wouldn't worry overly much about the percentages that you have listed. Many dogs on here do well on a variety of diets (high protein, low protein) as long as you can find something that works. Greyhounds are notoriously very difficult to find the right food for. There are MANY threads on here with suggestions, but it really comes down to your dog.

 

Out of the food you have mentioned, I have only fed the Performatrin Grain Free (I am guessing you are in Canada?). My dogs did fairly well on it. A lot of people here swear by the Iams, as it has beet pulp in it to firm up stools. It can be overwhelming sometimes with all of the food selections available now.

 

Oh and before you do anything, I am assuming your grey has been dewormed? They often come with worms which can be difficult to get rid of completely.

 

You're guessing right, I'm from Canada Perhaps I'll try the Iams, at least I recognize the name. I'm pretty sure he's been dewormed as the adoption agency (afterthetrack.ca) apparently has that all looked after before they're adopted. That being said I dropped one of the folks at the agency a line just to make sure. When I get him I'll be taking him for a vets appointment anyways for a check up - but should know more by then when I sign the adoption papers.

 

I went through 5 brands of food before I found one that finally gave my hound solid poops 100% of the time. It took almost a year and a half, but I had to go with a grain free, chicken free formula. It sometimes is just trial and error to see what works and what doesn't.

 

Hmm.. It sounds like grey's are prone to soft poops. His today were more than a little soft though - bordering on an apple sauce like consistency (sorry for the descriptiveness!). The foster mom tells me not all of his stools have been like that, though she did mention it to me last week so obviously it's an ongoing problem. Hopefully I'll get it sorted out with the food sooner than you

 

 

Since so many people here have had luck with "green bag" Iams, I'd be inclined to try that first. Sweep does well on it, and she also did well on the Blue Buffalo Life Protection formula you have listed, although many other greys seem to have loose stools with Blue. Just don't change too rapidly or too often. Best of luck, and please post pics when you have your new boy!

 

Green bag Iams eh? Ok well that sounds like a good suggestion. There seems to be a few green bag Iams, http://www.iams.ca/en-ca/dog-food/buy-now?online=PH - would it be the pro-active Adult Chunks formula or the Large Breed formula? Thanks!

[ramonaghan]

Green bag Iams eh? Ok well that sounds like a good suggestion. There seems to be a few green bag Iams, http://www.iams.ca/en-ca/dog-food/buy-now?online=PH - would it be the pro-active Adult Chunks formula or the Large Breed formula? Thanks!

Either should be fine--it's the beet pulp that's the magic ingredient and that's in both. That said, many of us feed the mini-chunks, actually, because of our dogs' tendency to gulp their food. Seems to help reduce gagging and choking. It's also a good idea to add a little warm water to their kibble for the same reason.

[OwnedBySummer]

Iams Proactive Health Adult Mini Chunks here, with very warm water on it, about 1/4 cup, maybe a touch more, served right away so it doesn't get soggy. My girl doesn't do well on the higher-end foods.

[Guest karilynn]

I also want to say, I add some non-fat plain yogurt to my boy's meal and stir it in with a cup of water... it seems to have an easier time eating it and the probiotic in the yogurt has helped his stomach a lot. There is also a pumpkin powder you can buy called firm up! I got it at Chuck N Don's and also Amazon. You sprinkle some on their food, add some water, and it really really helps firm up soft poop.

[Guest Johberry]

Some members here, including myself due to the rave reviews, have had luck with Olewo products, specifically the carrots, for firming up poop. Tried a powdered probiotic by SB Naturals, Animal Essentials Plant Enzymes & Probiotics ordered through Amazon (Olewo can be ordered through Amazon as well) with mediocre results. Currently am using Answers Raw Goat's Milk and our hound loves it with no bad BMs from it. Oh, and for his kibble, we've had luck with Nutrisca which is grain-free and potato-free. This forum has a plethora of great information and advice I've happily taken with positive results. And I have to add that recently feeding one raw meal a day, usually for dinner, has done more for his health and BMs than any supplements we've tried. Best to you and your hound.

[Guest normaandburrell]

Sine no one else has mentioned this, I will. Make sure you switch over gradually. Our adoption group recommends a 25% change per week.

[JohnF]

Good advice from what people have already said.

Your Grey will probably get diarrhea for the first few days post adoption anyway as a result of the stress. He will have lost everything familiar and that will worry him. I'd feed the same as the Foster people and then gradually (over 10 days) change to a diet of your choice.

 

Iam's Proactive green bag works OK for Peggy but she goes off it. What I feed now is a premium duck & brown rice Kibble (Burns sensiitve brand... and most like n/a in Canada) and top it with 1/4 of a little tray of real 100% lamb (no fillers of any kind) wet food. There is only 18% protien in the kibble and that suits her. High protien causes gastric reflux as well as pudding poops. She can't tolerate turkey or chicken now follwoing a crisis back in the summer that led me to get the expensive kibble after feeding Royal Canin gastro-intestinal vet recovery diet for a while.

[Guest seanpatrick]

Wow - So many great suggestions!.. I've obviously come to the right place for all things Greyhound. There's obviously a lot of opinions on food - and they all seem to be great. Whichever I decide I'll keep the others in back-up in case the first doesn't do the trick. I'll order a bag of the Alewo Carrots (it certainly can't hurt) and ad some to his meals, I'll also try the dollop of yogurt suggestion, as the author of "Retired Racing Greyhounds for Dummies" swears by that for all her dogs as well. I'll also switch foods gradually so my boy isn't completely shocked.

 

Do higher protein diets cause extra gas?

 

Cheers!

Sean.

 

PS: Royal thanks you too.

[Guest Doggone]

Another IAMS fan here! Autumn came from her foster home with "pudding produce" and killer gas on a high-end diet. Having tried a few things that either she refused or didn't work (sweet potatoes, yogurt, pumpkin, etc), I finally switched her over to the IAMS green bag (adult mini-chunks) and SUCCESS!

In the morning, I feed it dry with a little bit of smelly fish kibble sprinkled on top. She doesn't wake up hungry, so I just leave it for free feeding......she usually finishes it by 10-11. In the evening, she gets just IAMS with a 1/4 can of some wet food (it varies, since she tolerates all), plus some warm water. That she finishes in record time!

As time goes on, Royal will clue you in on what's best for him. That's how I learned to NEVER give Autumn rawhide or any bully sticks.......she "vacuums" them and the next day or two, it's back to "puddingville".

P.S. Royal is one handsome fellow!

[Feisty49]

Don't apologize for the descriptiveness of your posts. When it comes to our dogs' guts, we go all out!

 

As many people as post here is about as many suggestions you'll get for food. First adopters, such as I was over 3 years ago, tend to be nervous about a lot of things, especially getting THE BEST food for our hounds. Yah, well, what is best? What is best is what works for your hound. Firm poos, correct weight maintenance, little or no gas, no vomiting, and of course something he'll eat.

 

You mentioned trying yogurt and Alewo Carrots. I wouldn't do both at the same time. Try one and if it works, skip the other. If you do both at the same time, you won't know what's working and what's not.

 

Many people will suggest switching slowly to a new food. Some people switch cold turkey. I tended to switch quicker than not. It's probably better to err on the side of caution.

 

It took a while to find what works best for my girl, most of the time. She's on 1.5 cups of food twice a day. Each portion is broken down to 1 cup of Iams Proactive in the Green Bag (Annie prefers the mini chunks) and 1/2 cup of Natural Balance LID Sweet Potato and Venison. There are times when her poo is sorta mushy but that's usually because she had an unusual treat the day before. For instance, she loves marshmallows but they will give her soft poos 24 to 36 hours later for just one time, which is why she doesn't get them often.

 

Don't forget that most Greyhounds (dogs in general?) tend to have softer poos as the day goes on, so when your dog is doing a decent job at 6 AM, don't be surprised at 6 PM, or whenever, it's not as great.

[Guest Lygracilux]

Im on my 3rd food try now with Fusion. We have only had him 2 months.

The one he was eating at the kennel he did NOT like, and idk if it was nerves and the food, but his poo's were like water. We fasted him for 3 days with just rice and hamburger. He was fine, then we started IAMS green bag, and poops were consistently very soft in the AM then like mush the rest of the day...we added chicken and rice to that once and it gave him explosive poo again. Vet suggested a chicken allergy.

So we switched him to Natural Balance L.I.D Venison + Sweet Potato. Things firmed up a lot in the AM but by the end of the day, they were usually mush again. Vet said to try something less rich, like Salmon and to de-worm again just in case.

We just finished the de-wormer, and have started slowly switching him to TOTW Pacific Stream. Havent seen much of a difference yet as the de-wormer did give him some wet poo's. Maybe de-worming and switching food at the same time wasnt a good idea. But Its grain free, chicken free, and the main ingredient is Salmon, which I hear is very easy on the skin and bellies. So we're going to give it some time and see how he does on that.

Yogurt doesnt help, pumpkin only makes his poo orange but does help his gas.

 

Moral of that long story....its a long process, but just keep trying and you will eventually find a food that your hound loves, and that hopefully gives a good output (:

[GeorgeofNE]

I'll add this: don't bother with "large breed" formulas. Typically the only difference is a larger kibble size, and really, the dogs don't care!

[Remolacha]

I'll just add another vote for the Iams green bag My personal dog(s) are raw fed, but I recently got a foster and decided to use the Iams for him. Poops are still a bit mushy, but improving daily! I don't do the gradual switch either. My thinking is, if I am switching foods because the original wasn't working for the dog, why keep feeding it? Never had any problems. Good luck!

[Finnsliz]

Iams mini chuncks here . They seem to enjoy it more than the big chunks. I had to switch to it when our newest arrived with very runny poop. One feeding of Iams and he was cured. Now I'm just going to stick with what works.

[robinw]

I live in Canada, too. Until very recently (last week), I fed my dogs Go Notural chicken. It's called Go! Now. They've always done great with it but it's very expensive. I recently changed to Precise Natural Chicken and they love it! It costs less than Go! And the bag is bigger.

Edited December 16, 2014 by robinw

[Hubcitypam]

As a tireless crusader for Iams over the last 12 years or so that would be my first choice. My story of trying every high end food known to man and getting so fed up I tossed a green bag of Iams in the cart is old old news. I have also had good luck with some greys using Purina One. I used to demo Blue and got free product that I couldn't feed - it was too rich for the greys.