Weight Check

[Guest RussellsDad]

I just weighted my Greyhound and hes coming in at 75.9 pounds. When I adopted him from the rescue they told me to feed him 6 cups of food to put some weight on him. I hat attached a picture of how he stands now. I think he might be slightly getting too heavy, so I was going to cut it back to 4-5 cups of food. He is just about 2 years old. Thanks for any advice. He is currently getting Natural Balance LID Chicken and Sweet Potato due to some stomach issues.

 

[Guest DarkHorse]

Personally, I think he's right on the verge of being a little heavy, but if you cut back now, he should be fine. As much as greys are a little more sensitive to extra weight than some other breeds, an extra few pounds isn't the end of the world as long as it stays only a few pounds. In senior dogs, I actually think having a little extra padding can be more beneficial than being at exactly the right weight, especially for dogs that aren't always the best eaters. And of course, not every dog looks the same at their ideal weight, so one dog might seem overly skinny and the other a little fat when both are in peak condition.

[Guest RussellsDad]

Thank you for the reply. Im guessing if he made it down to about 74.5-75 pounds he should be okay?

[locket]

That is a hefty amount of food! How active is your grey? Mine is 82 pounds and we feed a little under 4 cups per day. He is actually gaining weight at 4 cups

[rschultz]

He looks a little to heavy to me too.

[rsieg]

I can't tell regular v overweight myself, but I seem to recall the experts here who can tell usually ask for a second photograph showing how wide the hips are, say shot from behind the dog.

[Guest RussellsDad]

I take him to the dog park twice a week. We go on four 20 minute walks per day. Usually one in the morning, one when i get home, one before dinner, and one after.

 

Should I cut it back to 4 cups of food? Just dont want the guy to get overweight is all. He filled out a bit from his racing weight, but if he lost a pound it probably wouldnt be bad.

[Hubcitypam]

I'd say 4 cups and see how it goes.

[NeedlenoseJake]

When we fed kibble we gave 4 cups a day to our 79 lb boy.

[RedHead]

I agree, 6 cups of food is a pretty crazy amount! Some foods are much higher than others in calories, sometimes adoption groups feed "cheaper" foods so they may have to feed more. 6 cups on an average food is a lot, I would see how things go on 4 cups.

[Guest DarkHorse]

I would agree that you should try 4 cups a day. We feed ~3.5 cups of our 390kcal/cup food to KB, who is about 75lbs and he's doing pretty good on that.

[Guest RussellsDad]

Sounds good. I will go to 4 cups a day and see how he does.

 

Here is a picture from the back for reference.

 

[Time4ANap]

Check the kibble bag and see how much they call for based on his weight. Adjust from there. . If the food is particularly heavy in calories you may only need 3 - 3.5 cups per day.

 

If you want to get some weight off of him quickly, substitute a half can of green beans for a cup of kibble in one of his meals daily until you get him where you want.

[Batmom]

He looks great. Time to scale back so he doesn't gain more but I don't see a need to take weight off.

[cleptogrey]

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/GHRR/photos/albums/666315848/lightbox/1775514544?orderBy=ordinal&sortOrder=asc&photoFilter=ALL#

 

 

 

 

i personally like a dog with more ribs- and hub and some of the back bone showing. check out the pics in my yahoo album, only one or two are of felix over weight- he made it up to 79# one winter. he's generally 76 or under. 3#s makes a big difference. he is 29" at the shoulders. my black female weighed 61#s top and the red fawn female is always around 65- same size and always shows more ribs.

Edited October 24, 2015 by cleptogrey

[Hawthorn]

He looks great. Time to scale back so he doesn't gain more but I don't see a need to take weight off.

 

Exactly what I was thinking. You can see the tip of his hipbones and a hint of his last few ribs and he has plenty of muscle. Too many people are obsessed with their greys being rail thin imo.

[JJNg]

He looks great, and I agree with keeping him where he is. Dropping from 6 cups to 4 may be too much. If he loses weight on that amount, I'd bump it back up some. How long have you had him? If he's only about 2 years old, he's still young and active, so he may need more food that what most older retired greyhound require. They also usually need more food when they first retire from the track and are recently spayed/neutered. My fosters usually start off needing about 5-6 cups for the first couple months, and then slow drop back to only needing 3-4 cups daily.

[Guest RussellsDad]

Alright well we've cut back to 5 cups of food a day. I feel hes where he should be. We go to the dog park 3 times a week and walk 2 miles every day we dont go to the dog park. I think for his activity level is looks good and healthy. Any thoughts are welcome.

 

 

 

 

[JJNg]

I think he looks good, similar to the last photos, which is where you wanted to keep him. I'd continue with the current feeding and just keep an eye on his weight. Adjust his food as necessary, based on how he looks.

[GeorgeofNE]

JJng is a vet, so I wouldn't argue with her, but he looks heavy to me.

 

For what it's worth, although my dog is smaller, he gets TWO cups of food and two large Milk Bones per day. And don't go by what's on the bag. The goal for them is to sell more dog food, not see your dog at a healthy weight!

[Guest RussellsDad]

Well it seems as though no one can even give me an exact where he should be. As I have gotten pretty much conflicting opinions from his rescue, vet, and others. Im going to keep him at his weight and 5 cups a day. For as active as i keep him it seems to settle his weight and hes not gaining or losing.

 

It seems as though how much rib people like to see is also a matter of preference as some people like to see all ribs while others say as long as the last 3 are showing.

[JJNg]

IMO, if you can see all the ribs in a pet greyhound, they are almost always too thin. Sometimes you can see most of the ribs in a very well muscled racer, but the back muscles in those dogs should be well developed without much spine or hip showing. Few pets stay that athletic condition. I don't mind not seeing any ribs, as long as the ribs are right under the skin and not covered by a layer of 'padding' (fat).

I also don't think that there's a 'exact' weight that's perfect for any dog. There's a little bit of a range that is healthy, and actual weight will depend on conditioning as muscle weighs more than fat. From the photos, your boy is at the upper end of what I'd consider healthy. I keep my dogs a few pounds less than that, but I think it's fine if your dog stays where he is as long as he doesn't gain more.

Many people have differing opinions about greyhound weight. Some may just be a matter of opinion, based on personal preference within a healthy weight range. But I've also seen people (including vets) who aren't experienced with greyhounds as athletes think that an obese greyhound is a good weight. And others who go overboard in keeping their hounds too thin. Keep in mind that it's not just about weight, but muscle tone and conditioning.

[ramonaghan]

Well it seems as though no one can even give me an exact where he should be. As I have gotten pretty much conflicting opinions from his rescue, vet, and others. Im going to keep him at his weight and 5 cups a day. For as active as i keep him it seems to settle his weight and hes not gaining or losing.

 

It seems as though how much rib people like to see is also a matter of preference as some people like to see all ribs while others say as long as the last 3 are showing.

 

He looks good to me. I personally think genetics has a lot to do with how ribby or not they are. I've only had one greyhound, but she is not and has never been ribby--not even right off the track. Her weight gain or loss shows mostly in her hipbones and tuck. I have seen several dogs with her sire (Kiowa Sweet Trey) built the same way.

[Guest Lygracilux]

 

He looks good to me. I personally think genetics has a lot to do with how ribby or not they are. I've only had one greyhound, but she is not and has never been ribby--not even right off the track. Her weight gain or loss shows mostly in her hipbones and tuck. I have seen several dogs with her sire (Kiowa Sweet Trey) built the same way.

 

I agree, I feel like it has a lot to do with genetics too. Just like how some people are big boned and some arent.

Just like Sweep, Fusion isnt ribby at all-though he is fairly thin and lanky. My parents had a beagle who had huge ribs that showed through but she was 10lbs over weight.

 

However, I think you'll know if your greyhound is overweight/underweight just by looking at him. Theres nothing more funny looking than a fat greyhound, and with them already being naturally thin dogs-if they're underweight they look very gaunt.

[a_daerr]

Agree with everything that has been said... five cups still seems like a lot, though. Truman is my AKC gargantuan boy (33 inches at the chest). When I take him to greyhound events, people remark that he's the biggest greyhound they've ever seen. He only gets four cups.