Guest RussellsDad Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 (edited) Here is a picture of him straight off the track. This was him at "racing" weight. He never had much rib to show. Also im curious to the activity level vs how much food your dogs get. We walk 2-3 miles every day. Dog park for 1:30 hours 3-4 times a week. Edited December 10, 2015 by RussellsDad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krissy Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 It could be the lighting of the pictures, but I like him much better at his "race weight". I prefer for dogs to be on the leaner side of the ideal range. Depending on build it can differ, but for many greyhounds that means just seeing the point of the hips (and feeling them clearly), and clearly seeing the last 3 ribs, with a hint of an additional 3-4 - which is what I see in his race photo. What this actually means as a number may differ now because he may have different levels of muscling. I might be a little biased by liking to see my hounds lean, but a lot of greyhounds I see could stand to lose a bit of weight as they're a little "fluffy" for my taste. Quote Kristie and the Apex Agility Greyhounds: Kili (ATChC AgMCh Lakilanni Where Eagles Fly RN IP MSCDC MTRDC ExS Bronze ExJ Bronze ) and Kenna (Lakilanni Kiss The Sky RN MADC MJDC AGDC AGEx AGExJ). Waiting at the Bridge: Retired racer Summit (Bbf Dropout) May 5, 2005-Jan 30, 2019 Like us on Facebook! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RussellsDad Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 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. Based on your recommendation saying he is on the heavier side of good. I'll knock his food down to 4.5 cups a day and see how he does with that. I'll give it 3-4 weeks on that amount of food and see how he looks. Some of the greys i see here look abnormally thin for being a retired racer. I want him healthy is all and I dont want him breaking any legs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawthorn Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Some of the greys i see here look abnormally thin for being a retired racer. I want him healthy is all and I dont want him breaking any legs. I agree with you. I think some people do keep their greys too thin (and I'm not directing that comment at anyone in particular) although I do agree that there is a healthy weight range as opposed to a healthy weight for a particular dog. Another thing to think about is that if you keep them too lean, they have little reserve to call on when they're unwell and not eating much, and it's scary how fast they can lose condition then. Quote When a relationship of love is disrupted, the relationship does not cease. The love continues; therefore, the relationship continues. The work of grief is to reconcile and redeem life to a different love relationship. ~ W Scott Lineberry Always Greyhounds Home Boarding and Greyhounds With Love House Sitting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chickenpotpie Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 I also think he looks good in the last set of images. He's retired, he's not doing other activites like agility, so I feel that some extra padding isn't bad. activity wise, he's doing quite well! if he wants to do it and it dosent bother him even better. Lucky is 68lbs. sometimes she'll get as high as 71lbs(usually in the winter) and thats without me changing her food at all. But she's healthy, at a good weight, and thankfully never looks like a fat greyhound! she's more ribby in the summer of course she's also way more active. In winter in NE, its hard to do 2-3 mile hikes when you've got snow all the way up to your butt IMO 4.5-5 cups seems to be good for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samwise Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 Our boy raced at 70lbs or so and is now in the ~75lbs range. We feed him 4 cups or so of high-quality dry food a day (1.5-2 cups every morning and evening, with another 0.5 cups, give or take, in a treat ball over the course of the day to help with his separation anxiety). Every dog is built differently, but for him, if we can see his last 3 ribs and hip bones fairly well while he is standing "at rest," then we know he's in good shape. We switched his food a few months ago when we moved to the US, and we cut him down to 3 cups a day because we were concerned we were overfeeding him. He got tired, sluggish, stopped getting excited for walks, etc., and just seemed to lose his spark. We chalked it up to stress over the move, but then DH suggested that maybe he wasn't eating enough. We were so concerned about letting him get overweight that I think we were actually underfeeding him. That's definitely been corrected now: we increased his food, and he bounced right back to his usual self! Quote Sam, formerly known as Macabres Mandate Featuring his humans Alexandra & Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forevergrey Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Samwise-sorry this it off topic. I met you and beautiful Sam in the dog park in Williamsburg a few weeks ago, (I was out for a run without my greyhounds) and we exchanged numbers/texts for possible future greyhound playdates. Somehow your text did not go though! I hope to run into you with my boys Jasper and Onyx. Onyx is also out of Flying Penske which makes him Sam's half-brother! Inna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest driser Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 6 cups! Our boy would think he'd died and gone to heaven! We had to cut our guy's food back as he was getting thick and his hips were too smooth. We cut him to 1.5 cup in the morning with a scoop of can food and 1.5 cup at night with a scoop of can food. So 3 cups/day with about 4 TBS of can food ... but because he was acting so hungry we also give him a heaping spoonful of no salt canned green beans to add to the mix and that nearly no calorie addition works wonders to satiate him. Because he is down to 3 cups/day and looking svelte and healthy we don't worry that he gets 2-3 biscuits a day (he gets a biscuit in his kennel anytime we leave the house and leave him) and he gets a biscuit before bed. He's loving that and is thriving at his slimmer 82lbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyhoundGirl Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 (edited) What a gorgeous boy. I think he looks great where he is. No need to take off anything but I'd make sur he doesn't put any more weight on. FWIW, my friend is doing the green bean trick with her dogs. She bought cans of green beans (.49/can) at the store and she's giving them less than half a can per dog. She cut back a cup of kibble. What a gorgeous boy. I think he looks great where he is. No need to take off anything but I'd make sur he doesn't put any more weight on. FWIW, my friend is Doug the green bean trick with her dogs. She bought cans of green beans (.49/can) at the store and she's giving them less than half a can per dog. She cut back a cup of kibble. Edited February 7, 2016 by GreyhoundGirl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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