How Do You Serve Your Greys' Kibble?

[Guest Shambles]

Hi there! We are bringing our girl home in just over a week, and I am wondering how you serve your greyhounds' kibble? Dry? Or do you moisten it? If so, how? Do you add extras to it? If so, what and how often? The rescue kennel has told us she particularly likes sardines, so will get some of those. They have also said you can add tinned tomatoes p, grated cheese, and coconut oil. Any other suggestions? Thanks x

[locket]

Here's Charlie recipe:

 

Pour 2 cups of kibbles

Open faucet for 2-3 seconds

Close faucet

Put bowl on stand and enjoy

[Potomacpupsmom]

I put about a quarter cup of water on our greys' kibble and top it with spoonsful of pumpkin puree for fiber. I also crumble about 6 pieces of Stella and Chewy's turkey meal mixers ( freeze dried raw turkey). This keeps them interested because plain kibble is too boring for them!

[rsieg]

Adding something, e.g. Parmesan cheese, cottage cheese, salt-free tuna, or so on helps make it palatable. Moistening it does not hurt, may make it more palatable. I try to mix it up to keep it interesting for my guys. Two points: (1) don't spoil her, e.g. if you give her stovetop cooked ground turkey on top in the first week she may not go for anything less for a while. (2) There are a few things dogs should NOT have that people eat, such as chocolate, grapes, garlic, and a few others, if you search for something like foods not for dogs I think you can find a list. (Or maybe someone here can link to one?). Yogurt is an ok additive EXCEPT that there is a non-sugar sweetener, Xylitol I think, which is sometimes used in "healthy" yogurts which is very bad for dogs, so watch out for that one.

[EllenEveBaz]

We basically follow Charlie's recipe above , except I let the water run for 5 seconds. That's about a cup each. The boys are both big gobblers, and I think water helps keep them from choking and coughing as much. Besides, water is good for everybody.

 

I add extras very seldom. I do not want them to get picky. When I do add stuff, it's usually leftover vegetables. They love it. They get treats twice a day, on schedule, because I don't like dogs begging for food at other times. Really good treats are saved for nail clipping time and training practice. If I have leftovers like pizza "bones" (crusts), I save them for the regular treat times.

 

That all sounds very strict and serious, doesn't it? In real life, meal times here are good times, with the happy sound of pigs feeding in their troughs. One of the treat times is when I leave the house for work, and the dogs practically push me out the door so they can get their treats. Their coats are soft and shiny without needing oil. Be careful giving oil and even yogurt until you know what your girl's tummy can handle.

 

I don't give fish regularly, but I think the people who do give it 1-2x a week. Someone on GreyTalk has Sardine Saturday, I think. Wishing you many happy Sardine Saturdays of your own with your girl.

[cleptogrey]

i try to stay away from canned dog food as an add in to their kibble.

this is what i will use as an add in:

 

diluted low salt boxed chicken broth(trader joe's) or

 

canned kirkland chicken(also great when your in a pinch and ran out food for your self or camping) with the broth it's packed which i dilute nightly(1 large can lasts 2 dogs 4 days) or

 

boiled ground turkey on kibble. (1lb boiled in a good 8 cups of water will last nearly 4-5 days, that's 2 dogs eating 2 meals a day)

 

i am pretty stingy with the add ins.just enough to make it wet and savory. for a new dog, keep it simple, sardines, pumpkin, tuna, oils may be too much for them to handle. slow and easy and it never hurts to stick with the same brand kibble that they have been fed and have boiled white rice on hand. NOT BROWN, white- easy to digest, lots of water content if they are not drinking and good for loose poops. do remember to have a bucket of clean water(not gigantic) in the crate.

Edited August 19, 2017 by cleptogrey

[40MphMom]

One cup dry kibble with one heaping teaspoon coconut oil served with 1/2 cup of steamed broccoli. She gets this for breakfast and dinner. She weighs 59 pounds and we have to keep her close to race weight as she broke her right hind leg and had knee reconstruction right before we took her home.She is often called a Whippet. We jjust smile.

 

She has treats often and chews antler bones.

[Jerilyn]

Lila gets water just up to the level of the kibbles. She gets a spoonful of pumpkin and one of plain whole milk yogurt - mostly just because she likes them. She gets a probiotic on breakfast and salmon oil on supper. I'm also very liberal with treats and bites of whatever I'm eating.

[greysmom]

You will want to keepthings *very* simple for several weeks after she comes home. It's going to be a stress ful time for her as she gets used to her new home life and schedule, so keeping it to her familiar kibble formula, a probiotic, and some fresh water to help it all go down will be plenty fine for her. If you start adding in a bunch of special foods and treats it could upset her system causing diarrhea and/or vomiting.

 

It's also important to get her on a set schedule for eating and potties - something that works for all the days of the week. Most schedules go something like this:

Wake up - go potty

possible walk for exercise

breakfast after cooling down from walk

potty

possible walk for exercise (one or the other, if you're working to help tire her out before you go)

nap time

mid day potty, possible exercise walk

nap time

humans come home from work - potties along with possible exercise walk

dinner with potty right after

nap time or play time or exercise walk time, depending on what she needs

last potties before bed

[Houndtime]

You've got a lot of good suggestions, so, I don't need to add mine. It has all been covered. You have to find what works best for your dog. And, you will.

[robinw]

Here's Charlie recipe:

Pour 2 cups of kibbles

Open faucet for 2-3 seconds

Close faucet

Put bowl on stand and enjoy

This for Iker. Same for Xavi but without the water. One cup each twice a day

[ShebasMom]

Sheba has been eating this twice a day, day in and day out, for 8 years now:

 

1 scoop (about an overflowing cup) Purina One Chicken and Beneful Healthy Weight (mixed together for the 1 scoop) kibble

A pinch of (jarred) chopped garlic (this little bit doesn't harm her)

3 tablespoons low-sodium chicken broth

1 tablespoon canned cut green beans, mashed up

1 tablespoon canned pure pumpkin

2 tablespoons canned chopped chicken or beef dog food (currently Pedegree)

Lots of warm water until a sloppy mix

 

Works for us. Poops are mostly firm but every now and then can be loose for various reasons.

[sarabz]

I also add water, because otherwise my girls hork down their kibble so fast that they start choke. I've started adding a little Parmesan cheese to my older girl's kibble since she is losing her appetite but I don't typically do ad-ins otherwise, so that they don't get picky.

[fastpointydoge]

AM: Kibble with warm water

PM: Kibble with Olewo carrots and coconut oil

[kronckew]

measured amt. of dry, 1/4 of a 150gm. wet food tray 2x a day.m normally with a bit of warm water mixed into the wet in the bowl before adding the dry & mixing.

 

foods come from a vet owned online UK subscription service, formulated specific to poppy's breed and weight, activity level, health, etc.

[FiveRoooooers]

Someone on GreyTalk has Sardine Saturday, I think. Wishing you many happy Sardine Saturdays of your own with your girl.

Sardine Saturdays here! One small can sardines packed in water shared between 3-5 campers once a week.

[GeorgeofNE]

Feed them exactly what they're used to at first. Please remember: you're not adopting a picky toddler. You're adopting a dog. Most dogs will eat what they're served, and be pleased about it. A little bit of warm water, the kibbles, swirl it about, give it to the dog. Keep meal times simple and basic at first. The more stuff you add in, the more "what gave her the runs?" questions you'll be asking later!

[Busderpuddle]

Ruby gets kibble twice a day, with a slight sprinkle of liver powder (Amazon) and some warm water. She has gotten pickier over the years and was losing weight, so we started the add ins. Prior to that she ate dry kibble. She also likes parmesan cheese as a change, or an egg on top.

[Guest Shambles]

Sardine Saturdays here! One small can sardines packed in water shared between 3-5 campers once a week.

We may adopt Sardine Saturdays here, too! Might have to be flexible about the day, though, as hubby can't bear fish so won't do ut if I'm working! Been doing online grocery shopping and noticed you can get boneless sardines - do I need those? I personally don't eat sardines, but I thought the bones weren't an issue. I'll get them if necessary, but they are twice the price!

 

Does anyone add coconut oil? What do you do with it? (Do you melt it, mix it in?)

[Zoomdoggie]

We may adopt Sardine Saturdays here, too! Might have to be flexible about the day, though, as hubby can't bear fish so won't do ut if I'm working! Been doing online grocery shopping and noticed you can get boneless sardines - do I need those? I personally don't eat sardines, but I thought the bones weren't an issue. I'll get them if necessary, but they are twice the price!

 

Does anyone add coconut oil? What do you do with it? (Do you melt it, mix it in?)

Give them the sardine bones! That's one of the best sources of calcium you can give a dog, short of a raw diet.

[FiveRoooooers]

Yep, give them the bones. Sardine bones are soft, not like RMB.

[Banjoman]

You may just have to watch and see how your new houndie's innards are on the food she comes with. Right from the start Chancey produced enormous soft to sloppy poops. After I finished the bag of food that came with her I had to transition her to something else as I couldn't find that one. She still produced huge piles of poop, each one getting looser as the day wore on. Eventually I moved her to a more expensive fish and brown rice dried food adding a quarter of a packet of cooked dog food mixed in to vary the flavour. I finally realised that if I poured just a little warm water on the kibble rather than soak it as the kennel had told me, then things firmed up quite a lot. Poops still get softer as the day goes on but they are smaller and more 'pick up able' than they were.

 

Now my lurcher is the other way, I have to feed her with the kibble slopping around in water otherwise she becomes a 'walking pooper' trying to go to the toilet but without much success. They both have a quarter of a packet/tin of cooked dog food mixed in with the kibble with veggies thrown in if i have some left overs or peelings.

 

I am home all day so mine get lunch at 1.00.p.m. and supper at 9.00.p.m. Many years ago I decided that as I take my dogs for their long walk in the morning I would rather they were hungry and want to come home with me and not chase anything if they were off lead in the forest.

[Guest ShanYu]

Nike has Charlie's recipe with a dollop of plain yoghurt.

[Cricket57]

Does anyone add coconut oil? What do you do with it? (Do you melt it, mix it in?)

 

In the summer months I keep mine in the garage, so it's always in a liquid state (it melts at 76 degrees, I believe). Drizzle a tablespoon over the kibble, stir it up & add water. In the winter, I mash it up with a tablespoon of canned food or I'll put a tablespoon in their bowl & then float the bowl in some hot water in the sink to melt it while I take them for their morning walk. Add water, kibble, stir & serve.

 

They also get a tablespoon of goat yogurt.

 

Cricket

[dostacos]

Conrad is allergic to almost everything, so his kibble is limited to Lamb and oats. He gets a couple of cups of kibble and water poured over until they start to float. SHAKEN not STIRRED

 

and he will NOT eat soft kibble