Feeding Amounts With Treats/extras

[stormnw]

Hello!

 

Soon-to-be adopter here, preparing for our first greyhound to arrive hopefully next week!

 

I've been doing lots of research on what to feed... and wow, there's a lot of information out there. I did pick up what the dogs are being fed currently (Costco's Nature's Domain Turkey/Sweet Potato) to start off with to minimize the changes while Vincent (our adoptee) settles in. Ultimately I'm interested in seeing how he does on a raw diet, and am doing lots of planning to ensure it's balanced and likely will start off with a commercial premade option over slow 2 week transition.

 

My main questions though are about adjusting feeding amounts for additional food given outside of mealtimes, and where greyhounds may classify in terms of activity level.

 

1) Do you, and if so how do you adjust meal amounts for additional calories they make intake during the day? I'm wanting to do some training so treats will be part of that, and will be using kongs to mitigate possible separation anxiety/boredom. I don't intend to fill the kongs full of peanut butter mind you, but may give up to 2 XL a day and know the calories can add up. I also am looking into giving recreational bones/bully sticks/etc. so my hound can chew away.

 

2) How does your hound line up as far as feeding guidelines/activity level? The feeding guideline range seems fairly broad, so I'm curious if greyhounds tend to go to the lower or higher end of the spectrum, or if it just varies from dog to dog. I know he's not going to be doing a lot of 'activity' but is fairly muscular and don't want to be underfeeding him unintentionally.

 

3) How often did you weight your hound in the first few months? I thankfully have a vet within a block, and a couple local pet stores that have scales. I've read that overweight dogs are a common issue, and especially greyhounds shouldn't carry extra weight. I don't want to obsess about keeping him at race weight -- I know it will flux somewhat with retirement and adjustment -- just want to be mindful.

 

I realize I'm very likely overthinking this somewhat, too... and a 'just be thoughtful and weigh when it's convenient' is fair advice.

 

Thanks!

 

[EllenEveBaz]

I don't feed enough treats to bother to take the calories into account. On a regular schedule day I give treats 3x, and they are not big or high calorie. I do not give people food as treats, although I will save a little meat or veg if leftovers and add it to their next meal, making eyeball adjustments accordingly, When training or trimming toenails I use very small treats. I used to slice hot dogs into very thin wafers and dry them for training treats, but one of the current dogs has a slightly wonky stomach so I use Zuke's mini-treats instead, which have a miniscule # of calories.

 

The feeding guideline range seems fairly broad, so I'm curious if greyhounds tend to go to the lower or higher end of the spectrum, or if it just varies from dog to dog.

 

Varies from dog to dog.

 

You'll be trialing everything as Vincent is settling in, so arrange your treat selection and schedule according to what you find works best for Vincent and you -- don't worry about setting up a regimen and trying to adapt you and the dog for it. For example, I never used to give a treat at night, but now the Wonky Stomach dog needs a little something in his tummy to make it through to breakfast without loud stomach gurgling, so now the dogs get a late night snack.

 

'just be thoughtful and weigh when it's convenient' is fair advice

 

This. You'll learn how to judge by eye.

Edited June 25, 2018 by EllenEveBaz

[PatricksMom]

Almost exclusively vegetables as treats at our house (fancy treats come out for nail trims), so no need to adjust calories.

[cleptogrey]

when i train i always take that into account. usually kibble is reduced by 1/4-1/2c depending upon the dog.

 

i use the following as treats for training- hot dog slivers, cheese, fresh cooked chicken or meat, animal crackers, graham crackers. i gave up on dehydrated liver a long time ago- that stuff is gold and cost as much. i also stay away from major far producing foods- liverwurst will get a dog to do anything...but one pays for it!

 

so, be cautious, the weight shows up a couple of weeks later(just like in humans) and it's a PITA to get off.

[stormnw]

A late reply... but do appreciate the feedback, thanks!

 

An update -- adoption group suggested 2c of kibble morning/night. I gave that along with some yogurt, kongs filled with frozen applesauce/peanut butter/etc. a couple times a week. Also have used freeze dried liver mostly as treats while training him to potty and walk well on a leash. Weighed him a couple weeks ago (about 1 mo post adoption) as I thought I was seeing more ribs on him, and sure enough he had lost a couple pounds.

 

I've slowly switched him over to a raw diet (honest kitchen base mix + added meat). The switch went well, thankfully, and he's enthusiastic about the food. Have upped the meat ratio a bit to try and get a little weight back on him -- he looks a bit lean from the greyhound 'ideal weight' pictures I've seen. Have also upped the kong to daily for a while. Did discover Zuke's mini-treats -- those are great! Got us through nail trimming quite well, and appreciated being liberal with them.

 

At this point I'm mostly just going to keep an eye on him for weight. A local pet store has a scale we can use, that will be every few weeks. I'm thinking because of his weight drop initially (and we do walk a fair amount) I'll need to be a bit above the recommended feeding guidelines, even with the extras. Expect that will go down somewhat as he gets older.

 

All in all though, thanks for the reassurance and insight!