Favorite Kibble?? 🧐

[Yellsback]

Hello everyone!  
What is your favorite kibble brand for greyhounds?  (I live in the US, but those from the UK, Australia, etc. are of course welcome to chime in.) Any thoughts on grain vs grain free vs gluten free? 

I ask because I fed my Queensland Heelers and Border Collies (the only other dogs I’ve owed in the past) Nutro Lamb & Rice.  They all loved it, gave them lots of energy when we went out on the ranch to work, always had slick & shiny coats, and never had a stool problem.  

When my husband and I adopted two greyhounds, we consulted the rescue and they fed a Kirkland brand from Costco.  Unfortunately we don’t have a Costco near us, and thus tried the Nutro.  

LOTS of diarrhea/loose stool resulted, even though we transitioned gradually.  They also didn’t seem to care for the taste, and had lots of dandruff/dull coat issues.  Thus after consulting our trusted feed store, we started them on Taste of the Wild, Pacific Stream flavor.  They like it, stools firmed up, and it seemed the fish ingredients DID make their coats shiny. 

So why am I asking if the above seems to work???  Well it’s grain free, and I keep hearing opposing views on what greyhounds should be fed.  Do grains and/or gluten really bother them, or do they just need the “right” type??  For example, in my experience with the herding dogs, I know that they do great with rice, but corn was a big no-no.  I also keep hearing about heart issues with dogs fed grain-free kibble, which is concerning to say the least!

When my husband adopted and fostered greys in the past, (before we met) he just fed the Sam’s Club or Costco brand.  He can’t recall the type of ingredients, thus difficult to find a similar variety.
Please help, as we want to do right by these lovely greys.  Thanks you!!💕

 

[1Moregrey]

Really depends on your dog, I used to feed a freeze dried diet until one of mine could not keep weight on.  Vet said to go back to a brand that had been around for a long time.  Switched to Purina have fed several different formulas,  the ones that worked best for us was the One sensitive stomach salmon, Proplan Sport all the 27-30 protein have done well on depends on the activity level and age of the dog.  Others like the green bag of Iams, foster group feed a food I do not remember the brand came in chicken or lamb.  Chicken was fine, lamb gave room clearing gas. 
 

[Time4ANap]

Grain-free is controversial due to it's possible association with heart problems. Our vet says no to grain free foods. Others here are more knowledgeable about that and will chime-in. 

We have had all of our hounds on Purina Pro Plan Large Breed and they have thrived on it. We do add Olewo Carrots to it to firm things up but the need for that really varies from dog to dog. Every dog we have had for the past several years had had hookworms and I;m assuming some stomach damage from those hookworms, so the carrots just seem to help.  https://www.chewy.com/purina-pro-plan-adult-large-breed/dp/52455   We laso occasionally mix it with Purina Pro Plan Sensitive stomach Salmon based food just to give the dogs a little variety.  The dogs become bunny soft a few days after mixing in the salmon based food. 

I do know that several other here have use the same food and eliminated any stomach issues their dogs were having. 

There are also owners here using the IAMS green bag and have used it successfully for years. At the end of the day, its not so much about which food is in favor, but which food actually works well for your dogs. Good luck 

Edited July 23, 2022 by Time4ANap

[Remolacha]

Lamb does seem to be a protein that some dogs like and some can not tolerate. I can’t comment on a brand of kibble except to say many dogs seem to do well on Purina. From what I understand from my vet and some of the articles I have read, the problem with grain free is not the lack of grain but the unusual things they add to replace the grain. There has to be something to add bulk and act as a binder to make kibble. The issue is still being investigated, though, and something may change later. Plenty of dogs have eaten grain free foods for years with no problem, but at this point if I was feeding kibble I would not go grain free.

[Houndtime]

IAM's green bag here.  Large breed chicken and rice.  You can get larger bags on Chewy or at BJ's.  The largest bag our pet store carries is 30 lbs.  I also give a tablespoon or two of the Oleo carrots with every meal, every day.

Edited August 23, 2022 by Houndtime

[Jerilyn]

Dogs are not obligate carnivores like cats are. There is nothing "wrong" with grains in dog food. I think a lot of people like Purina products because they are one of the few companies that does long term feeding studies with their foods. But it really comes down to what works for your dogs and what you are comfortable feeding. For everyone whose dog does great on one food there will be someone else whose dog does horribly on it.

Personally, Wiki did horribly on Nutro lamb & rice and great on Purina Pro Plan Bright Mind. But she's proving to be Wiki the Picky and refused to even look at the Bright Mind anymore so I just switched her to Fromm Gold.

[HeyRunDog]

Whatever you decide to feed them try and keep the protein content around 20%. Any higher can cause kidney problems in later life.

[ShebasMom]

Iams green bag minichunks chicken and rice here. Sheba ate it day in, day out for years along with canned and/or homemade food. She's gone now since December, but my little beagle mix rescue likes the Iams, too.

[greysmom]

There are so many choices out there and everyone just has to try and do the best they can finding what works for their individual dogs.  Everybody wants to feed their dog a nutritious diet.  Just don't fall into the hype machine that tells you lies about what that is.

The grain-free issue is a real thing across breeds and food brands.  As mentioned above, the FDA is still studying how and why, but right now you really need to avoid any food that replaces all/part of any of the ingredients with legumes.  That rules out most boutique brands and those marketed specifically as "grain-free."  Also as mentioned above, dogs are not obligate carnivores, they're omnivores just like people, and they need a variety of proteins, whole grains, vegetables, and other essential nutrients in their diets to remain healthy and happy.

In racing kennels dogs are fed a combination of kibble, vitamin and mineral supplements, some sort of additional veggie/grain stew or canned food (usually a trainer's proprietary recipe!  ) twice a day.  Sometimes they add in goat's milk or buttermilk as a probiotic source.  Sometimes they add a raw piece of protein, or some organ meat.  Many give raw bones to help with dental health.

When looking at kibble you want to stick with brands that have been around for a while, who do long term palatability and nutritional testing, who source from consistent providers.  Most greys do best around 20% protein.  Unless you're doing amateur sports or are an especially active family providing a lot of daily exercise (hiking, daily jogging or biking, active dog park dates) they don't need higher than 25-28%.  Purina, Iams, Science Diet, a couple others are reputable brands.  Kirkland brands that include grains can also be good.  Remember you don't have to buy in person - many vendors will ship the food you need.

Years ago we had Great Danes, and fed them a food we bought directly from the breeder because it was supposed to be "better" for them as giant breed dogs.  We took her word for it and did no research of our own.  Until we discovered it was one of the foods involved in the melamine contamination scandal and we'd been poisoning our dogs for years.  Lesson learned.

We now feed our greys Purina ProPlan Sensitive Stomach, salmon and rice.  Price and availability have been iffy at times due to the worldwide supply chain problems, but we've always found it somewhere.  We currently get it delivered from Amazon, but Chewy has also been a reliable source, and most big box pet stores will have it.

Good luck!

[cleptogrey]

all of the kirkland varieties did not agree w/ any of my dogs. but all of the PURINA varieties do! and their stools were reduced by over 50%. i had been serving holistic select by eagle pac. purina is in the process of eliminating some of their lines, so if you do go that route just be aware of that.

anything around 24%(+/-) protein should work, ft 12-14%. remember pet dogs are not out in a kennel, running in a huge run, racing or training. so be smart and look at the calorie count which is always listed. somewhere around 380 is easily digested and used. age and activity level are all part of the formula figuring out how much they need to consume. the greyhounds needed somewhere around 1000C per day. my whippets vary from around 550(the 5 year old) to 780-825 for the young one. When she was around a year I served Purina Sport, but once mature- Purina One.  Both weight half of what a GH does- 35lbs! i do keep all of my dogs on the thinner side(always have) since in the long run it's healthier. Less weight and stress on arthritic joints for the GH.

Look into Purina One, Purina Focus and NO SUPPLEMENTS since i started Purina products. Great coat, skin, very little waste product. AND I DON'T USE CANNED FOOD! Chewy is great since they will refund your $$ if your dog doesn't like it.  

Edited July 28, 2022 by cleptogrey

[MandysMom]

Every dog is different, but my last two dogs have been on Ancestry Pet Food. I did have to add Olewo carrots to it for Sammy because his digestive system was touchy thanks to years of hookworms.

[Shannon]

On 7/28/2022 at 8:44 AM, cleptogrey said:

purina is in the process of eliminating some of their lines, so if you do go that route just be aware of that.

Do you know which lines Pro Plan is eliminating?  How does one find out about this?  Their website isn’t even current with the actual ingredient label on the large breed formula (which I feed one of my dogs).  
 

I’m trying to introduce some Pro Plan into my IBD dog’s diet.  He can be so sensitive to changes, and it takes a long, slow, transition.  I’d hate for him to get used to something only to have it suddenly disappear.  

[rsieg]

I switched from a grain-free kibble to regular kibble (usually IAMS or Purina Pro Plan, depending on what is available) due to the heart concerns with grain-free. Besides being cheaper, Logan seems to like it just as well (although in both cases it has cooked turkey, tuna, sardines, or something like that added :-) and best of all his bowel movements which were pretty, ah, fluid on the grain-free kibble have become much more solid. But I understand that is a pretty individual hound thing.

[GreyTzu]

Whatever I put in front of them.  They eat it or go without.