Silly Cat Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 Hi. At the moment I am feeding Zorro BARF patties. He weighs 25 kilograms (he is a very small greyhound). He is eating 3 BARF patties a day plus one or two chicken frames and one or two chicken wings and a lamb chop. He also sometimes has some dryfood with pet milk - this is heaps more than it says to feed him according to the BARF instructions! He is still quite thin - ie I can see most of his ribs and his spine. He does a bit of exercise but not heaps! He is wormed regularly. Do greyhounds just need more food? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Lisa~ Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 (edited) . Edited August 23, 2007 by greyhound7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgan Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 You will find that most sighthounds eat more than a similar weight dog in other breeds. As there is not much body mass with a larger surface area they need more food just to maintain their body temperature. More compact breeds don't have this problem They also usually have more muscle compared to fat which raises the metabolic rate (same as in people). Many of them are more alert and watchful, which again speeds up the metabolism - just like people who don't sit still for long and move around a bit have a faster rate. Of course couch potatoes in dogs or people tend to need less Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poodle wrangler Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 Our standard poodle pup is the first larger dog I've had (20kg at 6 months) from a pup. I unintentionally underfed him when I first got him, so he got a bit skinny sounding similar to your grey. He had a lot of fur to hide it and I was feeding strictly by the packet instructions, not wanting to overfeed due to problems with bone growth etc . Fortunately he had a few nights back at the breeder's a few weeks after we got him and I was set straight- "feed according to the dog, not the packet". Does your grey seem to be hungry? i.e. when you put food down he wolfs it down and would eat more if available? I found this was the case when our dog was too skinny. If there was food about, he'd eat it, even if he'd just had what I thought was enough as a meal. He's still lean, but will leave a little food in the bowl, and I take this to mean he's had enough. I can still feel his ribs easily, see a "waist" near the hips, but no bony spine. Vet said he was fine recently, also. Good luck. From you description, it sounds like Zorro needs a bit more weight on. Can you post a pic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silly Cat Posted July 9, 2007 Author Share Posted July 9, 2007 Zorro actually isn't all that interested in food! He often needs a bit of encouragement to eat. I will just keep trying to feed him up. I was a bit worried I was overfeeding him! He will also often bury bones when I give them to him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Age Outlaw Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 I have found that a full raw diet doesn't seem to work too well with greyhounds, possibly because of their fast metabolism. I now mix high quality dry food (I use Eagle Pack holistic) with meat and turkey necks and that seems to work for my girls. Each dog has different needs, but as an example my girl Cleo gets one cup dry and 200 grams mince for breakfast and a piece of turkey neck (around 200g) and cup of dry for dinner. I also add a spoon of greek yoghurt and a couple of times a week some fish (sardines, mackerel, salmon). It is a matter of a bit of experimenting until you get the amounts right. The other thing to remember is that greys burn lots of energy in winter just to keep warm (the above diet is the winter rations - I reduce the amounts in summer or Cleo would get fat pretty quickly). If Zorro's not wearing one, a coat at nite might help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shmoo Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 Gosh our greys would eat till they puked if we let them. I think they just burn the food at lot faster - even thou they seem to do nothing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebanne Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 (edited) Piper is around 40 kilos, he gets either 1/2 a lamb flap, or 3 chicken carcass's (full ones from the butcher, not the skimpy things from the supermarket) or 3 or 4 cups of dry with extra's like sardines, eggs or Natures Gift tin food. Sometimes he has an extra meal of porridge. Fern at 9 months and 30 kilos get the same as Piper except for the chicken carcass's, she only gets 2. Plus a few extra feeds of left overs, porridge etc over a week. Main meal for both at the moment is the lamb flaps, get them at least 4 times a week. Edited July 9, 2007 by Rebanne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silly Cat Posted July 9, 2007 Author Share Posted July 9, 2007 Here is a photo of him with his friend Sylvia the cat! He is a bit thinner now. I sometimes bulk his food up with some rice or pasta. Is that a good idea as well as some dry food? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebanne Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 I wouldn't add rice and pasta. If he needs to put weight on feed him more good stuff, not fillers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silly Cat Posted July 9, 2007 Author Share Posted July 9, 2007 Is it better if I add a couple of cups of dryfood to his barf patties? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Lisa~ Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 From that picture he looks like he's a pretty good weight. Arn't you meant to be able to see the last 2 or 3 ribs on a greyhound anyway? Zorro has nice muscle tone too, he's a good looking dog! If you want him to put on weight I think good quality dry food is better than rice or pasta. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greytmate Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 It is really important to keep your greyhound warm. Otherwise a large amount of energy is spent just keeping warm. A really warm coat at night and a lighter coat for winter days is a good idea, especially seeing as you are in Victoria. Zorro is also still young, he will need less food as he matures and slows down a bit. Yes, greyhounds really do need more food than most other dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shmoo Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 (edited) this is jack. you can see his ribs. he is a healthy weight for a grey i believe eta: jack would eat the house if it was made from food. he will eat anything. ive caught him stealing zuccini and beans from our fruit and vege box before! Edited July 9, 2007 by shmoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silly Cat Posted July 9, 2007 Author Share Posted July 9, 2007 Awww Jack! Zorro has a warm snuggly jacket but I think I will get him a lighter one too and one to wear walking! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imy Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 My boys are fat greys, better now that they have been dieting but if I let them, they would eat until they spewed... then eat the spew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peachie Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 Piper is around 40 kilos, he gets either 1/2 a lamb flap, or 3 chicken carcass's (full ones from the butcher, not the skimpy things from the supermarket) or 3 or 4 cups of dry with extra's like sardines, eggs or Natures Gift tin food. Sometimes he has an extra meal of porridge.Fern at 9 months and 30 kilos get the same as Piper except for the chicken carcass's, she only gets 2. Plus a few extra feeds of left overs, porridge etc over a week. Main meal for both at the moment is the lamb flaps, get them at least 4 times a week. Good grief! How tall are your guys??? My boy is about medium size for a male and barely hits 30kg. He looks good - we think. He looks like a racer - you can see his defined muscles, ribs and a few back bones. IMO how they are meant to look. ( have seen an overweight greyhound - can see no bones at all - it looked so wrong) My girl is admittedly small for a female, and weighs in at between 21 & 22kg. Same condition as my boy. Your two must be very tall! My two get a cup and a half of eukanuba morning and night, plus leftovers if they are lucky. Also get chicken necks and roo tails occasionally. Euk is the only think i have found that doesnt go right through them - have tried all the expensive dry brands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 (edited) OMG, mine gets fat on two cups of dry and that's with exercise ETA: If he has necks he gets a cup of dry and if he has a carcass ( they are a kilo each ) he will not get anything else Edited July 9, 2007 by Warley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peachie Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 Same here Warley - any more than that and my two gain weight. My OH tends to give them a little more if he feeds them, but i fed them most of the time and they get a full cup (not leveled off) morning and night. If they get a fresh roo tail, that is a meal - no dry. But the tails fill them up - you should see the contented round bellies on em after they have demolished one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Age Outlaw Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 Is it better if I add a couple of cups of dryfood to his barf patties? He looks OK to me in the picture (though it can be a little hard to tell in photos, especially with black dogs), but if he needs a little extra try adding half a cup of dry morning and nite and see how that goes...increase the amount gradually if you think he needs it. Make sure it is a top quality dry though, the cheaper ones you need to feed more of so are false economy. Beautiful dog too!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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