How Do I Get My Greyhound To Put On Some Weight?

[Lurcher]

Hi,

I've got a Greyhound youngster (1yr old just before christmas), and to my mind, he is too thin. I can see 6 of the bones in his back, and most of his ribs.

He's not underfed, as he has IAMS giant breed available to him all the time.

We also feed him 200gms of meat per day.

He hardly ever empties his food bowl, and we leave the biscuits there for him to eat whenever he's hungry.

He's not at all lethargic, and has plenty of energy. He gets the zoomies several times a day.

I'm just wondering whether it's normal for a young Greyhound to look quite so thin, or whether I should be looking at changing his diet a bit.

[SkySoaringMagpie]

I'll defer to the greyhound experts but personally I wouldn't worry. If he seems otherwise healthy, it's probably because of his age. Unless you have a specific reason to try and bulk him up, I would just let him go on as he is.

We have a saluki boy who is still is a toaster rack to some extent - when he was younger he was even skinner. It didn't look too flash to an outsider, but his coat was shiny and he was full of beans, so I just made sure he had good food and let him get on with it. He is less skinny now, but still quite light. Of course, a European breeder might say he was just right!

You might try giving your boy slices of lamb neck with his food, but I wouldn't overdo the fat because you risk pancreatitis, which is worse than him being a bit skinny.

[Rebanne]

Hi, my greyhound bitch is 16 months old and yes it's a constant battle to keep weight on her. She too is going through a very lean stage, looking like a toast rack! What puts on weight on my girl is lamb flaps. Haven't had any for a couple of weeks and it shows. I try and give Fern at least 3 a week but it was hard over the Chrissy/New Year break to get them.

[Dogsfevr]

Is there any reason you leave the food done all day??

Personally iw ould consider changing brands & feeding a better bulking diet.

Our young greys occasionally went through the lean side but we feed alot more than what you did & foods that worked with there zommies etc tec.

A thin grey whilst healthy can end up with sores on there bony bits due to no bulk when laying down/sitting

[Lurcher]

We started leaving the food down when we got Kerry our Lurcher. She was always a grazer, and would snack on her food throughout the day. Snoops does the same thing. They both eat about half their meal (all of the meat though ), and they leave the rest to snack on during the day.

With the amount of food, they get 200gms of meat per day each, and a large bowl of IAMS giant breed. Quite often they don't finish everything off before it's their next meal time, so quantity is probably not the issue, and I wanted to make sure that the IAMS would be the best for them. We'd always been led to believe that IAMS was the best that you could get, so naturally, that's what we got them.

I'll certainly try the lamb flaps. I think they'll both like that!! - I'd assume that I'd get these from the butcher, or a good pet store?

Settrlvr - You're spot on with the pressure sores. Although neither of our dogs have them, I do worry about them being comfortable with all those bones sticking out.

Having said that, when they're in the house, they have a dog basket each with an old sleeping bag each for comfort, and when they're outside, they get to sleep on all the cushioned garden furniture.

To be honest, I don't think they've ever attempted to sleep on a hard surface! :D

[KitKat]

Iams is considered a 'premium' brand...as opposed to Royal Canin, Euk, Advance, Hills, ProPlan, Eagle Pack, Nutrience etc being 'super premium'. Euk (also makes Iams) is well known for putting weight on dogs wether you want it to or not...lol.

I'd probably drop from the Giant breed type foods down to a Large Breed type - or even a performance/high energy type depending on why the dog is lean. Performance type foods pack more to their punch - which is why they are for dogs using a higher amount of energy...i'll often use this for my GSD's when they aren't keeping weight on (depending on season and what work i'm doing with them etc)

Lamb Flaps and Chicken frames are a good way to go - Lamb flaps/off cuts are available usually thru coles/woolies/butchers/pet feed stores etc and chook frames much the same places as well as the chicken stores eg Lenards (sp)

[Dogsfevr]

I would encourage the grazing to stop .

Food doesnt mean anything special to them as its there when ever they feel like it

[Trisven13]

Having spent a little time with Snoops as a baby I suspect that he is also a naturally thinner greyhound. He has always reminded me VERY much of Bart in looks & bodyshape and Bart is a nightmare to keep weight on. Bart is a very very tall greyhound and one would expect him to weigh 40kg plus but at his best he has been 36kg. He DOES have pressure sores but you can't make a dog eat more than he will eat - he has been thin his entire life and was really difficult to get eating as a puppy (as was Snoops in my house) so I've just accepted that Bart is a skinny greyhound! People who don't know greys think that he is shockingly underweight but he often won't finish his meal - he is healthy and happy and I have learnt to deal with a super skinny dog!

[WreckitWhippet]

Stop the grazing and put food down for him twice a day. I like to keep my Grey on the leaner side. I feed him a cup and a half of dry for breakfast, with a small amount of ckicken mince in it and for tea he has, two chicken wings and a piece of lamb flap.

If his coat looks good and he's active and happy, then I wouldn;t worry at all about his weight.

[SkySoaringMagpie]

I'd probably drop from the Giant breed type foods down to a Large Breed type - or even a performance/high energy type depending on why the dog is lean. Performance type foods pack more to their punch - which is why they are for dogs using a higher amount of energy...i'll often use this for my GSD's when they aren't keeping weight on (depending on season and what work i'm doing with them etc)

Lamb Flaps and Chicken frames are a good way to go - Lamb flaps/off cuts are available usually thru coles/woolies/butchers/pet feed stores etc and chook frames much the same places as well as the chicken stores eg Lenards (sp)

This is great advice, I put our skinny minnies on a working dog kibble for a while, and it helped. They are back on normal adult now. I second the suggestion to get your dog off the Giant formula.

We also do the lamb flap, chicken frame thing and a side benefit is that their teeth are excellent.

[jaybeece]

Iams is considered a 'premium' brand...as opposed to Royal Canin, Euk, Advance, Hills, ProPlan, Eagle Pack, Nutrience etc being 'super premium'. Euk (also makes Iams) is well known for putting weight on dogs wether you want it to or not...lol.

I'd probably drop from the Giant breed type foods down to a Large Breed type - or even a performance/high energy type depending on why the dog is lean. Performance type foods pack more to their punch - which is why they are for dogs using a higher amount of energy...i'll often use this for my GSD's when they aren't keeping weight on (depending on season and what work i'm doing with them etc)

Lamb Flaps and Chicken frames are a good way to go - Lamb flaps/off cuts are available usually thru coles/woolies/butchers/pet feed stores etc and chook frames much the same places as well as the chicken stores eg Lenards (sp)

This is really great advice! I can't keep weight on my dog at all as he's very active and half sighthound, but he's fed Large (or giant?) breed Eagle Pack. Next time I pick up food I'll try a different type and see if it makes a difference He gets callouses on his elbows and back legs despite having plenty of soft surfaces to sit on outside and I can see some of his ribs so a bit more meat on him wouldn't be a bad thing.

[Dog_Horse_Girl]

Greyhounds are supposed to be lean...muscular...athletic. If your greyhound is too thin, you will be able to see the whole spine, pin bones (at hips), and he would also be very lethargic and have a horrible, dull coat.

IMO you can buy better processed foods than Iams/Euk. Opt for something like Eagle Pack or Royal Canin...or switch to a raw, whole foods approach if you feel able to do this. Also stop leaving the food down - this doesn't keep you in the Leader position and it doesn't encourage the dogs to eat the meal when fed. Just a suggestion...

Lilly went through stages of gaining/losing weight. I found that lamb flaps help in re-gaining condition and as a bonus, she loves them! They're expensive up here at $5 per kg but much cheaper elsewhere...Darwin is expensive for everything though.

[Lurcher]

Thanks for all the great advice!

I'm off to buy some Lamb flaps, Chicken carcasses, and Royal Canin.

We're also going to stop the grazing.

However, I would say that both Snoops and Kerry know that we are the pack leaders.

Just an aside, is it possible for a pack to recognise two pack leaders. Kerry (Our oldest dog) recognises my OH as her pack leader, but Snoops definately recognises me as his pack leader. - Is this possible, or am I misreading their signals?

Kerry always deferrs to my OH, and Snoops always defers to me.