Can't Get Weight On Greyhound

[Kirty]

Pia has just turned one year old. She has always been a skinny dog, no matter what I feed her. She was getting Bonnie puppy dryfood but I am in the process of switching her to Hills Active. She also gets 2-3 chicken frames a week and a raw bone once a week. She is now eating 5 cups of dryfood a day - almost as much as my Dane! She is still skinny. She is wormed up to date and seems active, bright, etc. Any tips for getting weight on her?

[Tapferhund]

Kirty, I have a 13 year old Grey and she is the same and has ALWAYS been the same....skinny and very hard to get weight on. Some Greys are just that way inclined.

But if I were you......take her to your Vet to have her checked for any underlying problem such as pancreas problems etc. If she is free of any problems that could be causing her thinness .......then being thin is just her and there is not much you can do. As long as she is healthy looking with a healthy coat.

Five cups seems an awful lot....too much imo for a grey. My girl has two heaped cups of a premium dry food (Artemis) and a 1/4 of a tin of Natures Gift mixed in to the dry. She struggles to eat any more than that in one sitting. She does have treats though.... a couple of chicken necks or brisket bone and she loves bread...so she gets a slice every couple of days. She's skinny...but she's healthy looking.

Edited August 12, 2010 by Tapferhund

[Greytmate]

Changing from Bonnie to Hills should do it.

If not, add a daily tablespoon of meat fat or oily fish in oil.

[Dogsfevr]

Get her thyroid checked,of the 8 show greys we owned only ever had one with weight issue & he had thyroid issues

Edited August 12, 2010 by showdog

[CrazyCresties]

If no underlying medical reason, then maybe try Ziwipeak canned tripe?

http://www.ziwipeak.com/nzl/cuisinefamily.shtml

Tripe, Lamb and Venison – ‘Daily-Dog’ Cuisine Cans 385g/13.5oz

INGREDIENTS: Lamb Tripe (min 30.5%); Venison Tripe (min 11.6%) Lamb and Venison Meat (min 15%); Green-lipped Mussel (min 4%); Carrageenan; Sodium Tripolyphosphate; Guar Gum; Flaxseed Oil; Minerals; Vitamins. Calories 322 KJ/100g.

In the UK I found raw green tripe excellent for getting weight on my grey - I don't think you can really get raw tripe in Australia, so a canned version maybe worth a try.

[Greytmate]

If it is a thyroid problem there will be symptoms other than a failure to gain weight.

I wouldn't bother taking the dog for a thyroid test unless there was something else wrong as well. If you do that, go to a vet that is experienced with greyhounds, as greyhounds have a naturally low thyroid level and hyperthyroidism is over-diagnosed in the breed.

At that age you would expect the dog to burn off a lot of energy and need a high fat diet. With a diet of Bonnie and bones, you could expect to have a skinny dog and mountains of poo in the yard.

Greyhounds need a more nutritious and meaty diet than most other breeds. Their muscles burn the energy in a different way to other breeds.

[Rebanne]

Miller is 18 months old and skinny as. I just accept it as part and parcel of being a young, very active hound. He get 3- 4 cups a day of dry food, plus extra's like chicken thighs and drumsticks. If no extra's he gets 4 cups. Currently on optimum. I find porridge puts weight on them and mine all get some in the winter. Another goodie is lamb flaps.

[Maddy]

Our greyhounds are fed mostly raw meat (the offcuts you can buy in bags from the supermarket for making soup or stock) and we have trouble keeping the weight off the dogs.

We've tried a lot of different foods for them but just plain beef, in my opinion, works out the best; there's noticably less to clean up outside (which is a big advantage), their teeth are actually better now than when we got them, their coats look good and even though one is a bit picky about food, they're both a healthy weight.

From my experience with greyhounds, they just don't seem to get much out of foods that contain large quantities of grain- at least when you feed them raw meat, you know what the meat content is (even dry foods that list meat or meat by-products as the first ingredient may not actually have that much meat overall) and what sort of meat and you can add other things to the diet yourself, adjusting to suit the individual dog's needs.

[Trisven13]

This is the first winter that Bart hasn't been skin and bone and he is 5 years old. He has always, from the time he arrived at 3 months of age, been hard to get weight on and I think it is just him. Other greyhounds I've had have had no problems. Some greyhounds are just extra thin in my limited experience.

[The Ark]

I have a skinny one! She needs to be fed at least 3 times a day (she's on Eagle Pack, but we've tried other foods too) to really keep any reasonable cover on her, but she is happy and healthy so I haven't worried too much. Oh to have her metabolism.......

[anniek]

From my experience, the ones homed as pups (Bart & Pia), turn out more skinny than ones who have had some race training. Could it be early desexing? I don't know, but all of the pups we've homed have of course had less muscle definition and are a slightly different shape (leaner) if that makes any sense.

Some of the little girls eat three times as much as the big boys to keep weight on. Lots of fresh meat with fat, and bones, frames etc. Grain based dry food in large quantities will end up in the yard and not on the dog.

Edited August 12, 2010 by anniek

[oakway]

A full thyroid panel is necessary

A must for some Greys. I would be seeking advise from from........................

http://www.hemopet.org/services.html

Get the blood drawn here and send to them for complete analysis

[Greytmate]

From my experience, the ones homed as pups (Bart & Pia), turn out more skinny than ones who have had some race training. Could it be early desexing? I don't know, but all of the pups we've homed have of course had less muscle definition and are a slightly different shape (leaner) if that makes any sense.

Some of the little girls eat three times as much as the big boys to keep weight on. Lots of fresh meat with fat, and bones, frames etc. Grain based dry food in large quantities will end up in the yard and not on the dog.

It is the different exercise they get as well as the early desexing.

It is why greyhound pups are generally raised in small groups in very large runners, this exercise builds bone and muscle.

When they are broken into race the exercise intensity goes up, and they can bulk up a lot more. By two or three years of age you see the full dog. Stop the exercise and hormones before this and the dog will be shaped a little differently.

A full thyroid panel is necessary

A must for some Greys. I would be seeking advise from from........................

http://www.hemopet.org/services.html

Get the blood drawn here and send to them for complete analysis

It is only a must for sick greyhounds.

Symptoms of hyperthyroidism may include sluggishness, skin sores, higher rate of heat loss, symmetrical balding on head and chest, as well as weight loss. This dog has none of those other symptoms.

The dog sounds perfectly healthy, but thin. That is normal, given the age, breed, diet and upbringing of the dog. There is no good reason to suggest spending money on diagnosing a problem that nobody is having.

[anniek]

From my experience, the ones homed as pups (Bart & Pia), turn out more skinny than ones who have had some race training. Could it be early desexing? I don't know, but all of the pups we've homed have of course had less muscle definition and are a slightly different shape (leaner) if that makes any sense.

Some of the little girls eat three times as much as the big boys to keep weight on. Lots of fresh meat with fat, and bones, frames etc. Grain based dry food in large quantities will end up in the yard and not on the dog.

It is the different exercise they get as well as the early desexing.

It is why greyhound pups are generally raised in small groups in very large runners, this exercise builds bone and muscle.

When they are broken into race the exercise intensity goes up, and they can bulk up a lot more. By two or three years of age you see the full dog. Stop the exercise and hormones before this and the dog will be shaped a little differently.

A full thyroid panel is necessary

A must for some Greys. I would be seeking advise from from........................

http://www.hemopet.org/services.html

Get the blood drawn here and send to them for complete analysis

It is only a must for sick greyhounds.

Symptoms of hyperthyroidism may include sluggishness, skin sores, higher rate of heat loss, symmetrical balding on head and chest, as well as weight loss. This dog has none of those other symptoms.

The dog sounds perfectly healthy, but thin. That is normal, given the age, breed, diet and upbringing of the dog. There is no good reason to suggest spending money on diagnosing a problem that nobody is having.

I agree - don't waste your money Kirty - spent it on fatty lamb chops...

[CBL]

Yep I am another with skinny greys. Upping their food a bit has put some coverage on Patch and he looks great now - Lilly is still a little to much on the skinny side despite being nearly 5kgs lighter than Patch and getting the same amount of food.

My guys are now on Royal Canin sensitive (which was for Oscar - but they greys do really well on it too). Artemis was a bit too rich for them and there were lots of runny poos. They also get a few chicken neck/frame/meaty offcut meals a week. I think I need to increase the number of meaty meals but maybe should try the porridge too - any tips for making it - or is it just a bowl for me and a bowl each for the dogs?

[SparkyTansy]

we found lamb was the fastest way to get weight onto our skinny grey... lamb flaps and lamb based kibble.

[Greytmate]

Lamb flaps are great.

People with young greyhounds should look to see if there is a local greyhound meat supplier.

The meat they sell usually has a good level of fat in it. The meat commonly known as "Racing Mix" is usually kangaroo with 20% pure beef fat added. They will also have a chicken meat for pups and breeding dogs, which is less expensive and slightly less nutritious, but still has adequate fat levels for greyhounds.

[poppop]

If there are no medical issues and it's just a case of getting weight on, I have found the best thing is dog roll - the one you get in 3kg rolls in the pet food fridge at the supermarket. I cut it in to thick (1 inch) slices, then into 9 bits so it's in pieces. When my 30kg girl drops to 28kg I do this for her for a few days - I give probably 2-3 slices like that per meal, and she has 2 meals a day. This has given me results with a fussy eater who sometimes needs a bit more weight on her.

[Moselle]

Our greyhounds are fed mostly raw meat (the offcuts you can buy in bags from the supermarket for making soup or stock) and we have trouble keeping the weight off the dogs.

We've tried a lot of different foods for them but just plain beef, in my opinion, works out the best; there's noticably less to clean up outside (which is a big advantage), their teeth are actually better now than when we got them, their coats look good and even though one is a bit picky about food, they're both a healthy weight.

From my experience with greyhounds, they just don't seem to get much out of foods that contain large quantities of grain- at least when you feed them raw meat, you know what the meat content is (even dry foods that list meat or meat by-products as the first ingredient may not actually have that much meat overall) and what sort of meat and you can add other things to the diet yourself, adjusting to suit the individual dog's needs.

I agree with this post. A friend of mine has a couple of GH and they were fed copious amounts of dry food and never managed to put on any weight. Their diet was changed to a raw diet which consists of raw (pet) chicken mince, chicken necks & chicken frames and they have since put on the weight and how. Most dry foods tend to go straight through some dogs due to its high grain content and given that we are talking 'dogs' and not cows, I guess I know which diet is most suitable, lol.

[Rebanne]

I agree with this post. A friend of mine has a couple of GH and they were fed copious amounts of dry food and never managed to put on any weight. Their diet was changed to a raw diet which consists of raw (pet) chicken mince, chicken necks & chicken frames and they have since put on the weight and how. Most dry foods tend to go straight through some dogs due to its high grain content and given that we are talking 'dogs' and not cows, I guess I know which diet is most suitable, lol.

nope, didn't work here when my greys were on all raw. Chicken didn't agree with one, red meat didn't agree with another. So it was half and half for a while, with a lot of mucking around, now we are all dry, have been for a few weeks and one has put on weight and the others are getting there. The diet that is most suitable is the one the dogs do well on.