How much to feed?

[welshbec]

Hi everyone

We adopted a gorgeous greyhound called Paco three weeks ago. He has been absoutely amazing and we've had no trouble from him at all. He is so lovely and gentle and comical. He is great on the lead, with other dogs, humans and being by himself. We love him SO much.

Just one quick query - we feed him one meal a day - James Wellbeloved kibble in the morning, about 7.30am and soak it in water. We also give him a dental chew every day plus one or two small treats.

Tues, Wed and Fri we are home until 1pm and then out till 5.20pm but on Mon and Thurs he is alone from 10.30am until 5.30pm. He has been fine with that - no accidents. We decided to feed him in the morning as it works better for us re: his exercise in mornings and evenings. However, we have found that he whines in the morning - between 6-7am. I go and let him out in the garden to pee but really I think he is whining for food. If I stay with him he doesn't whine but sometimes when I go back to bed I can hear him prodding his food bowl as if to say "feed me".

He weighs 33kg and gets about 1 hour exercise in the week and more on wknds. He is a very happy and contented dog. We've taken him to the vet who has said to follow what is says on James Wellbeloved for feeding large dogs which is 500g per day and he told us it doesn't matter if this is split into two meals or just as one.

We are a bit concerned that we are not feeding hm enough. I am going to get him weighed tonight as it looks like he has lost some weight - this could be our imagination. Is he being a typical greyhound desperate for food?

Any advice/comments would be welcome!

Thanks

[Lisa]

Greyhounds are at very high risk from a serious potentially lethal disease called Bloat or gastric torsion. To minimilise the risk of this it is always better to feed twice daily as the longer they go without food also the more acid and air that can build up in their gastrics.

I would start to feed him twice daily and split the amount. You will find that having gone such a long time without food that yes he probably is whining more in the morning due to hunger, he may even start to sick up bile acid.

Glad that he is settling at the moment you may want to make enquries as to whether there is a neighbour who can let him out halfway through the alloted period left as once he settles he may start with accidents. Its a long time for a dog to go without emptying their bladder or bowel.

[lurcherlot]

Hello and welcome to the forum ..... I'm glad to hear how well Paco has settled down ;D
With regard to feeding, all hounds must be fed twice a day - it isn't really possible (or good for the dog) to get enough food into them in one meal ... so I expect he is very very hungry, poor lad It isn't surprising he's squeaking in the morning, if he hasn't had any supper. If you think he's lost weight, the chances are that he has!
There isn't any need to soak the JW kibble ... it does their teeth good to chew the food - just a splash of water to help mix in the sardines, tuna, leftovers or meat that you add to his food.

[welshbec]

Oh God I feel terrible now! We just went on the advice given by the vet. We will start with a twice daily feed from tomorrow. So if we split 500g into one in the morning and one in the evening and mix into it a little sardines, chicken etc that should be enough?

[welshbec]

How do you attach a picture? I'd like to post one of Paco to show you that he is OK and I am not starving him!

[Lisa]

I give my hounds a mug and a half twice a day with just one sardine or a few meat chunks or anything we have left over mixed in. I then add about 1/4 of a pint of cold water and mush it together.

There are instructions on the technical help board on how to add photos.

[lurcherlot]

If you email it to me as an attachment to [e-mail] I will do it for you.

[lurcherlot]

I've just weighed a cup of JW, and I would doubt 500 grams is enough for a 33kg hound

[welshbec]

All is fine. We went to vet - he hasn't lost weight. We are going to change his feeding two twice a day and increase it slightly.

Here is the handsome boy:

[lurcherlot]

What a handsome lad he is ;D ;D I'm sure there will be differing opinions with regard to his skinniness, or not My own personal opinion is that I don't like seeing the pin bones, which are clearly visible - I know Paco is stretching, so the fact that most/all of his ribs can be seen could be down to just that, but I think the majority of folks reckon on being able to see the last 3 ribs only.
Hopefully with a little more food, split into two meals, he'll be a happy chappie ;D

[Alisa Bee]

Good for you that you care for him and want to get it right ;D, each animal, even of the same breed, is a learning curve for all of us.

My two get two meals a day, but this had always been the practice with every dog since I was a child, so I just continued it. Obviously adjusting it for each breed, a rough collie, a beagle, a lurcher then greyhounds. This was entirely for the dog's benefit as what living thing would want it's meal only once a day? And, as has been mentioned, the possibility of bloat with over eating if it was the only food that was expected.

[welshbec]

Thanks for all your help and suggestions. Since we've changed his diet to two meals a day he has stopped whining in the mornings! And we let him off the lead for the first time this weekend and he loved it - jumping around and running at high speed. We really love him!