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Post by jschwe on Jan 4, 2013 12:24:43 GMT -5
Wondering whether I should be feeding Superbird more in order to help him put on weight. He is recently retired, and his race weight averaged 77-79 lbs. However, he had an infection right before we took him home which caused him to lose some weight. The other day we weighed him in a pet store and turns out he lost more than I expected. He weighed 70lbs. Should we aim to get him to 80, or a bit higher now that he is retired? And should we be feeding him more or will he put it on naturally?
Food is Canine Plus Lifetime, and he currently gets 5 1/2 cups a day.
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Post by angelollie on Jan 4, 2013 14:03:39 GMT -5
Many greyhounds might lose a little weight when they are first adopted due to the stress of changing their environment. An infection along with the stress certainly would be reason to lose weight. Have you also had a stool sample checked at your vets as a parasitic problem will cause weight loss as well.
I would be hesitant in increasing his meals as I think in due time Superbird will have gained his weight back, in fact at 5 and one half cups, you may find you might have to decrease his intake in time. Within a few weeks, he will be more relaxed in his home, therefore, less stress, his infection will be gone and hopefully his stools will be negative. As long as he's happy and playing normally, I wouldn't be too worried.
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Post by sarajean66 on Jan 4, 2013 14:31:51 GMT -5
5 and 1/2 cups seems like a lot.... but he has about 10 pounds on doug. i've been feeding doug roughly 4 cups a day, and rosie a little less because she's quite a bit smaller... is there any way to know how much to give them?
doug still has 3 of his ribs showing, but i've noted he's gained weight in in chest area between his front legs.... thats the only place he has ANY fat... we call them his doggy boobies.
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Post by GreyPoopon on Jan 4, 2013 16:00:40 GMT -5
He did look a bit thin in his pics, and it's not typical for them to be below retirement weight, so I think you can have him gain a few pounds. You're feeding him lots, though, so (assuming he doesn't have parasites) he just needs some time.
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Post by jschwe on Jan 4, 2013 16:02:48 GMT -5
Thanks for the replies.
angelollie, we have had him checked and he is parasite free. By the time we (finally) got to bring him home, he was all but done with his antibiotics and doing much better. He has shown no signs of infection or otherwise, and his stitches (infection caused his neuter to be unable to heal) have come out. I don't think he has lost any more weight since we picked him up, however he still seems much lighter than he used to be.
5 1/2 cups does seem high to me as well, but having not owned a large dog before I don't know the protocol. 5 1/2 is both what he was being fed at the GRA and what the bag recommends for a dog his size--mind you I was judging by the racing weight, the recommendation is probably lower for a 70lb dog.
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Post by jschwe on Jan 4, 2013 17:59:11 GMT -5
Just got home and I figured I'd take a couple pictures of his back so you can get an idea of how scrawny he looks. The second pic is a little blurry but gives a better idea of how prominent his hipbones are...
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quietstorm
Hound Nut
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Posts: 1,593
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Post by quietstorm on Jan 4, 2013 18:09:47 GMT -5
Don't forget that greys fresh off the track still have that crazy metabolism and that may be why he needs to eat a lot. It can take several months for it to settle down. When Force came home, he was up to 4 lbs of food a day for over 6 months before we saw him slowing down. Ranger is always fluctuating in weight - currently he looks a lot like your guy in the pics - so we've got him back up to about 3 lbs to get the weight back on. He too was just on antibiotics for a few weeks so we're chalking it up to that.
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Post by sarajean66 on Jan 4, 2013 18:54:36 GMT -5
4 lbs of food a day!!? how do i know if i'm feeding the dogs enough... doug wakes us all up at 530 am to eat.... which usually isnt a problem because thats when we're up for work... but its a pain in the butt on our days off...
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Post by GreyPoopon on Jan 4, 2013 20:48:27 GMT -5
FWIW, Graham raced at 76 and looks best at about 85 now. He got down to 79 after a course of antibiotics. I have him on 5 1/2 cups + to gain weight, but maintenance is around 5 or a bit more, depending on the season (my house is cold in the winter). A lot depends on the metabolism of the dog and the type of food. sarajean66: quietstorm feeds raw. The numbers are different.
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Post by Heather (& KC) on Jan 4, 2013 21:01:21 GMT -5
Mr Max's racing weight was 73 lbs and he never went above that. In the summer when he was super active he would drop about 5 lbs. I fed him more than the bag recommended but he didn't always eat it all. When he first came home, he dropped weight and was quite thin. As others have said, this seems to be normal after they are fixed and come into a new home. It is stressful and there are a lot of changes. I wouldn't be concerned. Keep loving him, caring and feeding and he'll settle in just fine.
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Post by sarajean66 on Jan 4, 2013 21:11:01 GMT -5
i think i'll up dougs meals to 5 cups then.... rosies seems satisfied with her current meals, but she is a small grey, only 60 lbs.... i feel bad thinking i wasn't feeding him enough! poor guy has probably been hungry, no wonder he's barking at us early in the morning.
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Post by campgreyhound on Jan 4, 2013 21:35:32 GMT -5
He is definitely underweight, I know Bill likes to use the satin balls to put weight on hounds, you could try that in addition to his kibble. If you increase his kibble you'll likely just get more poop.
This is guaranteed to put weight on even the skinniest greyhounds. 4 of these with each meal does the trick!
-5lb. fatty hamburger (fattiest you can find, or have your butcher make you some up) -1/2 lb. Cream cheese -1 small jar of natural peanut butter (nothing but peanuts in it) -the yolks from 12 eggs (not the whites!) -2 C oatmeal, soaked for at least 2 hours, better overnight, in 18% cream -1 C wheatgerm
Mix everything up in a large bowl, you'll have to use your hands to do this, just dive in. When well mixed, roll into ping pong sized balls and place on cookie sheet. Freeze, put into a bag and serve 4 with each meal.
As a proponent of the prey model diet, I can't comment on the species-appropriateness of the above recipe; however I like to use what works, and this recipe is well tested!
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Post by campgreyhound on Jan 4, 2013 21:41:34 GMT -5
i think i'll up dougs meals to 5 cups then.... rosies seems satisfied with her current meals, but she is a small grey, only 60 lbs.... i feel bad thinking i wasn't feeding him enough! poor guy has probably been hungry, no wonder he's barking at us early in the morning. You could also try a bedtime snack, either give him a healthy treat or a portion of his kibble at bedtime, he might sleep a bit later with something in his tummy.
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Post by jschwe on Jan 4, 2013 21:51:36 GMT -5
Wow! Thanks for the recipe. I will certainly be trying those--if he doesn't love us already, I'm pretty sure those will win him over forever! Is this something that he can still have (obviously in lower quantity) once he is a healthier weight, or are they too fatty for that?
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Post by campgreyhound on Jan 4, 2013 22:56:06 GMT -5
Well, see how he does on them first, but I don't see why they couldn't be a regular treat, they are a lot better than most of the treats you get in the store. Other good treats include dehydrated liver, heart, lung etc. These are species appropriate and a big hit with the hounds.
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