It is important to give your hound a balanced and healthy diet, but what does that look like? Here is our guide to what to feed your rescue greyhound to keep them healthy and happy.
The typical meal at Greysland is 1.5 cups of SavourLife chicken kibble and 125gm of Raw & Fresh, often with the addition of cooked veggies such as carrot and sweet potato. At Greyhound Rescue, our hounds are fed twice a day using slow-feeder bowls to help slow their eating and to provide a more interesting experience at mealtime. If you are adopting from us you can purchase these items when you come to meet your hound so that you can continue the same diet.
Greyhounds are a deep-chested breed so should be fed small meals twice a day to avoid bloat, a potentially life-threatening condition. In addition to this, it is important that your hound isn’t fed before or after exercise; our hounds have half an hour of quiet time in their kennels both before and after eating. If your hound needs to gain some weight, we recommend adding a third small meal to their routine rather than feeding larger meals. There is no clear evidence that using a raised feeder aids in the prevention of bloat, however some hounds do prefer to eat from an elevated bowl, so allow your hound to choose their preference.
Slow-feeder bowls are a great way to add interest to mealtimes, not only do they help to slow down your hound’s eating but they also provide great enrichment. Using tricky bowls helps to build your hound’s confidence and problem-solving skills as well, and the more confident your hound becomes the more difficult you can make the enrichment feeding! Check out these resources for some enrichment ideas and visit our online shop for some great tools.
Keeping your hound’s teeth well-maintained is also important. Avoid feeding your hound bones or hard chews as they can cause obstructions and broken teeth. At Greysland we include DentaShield with each evening meal and we feed dental chews as part of our enrichment program. Once they’ve settled in, learning how to brush your hound’s teeth is a great idea. We do not feed bones of any kind due to the risk of obstruction, tooth damage, and gastric distress.
Sometimes your hound may get an upset tummy when they first come home due to the stress of changing environment. A bland diet of boiled chicken and rice for a couple of days to settle their tummy usually does the trick, however if you are concerned you should contact your vet. A probiotic supplement such as Synbiotic can also be helpful. Should you want to transition your hound to a different diet it is best done over several days, shifting the ratio of existing diet to new diet little by little and watching for digestive upset.
Treats are a great way to train your hound and to provide positive reinforcement. The undisputed king of currency at Greysland is bbq chicken! We also love SavourLife Training Treats and find that they are well-tolerated by sensitive tummies. It’s also fun to make special treats for your hounds, check out our pupcakes and pupsicle recipes for a fun “sometimes food” indulgence. Always make sure that food is dog-safe before giving it to your hound, there are some common ones to avoid.