When Kassa came to us he weighted 70lbs (as weighted by the vet). We followed the recommended portions from the adoption folks at 2 cups of kibble 2 times a day + kong treats like cheese and peanut butter. We found he was dropping weight. We increased to 2.5 cups in the morning and 2 in the afternoon. The vet weighted him at 63 lbs and recommended we bring his weight up increasing to 3 cups twice a day. At this time I also started training him more for different commands and that of course means more treats. I stopped giving the kong treats to kind of even things out. His vet told me that a good measure is that a few ribs should be showing and the tips of his hip bones should be apparent. Last month I leveled down to 2.5 cups in the morning and 3 in the afternoon as I believe his hip bones were starting to disappear. I can still see them but it was a sign to me he may be getting heavy. It was pointed out to me by someone whom I respect a lot in all things greyhound that he may be getting overweight. Not obese or anything.. just a bit tubby. I picked him up at lunch today and stepped on the scale. 80KG without dog and 115KG with dog. That's 77 lbs. So basically I have yo-yoed him from 7 lbs under racing to 7lbs over during the past 4 months. I'm going to cut him back to 2.5 cups in the morning and 2.5 in the afternoon to try to bring him down a couple of lbs. So here are some pics of my boy.
He has definitely gotten thicker in the middle near his hind quarters. His high back is rounded. Please ignore the weeds and the leaves.
Still some bump at his hip bones. Better visible in other pics.
Perhaps a bit to squared off in the back?
You can see the ribs and hip bone bumps. However the hip bones are fading.
Spine is still visible but barely. Not as prominent as it was when he was 63lbs (thank goodness).
So there you have it. I have picked apart my boys physique. If he was human I would probably be on my way to court. Keep in mind that greyhounds aren't supposed to be really heavy and thick like labs. Comments, questions and concerns are welcome.
When Kassa came to us he weighted 70lbs (as weighted by the vet). We followed the recommended portions from the adoption folks at 2 cups of kibble 2 times a day + kong treats like cheese and peanut butter. We found he was dropping weight. We increased to 2.5 cups in the morning and 2 in the afternoon. The vet weighted him at 63 lbs and recommended we bring his weight up increasing to 3 cups twice a day. At this time I also started training him more for different commands and that of course means more treats. I stopped giving the kong treats to kind of even things out. His vet told me that a good measure is that a few ribs should be showing and the tips of his hip bones should be apparent. Last month I leveled down to 2.5 cups in the morning and 3 in the afternoon as I believe his hip bones were starting to disappear. I can still see them but it was a sign to me he may be getting heavy. It was pointed out to me by someone whom I respect a lot in all things greyhound that he may be getting overweight. Not obese or anything.. just a bit tubby. I picked him up at lunch today and stepped on the scale. 80KG without dog and 115KG with dog. That's 77 lbs. So basically I have yo-yoed him from 7 lbs under racing to 7lbs over during the past 4 months. I'm going to cut him back to 2.5 cups in the morning and 2.5 in the afternoon to try to bring him down a couple of lbs. So here are some pics of my boy.
He has definitely gotten thicker in the middle near his hind quarters. His high back is rounded. Please ignore the weeds and the leaves.
Still some bump at his hip bones. Better visible in other pics.
Perhaps a bit to squared off in the back?
You can see the ribs and hip bone bumps. However the hip bones are fading.
Spine is still visible but barely. Not as prominent as it was when he was 63lbs (thank goodness).
So there you have it. I have picked apart my boys physique. If he was human I would probably be on my way to court. Keep in mind that greyhounds aren't supposed to be really heavy and thick like labs. Comments, questions and concerns are welcome. 
2 comments:
Forgive me, but I don't mind the look of a Grey with an extra five pounds to spare. Nigel could use a little extra padding. But I've seen them with 20+ pounds to lose and it's scary!
Thanks for commenting.
I agree that a little padding isn't necessarily a bad thing. I've also seen them pretty thin with little muscle. It's all a question of degree. I think he looks and acts very healthy at 73-74 lbs so that is what I'm targeting.
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