Hi, since we've had Oxo his stools have never been solid and he often experiences soft stools. He is not unwell and is really lively and it does not seem to bother him. He is fed a mixture of a quality brand Kibble and tinned dog food and really enjoys this. We have always fed him three times a day - the same as our lurcher Abbi. However, we were speaking to someone today who suggested that we only feed him once a day. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Gwen

Happily this is not a problem that Ive had with Bambi but just thought I would confuse the issue by saying I feed her twice daily. I heard it wasnt a good thing just to feed greys once a day? With my previous dogs I found that some foods (whether good quality or otherwise) just didnt suit them and I had to swap about a bit to find something that worked for them - that process is made way easier if you can get ur hands on some sample packs so that u dont end up with loads of big bags you cant use!!

Our two (Grace & Archie) get Wagg with about half a tin of pedigree chum mixed in or some mince, or liver or sardines. They get fed morning and evening (with a bit less in the morning), and generally produce beautifully formed solid poos! (Generally in huge quantities!)
Grace likes to supplement her diet with stolen potatoes, cucumber and courgettes but even that doesn't seem to affect consistency!

I had this problem with my lurcher, Lady. She enjoyed her food and was fine in herself but it was difficult to clean up after her! After some months of trial and error I discovered that the cereals and gluten in most dog foods didn't agree with her. I now feed her Nature Diet which is fantastic. It contains meat, veg and brown rice but no wheat etc. She loves it and I would strongly recommend it.

I agree with Kathleen. I had this problem with Mindy to start with. I can recommend Naturediet too. Perfect poo!

Try feeding him a bland food like Chappie. I've found this helps with the dogs iv fostered.

Hope this helps!

Well, when searching through the internet you can find many suggestions how to feed greyhounds. They say that the greyhound should be fed from once to three times a day...But to avoid a bloat (greyhounds are prone to it) it is recommended to give them 2 or 3 smaller portions a day.
When living in Poland I sorted out a loose stool problem by giving Acana Dry Dog Food. The consistency of stool changed nearly straightaway. Obviously I have never had a greyhound so I have no personal experience in feeding this breed. Nevertheless it may be worthy of trying...

you may read more about Acana food on this website:
http://www.acanapetfoods.co.uk/

This is the only completely grain free dog food I have ever found...

Hi Gwen,
You do not say what kibble you are using as this is the main part of Oxo's food, The wet food is included to give him a little more taste to his dinner.

We were advised that the kibble's protein content should not be more than 20% as retired racers can have health problems if their diet consists of to much protein in their food.
Again Celia and Jimmy advised us on feeding routine of twice a day, Once in the morning and last thing at night this allowing them to sleep through the night and also reducing the chance of them needing out through the night.

We feed Billy and Lassie 2 cups of kibble mixed with only a little wet food and a tea spoonful of honey (this helps their coat) twice a day.

Why twice a day? It allows their digestion system to process their food completely ( like cooking inside them) You might have noticed when they pass their stools for the first time they are usually more solid, the second time slightly softer and the third time is often runny. That's the bowel habits of our Lassie anyway (Good job she is not self conscious about these things). Billy usually goes twice and is quite solid most of the time.

Food, We have tried various kibbles to suit our two and at present we are using Country Valu (without the E)Greyhound with 19% protein and for a 15KG bag it costs about £10.
The GRF Kennels at Baltree are using Gusto Mature Lite and has 18% protein and comes in 10KG bags it costs around £8.50. The other good food I know of is Wafcol Greyhound maintenance 20% protein and around £20 for a 15KG bag.
It is Trial and error to find the best food that suits your dog but if you do change their food do it gradually, again because Greyhounds have sensitive digestion system. and the change will effect what comes out the other end.

I hope that this has helped you with the soft poos problem as it is not easy when picking up.

Best of luck

George, Morag, Billy & Lassie

According to what has been written above by Goerge, Acana contains min.32,33% of crude protein. It seems unadvisable for retired ex-racers.

I feed twice a day and also a snack at lunchtime, but it is definitely the lack of wheat etc which made the difference. Her snack is a small handful of kibble, but it's called Barking Heads and contains oats but no wheat. Vets do recommend Chappie for sensitive stomachs, and previous dogs have done well on it, but it's full of cereal and if anything made Lady worse.

Hi,

Thanks for all your advice. We are currently using James Wellbeloved Turkey & Rice Kibble with protein value 21%.

Gwen

Hi Kathleen,

We have already tried Barking Heads on advice from a friend. We found that this made things worse and also dulled down his coat a great deal and made his skin itchy. As soon as we stopped using Barking Heads his skin and coat improved greatly within 2 weeks.

Gwen

Gwen, it's all so individual, isn't it! I'm sure I tried her on Barking Heads as her main diet and she was loose then too. I found it quite frustrating trying different foods, with having to introduce them gradually and give them time to work. I also tried a probiotic which was recommended, but it made no difference at all. I'm just glad I got to Nature Diet in the end as it suits her so well.

Hiya Gwen. I had the same problem with my 2 hounds. Most of the time it was so bad it was impossible to try & even scoop. Like you though both mine where as happy as larry & healthy otherwise. Big B I've had since he was a puppy so he's never raced & Maisie (failed racer) I got from Celia & Jimmy. They advised a low protein food (20% or below) so that's what I stuck to. I used to buy Wafcol Greyhound Maintenance from Pets At Home Stirling but they stopped stocking it - I asked an assistant for advice & was told that the lower the protein the poorer the quality! I still stuck to the advice from Celia & Jimmy cos after all they have LOTS of experience. After trying loads of kibble/meat variations I tried Chappie. My Grandad used to have a guide dog & that's what they get fed & RNIB recommend. Hey presto it suits them great & no more soft stools - ever. They get fed at 6am, just dry kibble & at 6pm they get half a tin of Chappie meat mixed in with kibble. My 2 greys vary greatly in size & weight so they get different portions too. Good luck, i hope it's not to long before u find something that works

My friends have always been cooking for their dogs. They cook rice+chicken (lamb)+ vegs (mainly carrot)+ no salt.They mix all the ingredients together and keep it in the fridge. They cook twice a week. They add some cod oil before serving.
I think older generations just cooked for themselves and their pets. They usually were fit and did not experience obesity issues. Who saw obese young girls 30 years ago? If it happened there must have been some real health issues they had been experiencing. Look at what is going on nowadays...Everything thanks to the junk food and our laziness...A lack of time is often an excuse for us but they worked and were very busy as well. The same thing concerns feeding pets...We have just become convenient which is very sad indeed!

Yes, Stan, my lurchers often get carrot and other veg e.g. chopped up cauliflower and broccoli stalks, which would otherwise be thrown away, lightly cooked in water like a broth. They love that. I often substitute some of their bought food with minced lamb or chicken especially if it's on offer. But I must admit it's convenient to base their diet on commercial dog food!

Yes,Kathleen, I entirely agree with you that it is very convenient. Saying that we had become convenient I meant myself as well. I did feed my pets with commercial pet food too. I just wanted to point out that the older generations had had a much healthier life style.Through easy access to ready made food nowadays, it has started disappearing...