Facts about Feeding Rescue Greyhounds

There are lots of benefits to owning an ex-racing greyhound over other breeds of dog. They are very good tempered and although they can be large in size and fast, they use their energy in short bursts. Greyhounds are actually pretty lazy, as long as they get out for a run, they'll generally prefer to sleep all day. They're seldom boisterous or troublesome. Racing greyhounds are bred from the healthiest animals and so a rescue greyhound will generally be very healthy and not prone to congenital health issues.

Greyhounds do have sensitive stomachs, their racing diet will have been highly specialised and so their digestive systems can sometimes find it hard to adapt to a commercial pet food. You're probably getting your greyhound from a rescue centre where it will have been given a standard pet food, but as rescue centres are usually operating on limited funds, it's not likely to be of the highest quality, and it probably won't be specially formulated specifically for greyhounds.

When you get your greyhound, find out what food they have been eating and continue him on the same diet for a time. He may well be unsettled with the move, so changing their diet at the same time isn't a good idea, let them get used to one change at a time. After a couple of weeks when your new pet is settled in to his new home you can start to change his food. First choose your food. A greyhound's stomach adapts to process a particular type of food, so it's not wise to keep changing it regularly, so put some thought into the food you're going to feed him so you can stick with it. A good quality greyhound food will cost a little more than a generic dog food but it's well worth it. The dietary requirements of a greyhound are quite unique and so you can't be sure he's getting everything he needs from a food that is meant for any type of dog. Instead buy a food that has been developed just for greyhounds. Don't change his food over straight away though. Introduce the new food gradually,  first by adding just a handful to his old food and increasing the proportions of new food to old over the course of a couple of weeks. This gives his digestive system time to adapt and will greatly minimise the chances of stomach upsets.

Greyhounds often have problems with rich food, red meat should be avoided. Instead, if you want to feed them leftovers for a treat, stick to vegetables, rice and chicken. Greyhounds are slow eaters compared to other dogs, so you should always give them time to eat in peace. As they are so fast you should avoid feeding them an hour before or after you take them out as this can upset their stomachs.