Greyhoundxwhippet Digestion

[peony]

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As most of you will know, I bought a lovely 3/4 greyhound 1/4 whippet last December. He is now just over 6 months and I am a little perplexed how to manage his diet.

When Archer came to me, Billyboy had been feeding him on Beta puppy, which I continued with. Weekly weighing sessions showed Archer to be putting on what the vet said was the right amount of weight for dog of his age and breed, but he wasnt overly keen on the food and just used to pick at it. Another thing I noticed, which I had seen when I had fed a litter of my own on Beta, was that Archer was rather 'loose behind'. On the previous occassion, someone had said to me the protein levels in Beta puppy were quite high and might be the cause of the gloopy poos :x So, trial and error to find a food that Archer would deign to eat ............he eventually settled on Bakers, but still wasnt producing solids. Throughout it all, Archer has been a real live wire, acting the fool, into everything and growing like a weed, so I have never had cause to worry that he was poorly. ( We have recently had an episode of 24 hr sick bugs which went through all of mine ( literally :x ) plus the fish food stealing , so runny tums were to be expected)

I spoke to Billyboy65 last week and none of the rest of the litter have delicate tummies and he hadnt a miracle cure .

Spoke to our local feed supplier yesterday and she recommanded Vitalin as a foodstuff good for dogs of this breeding .... anyone have any experience of it? I am now at the stage though where poor Archer is eating boiled rice ...........the only thing he creates solids rather than puddles from. The minute I introduce anything new, even in tiny quantities, I am back at the same situation.

I am worried now just what Archers diet is lacking and how detrimental it will be to his development .. I know ethiopians exist on rice and water, but just how fast are they after a lure?? :- "

Can anyone offer any advice on what to do next or if this breed are prone to gastric issues???

BTW , he is fully wormed and at 19.2kg, a size the vets are happy with, but hes just too lean for my liking.

Here he is this morning, with his bestest chum, Bluer :wub:

 

[lurcherburger]

lol

him an blu are right chums...

he lays all over her and she dont mind.. if anyone else so much as tries to shift her off the couch they get teeth so its quite amazing really

 

[barkingbird]

Hi Peony,

Our pup Stern is one of Archers brothers. We feed him Beta puppy and he has access to his food all day long so he appears to be picking at it too but he has always been putting on weight so he must have been eating enough over the day, they do find their own level. Stern has never had any problem with Beta, we think he is doing well on it and he does pretty solid poos.

One thing i know from experience is that if you change their food too quickly that itself can upset their stomachs, most dog foods recommend to only change 20% of their food per day. Also they are starting to shape up now so they appear to be losing their puppy fat and don't look as chubby as they did a few months back. Be nice if they stayed that way forever though :wub:

I hope your situation improves as Archer is a lovely looking dog )

 

[hellybobs]

Dippy is half whippet-half greyhound and used to have really bad runny bum when I was feeding her on complete.

I tried bakers, vitalin, james welbeloved, general greyhound stuff and a shops own brand from the Blue Barn (Leeds based shop).

I made the switch over to BARF and she's had firm poop's ever since and no tummy troubles either.

She's 14 months old, 24" and 19kg.

 

[peony]

Hi Peony,
Our pup Stern is one of Archers brothers. We feed him Beta puppy and he has access to his food all day long so he appears to be picking at it too but he has always been putting on weight so he must have been eating enough over the day, they do find their own level. Stern has never had any problem with Beta, we think he is doing well on it and he does pretty solid poos.

One thing i know from experience is that if you change their food too quickly that itself can upset their stomachs, most dog foods recommend to only change 20% of their food per day. Also they are starting to shape up now so they appear to be losing their puppy fat and don't look as chubby as they did a few months back. Be nice if they stayed that way forever though  :wub:

I hope your situation improves as Archer is a lovely looking dog  )

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Nice to see another sibling .... Stern looks lovely and way more solid than Archer. I have been extremely careful with any alterations in Archers diet and any changes have been VERY gradual. Archer is 24" and 19.2kg ....how does this compare?

Having four other dogs, two of whom would quite happily eat their own and everyone elses food, I cant leave food down all day :blink: . I understand what you are saying though, but with Archer, he never had a puppy, chubby , roly stage. Even from months ago, he had his rangy, running dog shape.

Like I said in my first post, hes showing no signs of illness, discomfort, apathy etc, but I am worried that constant runs isnt doing him any good at all.

Hellybobs, thanks for your comments .................. have been considering wether to start cooking up my own food for them all, rather than have them on a complete and Id rather make my own, but am going to have to invest in another freezer before I can do this! :thumbsup:

 

[barkingbird]

oops i forgot to add that...

Stern is 24" and 24kg so there is a bit of a difference there although i think that he was always the heaviest in the litter.

Let us know how he gets on, we are looking forward to seeing him at some shows this year )

 

[billyboy45]

Come on Caroline.He was the second heaviest pup in the litter,with Stern always being 1/2 a lb or so heavier,and his nickname was chubby.He was actualy that heavy at one stage,(even heavier than Stern)that i had to feed him seperate as i was affraid of the weight doing the joint's harm.I havent any photo's of him at hand, from the time i sent them over,but when i find them i'll post some.Anyone who has a video of them as they grew up till the age of 11,or 12 weeks will know this.The runt of the litter is now 23n1/2 inches and 24 Kg,weighed on greyhound scales.And that was 9 day's ago.So check the scales as he looks ,and should be heavier,than Pyper,the runt.My pups do have the odd day's skittery stuff,but thats normal.Scruff is an inch bigger than Pyper,but 5 lb lighter.He has always been lean,and has also grown like a weed.He eats more,and skitters quite often.Ihave a daughter who always has diarhia and has been checked for everything,though nothing has been found to be wrong.She will hopefully grow out of it,and so will Archer.When the pups were 14 weeks old or so,i nearly lost all of them to a bacterial thing they got from the neighbours 50 odd cats.This happened again three weeks later,with the same consiquenses.Another thing thats just come to mind,is the fact that you got all his vaccinations done again,soon as he went over.My own vet after being told this,said you might regret that.(Just a thought)It is hard to get a nut ,or a complete meal,that always does what it say's on the tin,sort of thing.And i bet if you took the stuff to a lab,every time you bought a bag,it would be slightly different as regards proten n stuff.As youve mentioned about making youre own feed.Beef or chicken soup n brown wholemeal bred,which can be obtained quite cheaply,(if you ask at the local shops,for out of date stuff,and tell them what its for),is easily the best food availible.Ive noticed that the racing dog's over there are kept pretty lean anyway,summit to do with yards per lb,handicapping or summit.This will probibly get up someone's nose sayin this,but like John ,i shoot straight from the hip.You ask about the eathiopians.Best runners in the world,great stayers,but as yet they cant sprint.Reason,no power,,reason no power, no meat,just a rice n shit diet.Get him on a meat n veg diet.Buy a massive pot,and do like i do for the racing dog's,and make a weeks supply at a time,and freeze it in tubs or summit.Sorry this is so long,but thats me.Love typing i do. By the way Claina,he's also a beute,like the rest of the litter.GOODNIGHT ,and have a great Easter Monday.Hopefully not forgetting the reason for the whole thing. ...Billy...

 

[billyboy45]

Hi Peony,
Our pup Stern is one of Archers brothers. We feed him Beta puppy and he has access to his food all day long so he appears to be picking at it too but he has always been putting on weight so he must have been eating enough over the day, they do find their own level. Stern has never had any problem with Beta, we think he is doing well on it and he does pretty solid poos.

One thing i know from experience is that if you change their food too quickly that itself can upset their stomachs, most dog foods recommend to only change 20% of their food per day. Also they are starting to shape up now so they appear to be losing their puppy fat and don't look as chubby as they did a few months back. Be nice if they stayed that way forever though  :wub:

I hope your situation improves as Archer is a lovely looking dog  )

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​

Where'd he get that tail girl.Pyper's tail is about 4 inches shorter than Sterns.You'd think he was a pitbullx or summit.Nice boy,same head as Pyper too.Cant wait for them all to start racing,as they should be usefull. ...Billy...Irealy envy you,being able to post big pic's like that.Ive put mine on photo bucket,but havent a clue how to get them from there to here,or how to copy the link,whatever that means.Big( L )plate on my back. ...Billy...

 

[peony]

Calm down Billy lol :blink: my saying that Archer didnt have a fat puppy stage, was for when he was with me! I remember you calling him 'chubby' before I got him, but as the only clips of him on the dvd you sent were when he was a tiny baby, I didnt get to see the podgy version of him, as I collected him when he was 10 weeks old. The second dvd you promised me, with the vaccination bottles, still hasnt arrived :unsure:

What are we to do with vets eh??? Mine told me that yours hadnt done the vaccinations adequately, in that there were no recorded batch numbers and only one of the course listed and yours tell you that my vets have possibly caused him harm by administering a second jab !! Its all beyond me :- "

I did say that I would like to feed Archer homemade and also mentioned that I would have to buy a freezer before I can do so. I cant see local suppliers here though selling me out of date stuff. :wacko:

Oh, and one last thing Billy, the Ethiopian comment was said in jest and really as a throw away remark, not one to be taken seriously!

Happy Easter everyone :thumbsup: :wub:

 

[lurcherburger]

,and have a great Easter Monday.Hopefully not forgetting the reason for the whole thing.  ...Billy...

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chocolate and easter eggs???

(w00t)

 

[billyboy45]

Calm down Billy lol  :blink:   my saying that Archer didnt have a fat puppy stage, was for when he was with me! I remember you calling him 'chubby' before I got him, but as the only clips of him on the dvd you sent were when he was a tiny baby, I didnt get to see the podgy version of him, as I collected him when he was 10 weeks old. The second dvd you promised me, with the vaccination bottles, still hasnt arrived  :unsure:
What are we to do with vets eh??? Mine told me that yours hadnt done the vaccinations adequately, in that there were no recorded batch numbers and only one of the course listed and yours tell you that my vets have possibly caused him harm by administering a second jab !! Its all beyond me :- "

I did say that I would like to feed Archer homemade and also mentioned that I would have to buy a freezer before I can do so. I cant see local suppliers here though selling me out of date stuff. :wacko:

Oh, and one last thing Billy, the Ethiopian comment was said in jest and really as a throw away remark, not one to be taken seriously!  

Happy Easter everyone  :thumbsup:   :wub:

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Sorry you didnt get the DVD.It was at an awkward time,when youre vet said what he did,and my mood wasnt to good for a while.Ididnt mean anything iether about the ethiopian thing.But boy can they run.(for ever)sorry if i didnt get my point across the way i ment,but thats just the way we put things over here.I dont have time to look out the DVD,at the minute,and cant remember what alls on it.But here is a couple of pic's of the inoculations that i used.Iwould have sent these long ago,but hadnt a clue until a few weeks ago ,how to post photo's.Hope these come out ok youre side.Just checked all the other Health care cards,like the ones you and Barkingbird got with the pups,and they all have batch numbers on them.And as you will remember,i done my own jaging,so had to fill in the cards myself,after getting them from the vet,as you needed them.Hope this clears up the inoculation thing,and shows you that they were and are covered for more or less everything. :cheers: ...Billy..1st jag.2nd jag

 

[billyboy45]

Here'is the whole batch of jags that i bought for the pups.The complete course,as i usualy only do them for PARVO,first.But now you cant as some of the others come in same bottle.Anyway ,one thing's for sure.He's well covered now anyway.Ido hope his back end dries up soon.One other thing you could do is give him an Imodium tab every other day for a week or so.These will dry him up.

 

[posh totty]

hi p ive been a big fan of vitalin for ages now, my iggies look great on it! if you give them a call they will send you out 2.5kg bags of samples, explain whats going on with archer and im sure they will be able to help, i have replied to you on whippet site and im certain dad used sheeps pawches on his dog with that problem, i will still ask him just to be certain for you :thumbsup: