Obesity In Greyhounds: A Common & Dangerous Health Problem

In  all dogs, obesity is a big problem and a genuine concern!  Like with  humans, dogs aren’t designed to carry extra weight, and extended periods  of obesity can cause numerous health concerns as well as dramatically  decreasing their lifespan!

This  is especially important when it comes to Greyhounds, and other  sighthounds, as any additional weight puts tremendous pressure on their  joints, organs, and overall wellbeing.

While  it would be nice to say that it is generally first-time sighthound  owners who make the mistake of fattening up their hounds, it’s not!   Seasoned hound owners often need reminding and their hounds being put on  a diet!

When greyhounds are  freshly retired and adopted into homes, it is perfectly normal for them  to lose weight in the first four weeks.  This is as a result of the  initial stress, change of diet and often increased exercise than what  they were used to in kennels.  

To  combat this, it is best to feed a bit more than is recommended as it’s  best not to let your hound have dramatic weight losses and gains in a  short time!  After that initial period and your hound is holding a nice  steady and appropriate weight, you can start to gradually decrease their  food to maintain their weight rather than encourage further weight  gain.

Though if you are a,  excessive treat giver (you know who are!), or are utilising treats in  early training, be sure to make sure that you compensate for the extra  calories in reducing their main diet!  Otherwise, you will accidentally  over feed them and they will really pack on the pounds quickly!

In  being naturally slender dogs, they do often look like they could do  with a good feeding!  Though while it may seem unnatural to people that  own ‘normal dogs’, they are supposed to look a little bit ribby!

We  apologise for anyone who is about to have their greyhounds royally  fat-shamed but for a greyhound to be at a healthy weight they should  have:

- A nice clear belly tuck
- The outline of the last 2-3 ribs visible
- The outline of some of the spine visible (depending on their body shape)
- The tips of the hipbones should also be easily felt, without pressing, but not sticking out

Not  sure what we mean by the tips of the hipbones?  If you run your hand  down your greyhounds back, at the top of where their hips are you will  feel the two points sitting up on top.  They are often referred to as  the pin bones and are your go-to weight marker!

Every  greyhound is individual with their shape, leg length and muscle mass,  so while it would be nice to be able to say, ‘your greyhound should  weight this much’, sadly that isn’t how it works!  

There  is the generalised suggestion that your hound should sit around 2kg  over their racing weight, but this isn’t a hard and fast rule and if you  don’t know your hounds racing weight…it makes it a lot harder!

Your  greyhounds’ ideal weight, regardless of body shape, should be that you  can just feel the pin bones without pressing.  If you must press (or  push!) to feel them, or cannot feel them at all, you no longer have a  greyhound...you have a fat Labrador!

Alternatively, if the pins are obviously raised or are prominently sticking out, your hound is underweight!

Sometimes  our greyhounds weight gain can sneak up on us.  When you are seeing  them every day, subtle changes in their body type can go amiss and then  one day you’ll be looking at them and suddenly realise!  

However,  it is important that it gets addressed.  If they stay overweight for an  extended period it greatly shortens their life span and puts them at  risk for numerous health conditions, illnesses, and other complications  such as:

- Arthritis and osteoarthritis
- Bone breaks/dislocations
- High blood pressure
- Heart disease and failure
- Kidney disease
- Diabetes
- Tumours/Cancer
- Respiratory problems
- Bladder stones
- More likely to suffer complications under anaesthetic
- Higher risk of heat stroke

Though  if you have decided that your hound has gotten a bit chunky round the  edges, while reducing foot is the first and biggest steps, there are  other factors to consider:

-  Weigh the food out!  A lot of people fall into the trap of ‘eyeballing’  the food and thinking ‘that looks right’.  The result of which is  inadvertently overfeeding your dog with every meal!  Then when factoring  in treats and any other titbits that are being snuck to the hound under  the dinner table, they can pack the pounds on very quickly!
Dogs  need to be fed the correct amount for their weight, age, and activity  levels and so it is important to weigh your dog’s food out accurately.   Or, if weighing it is too much of a hassle, weigh out the correct amount  into a cup or container and mark it with a sharpie so you can feed  quickly knowing, for instance, it’s 2 cups per feed.

-  Choose the right food!  Not all dog foods are made equal and most of  them are full of unnecessary fillers and empty calories.  A lot of  ‘greyhound specific’ diets are of very poor quality and are very high in  carbohydrates that can very quickly add weight to your dog.  We’ll be  talking about how to chose a good food in a future post…so stay tuned!

-  Check with the other family members!  Sure enough, there have been many  instances where a hound has managed to trick its humans into getting  double dinners!  They are masters of the ‘I’m so starved’ puppy dog eyes  after all!

- Feeding style:  Don’t let the dogs graze or free-feed!  This is akin to snacking in  humans and doesn’t allow for a routine and structured intake of food.   If the dog does not eat at the set mealtime, lift up the food and offer  it again later, establishing a routine and an understanding that the dog  needs to eat when the food is there.  This means you can more  accurately measure their intake.

-  Feed your dog twice a day. Twice a day feeing can have many benefits  beyond weight maintenance, such as maintaining a routine poop schedule  for walks and trips to the garden, a healthy metabolism, establishing  routine, and healthy digestion and also you are more likely to tell that  your dog may be unwell as feeding more routinely you will see more of a  pattern in their eating habits or if they’re off their food  consistently throughout the day.

-  Reduce treats and other additions!  While it is lovely to spoil your  hound, if they are being fed a complete and healthy diet, they don’t  need extras!  Or if you do want to give treats, consider choosing  natural, unprocessed, or lower calorie treats.  Make sure to cut down  the amount of kibble you are giving if providing a lot of treats e.g.,  undergoing training or having a lot of enrichment.

-  Has their exercise changed?  We all know the weather holds rule over a  greyhound’s decision to leave the house or not.  So, if they aren’t  being exercised as they normally would be, they need to have their diet  adjusted to prevent them taking on the additional calories that aren’t  being worked off!
Though it’s important to note that  an overweight greyhound will be less inclined to exercise, due to  pressure on the joints, which can result in a vicious cycle.  You may  have to overrule their reluctance to go out and make sure they get the  correct exercise!

- Check your  dog’s weight, body condition and exercise schedule regularly, adjusting  their food intake accordingly.  A dog’s diet should will not stay the  same for the duration of their life, it should be reviewed and updated  regularly to prevent obesity or unnecessary weight loss!

-  Have you checked with the vet? There could be an underlying health  problem that has caused the weight to add up if there hasn’t been any  change in the dog’s routine, exercise, or food intake.

In  advising owners to drop their dogs’ weights we’ve had reports back of  how much happier the dogs are after getting back to their ideal  condition, they’re more energetic, excited to go for walks and are  playing more and doing zoomies where they had previously stopped.  

Just  like with humans, dogs can get lazy when overweight, and as a rule,  dogs will always eat whatever they are given (or steal things should the  opportunity arise), so the responsibility of ensuring our hounds weight  and subsequent health, is entirely on us as their owners.  

It  is essential that we make good choices on their behalf, both for their  welfare and that of your bank account in avoiding unnecessary vet bills!