Feeding Hounds: Once, Twice Or More?

During  their racing career, greyhounds are often fed one large meal a day and  it is advised by some to maintain this in their retirement.  But is it the  best option?  No, probably not, but every dog is different and while it  may work in that setting, once they retire into homes, their feeding  schedule needs to change to match with their new environment.

Greyhounds  love a routine.  They are creatures of habit and are led by their  stomachs just as much as the next dog, which is why how often you feed  your hound can impact on many aspects of their lives from their  behaviour to weight maintenance.

While  once-a-day feeding works in the racing kennels, and even some rehoming  kennels, it is often done so more for human convenience, and the  limitations of working hours and being able to exercise all the hounds  during that time.

There really  isn’t any reason for a hound to be limited to once-a-day feeding once  they retire into a home.  A home is very different from a kennel, and  there is far more temptation laying, which if your hound is hungry, we  all know what’s going to happen!

Dogs  have a very simple, and quick, digestive system.  They can go from  eating to pooping within 6-8 hours, and once they have cleared their  system their body signals the brain that it is hungry, and a hungry  hound is much more likely to exhibit unwanted behaviours.  

Such  unwanted behaviours such as barking and chewing isn’t considered an  issue in the kennel environment, because it’s expected that dogs are  going to bark, it just is what it is!  But in a home, it isn’t  appreciated.   

Feeding once a  day can also have long-lasting psychological impacts on dogs.  Once  their digestive system empties, and they signal the brain that they are  hungry, the signals don’t stop until they eat…which isn’t until 16-18  hours later.

During this time the  dog will experience blood sugar level fluctuations, which can result in  irritability and negative or food-seeking behaviours such as barking,  chewing, counter surfing, bin raiding, begging, and stealing.  It is  also not uncommon for dogs to throw up bile, or eat grass and then  subsequently throw up bile, as their empty stomach can make them  nauseous.

When greyhounds are  newly retired, they are still largely impacted by their feeding history.   We have dealt with countless hound owners who are struggling with  issues around food and feeding times (both for the dog and humans),  particularly around children eating…probably because they’re easier to  steal from!

Feeding twice a day  bridges the gap and prevents long periods of hunger.  But, even in doing  so it can still take a good couple of weeks (if not more) for the new  routine and understanding of multiple meals to lessen any unwanted  behaviour around food in your new hound.

There  are many other benefits beyond this, such as reducing the likeliness of  bloat from having smaller meals, maintaining a routine poop schedule  for walks and trips to the garden, a healthy metabolism, easier weight  management and healthy digestion.  You are also more likely to identify  if your dog is unwell as feeding more routinely allows you to see more  of a pattern in their eating habits, or if they’re off their food  consistently throughout the day.

For  some hounds, their cheeky behaviours around food may never go away, or  take an extended time to alleviate and there are additional things that  can be put in place to improve this such as providing their food in some  form of slow or puzzle feeder, or other enrichment, to slow down their  eating and make them use their brains.