What’s the Best Food for Your Greyhound? A Complete Feeding Guide

The Greyhound is a gentle and sweet-natured dog. They are master sprinters, with a body shape and composition perfectly suited for this, with full muscling and little body fat. So the answer to the question, “What do Greyhound dogs eat?” needs to account for this athletic build. Although Greyhounds are generally healthy dogs, they are more at risk of developing stomach bloat and torsion compared to other breeds. Learn how to choose the right diet and feeding method for your Greyhound.

Greyhound Puppy Feeding

To support their optimal growth and development, Greyhound puppies require a high-quality diet that contains the right amounts of essential nutrients to support their optimal growth and development. With many puppy foods available, understanding what to feed a Greyhound puppy can help you make the right choice. To properly feed a Greyhound puppy, look for a statement on the pet food label that says the diet meets “the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO [Association of American Feed Control Officials] Dog Food Nutrient Profiles for growth of puppies, including growth of large sized dogs (70 lb or more as an adult).” This specialized formulation is crucial for their unique developmental needs, which is why puppies shouldn’t eat dog food formulated for adults. While not all Greyhounds will reach 70 lb. as an adult, it is better to err on the side of caution for breeds that might. Also, puppy food with a higher fat and protein content can better support active puppies undergoing training. When looking for the best food for Greyhound puppies, you can also look for puppy food that contains fiber and probiotics to promote gut health, antioxidants to support the immune system, and DHA, a type of omega-3 fatty acid, to help with vision and brain development.

Offering your Greyhound puppy a variety of foods, including dry and wet food, can help to reduce picky behaviors by exposing them to different tastes, flavors, and textures. Greyhounds are not normally greedy dogs and may not be as food motivated as other breeds. Establishing a regular feeding schedule, offering meals for only a limited amount of time, and not changing the food just because your puppy won’t eat, it will help encourage good eating habits.

A Greyhound puppy’s feeding schedule changes as they grow. Puppies under four months of age should be fed 3–4 times a day. This can be reduced to two meals per day when your puppy is around 5–6 months of age. Another important consideration is how much to feed your puppy. Feeding too little will stunt their growth, but overfeeding will cause them to be overweight, which can set them up to be overweight adults. So, monitoring growth rates and feeding to maintain a healthy condition during puppyhood is essential.

Adult Greyhound Feeding

Greyhound puppies finish growing in height around 14–15 months of age. After this, they can be transitioned onto an adult large-breed dog food. When feeding a Greyhound, choose a diet made with high-quality proteins to support muscle building and repair after exercise. Greyhounds undergoing training and that are highly active may also benefit from having a higher fat, more calorically dense diet, such as dry foods made for performance. However, if your Greyhound lives a less active lifestyle, dog food for active dogs is easy to overfeed and could cause your pet to become overweight. A couple of sprints around the dog park is usually not enough to increase energy requirements, no matter how impressively fast they look. So in many cases, the best dog food for Greyhounds is a standard adult diet.

To work out how much to feed a Greyhound, a good place to start is by following the feeding guides on pet food labels or using a dog feeding calculator. Always remember, though, you will likely need to adjust the amount of food, up or down, from that starting point to individualize the amount for your dog. Do this by checking your dog’s body weight weekly or once every two weeks and adjusting their food as needed, up or down, to maintain a healthy weight. Your dog’s veterinary clinic is a great place to do regular weight checks.

Senior Greyhound Feeding

Greyhounds are considered seniors from seven years of age. When deciding what to feed a Greyhound at this age, be mindful that older dogs may need fewer calories because of a slowing metabolism and activity level, but this varies depending on the individual dog. Choose senior diets that are rich in EPA (such as Pro Plan® Adult 7+ Shredded Blend Chicken & Rice Formula Large Breed Senior Dry Dog Food) and DHA (types of omega-3 fatty acids) specifically to help support joint function and improve mobility that can decline with age. Also, look for diets that contain antioxidants and nutrients, such as medium-chain triglycerides, which can help maintain cognitive function in your Greyhound. Wet food can help increase hydration in senior dogs and can be easier to eat if your dog has dental disease or worn teeth.

General Health Considerations

Coat Health Through Proper Nutrition

Greyhounds have a short and smooth coat that requires little grooming. However, a dull coat or thin and brittle fur can be one of the first signs of poor nutrition or a problem with the digestive tract. Ensuring your Greyhound’s dog food is properly formulated for their life stage is important to help prevent nutrient deficiencies that can affect coat quality. Feeding diets that are also enriched in nutrients, such as linoleic acid, has been shown to improve skin quality and help to maintain a shiny coat.

Healthy Digestion Through Proper Nutrition

Diet plays a big role in how well a dog digests and absorbs nutrients. Feeding a poorly digestible diet not only means less nutrients are absorbed, but more food enters the large intestine to be fermented by the gut bacteria. This can lead to increased flatulence, in addition to larger and softer feces. The best food for Greyhounds promotes good nutrient absorption and gut health.

Weight Management and Obesity Prevention Strategies

Greyhounds are naturally lean dogs, which makes spotting overweight Greyhounds easier compared to other breeds. But even they can become overweight if they are fed too much. Body condition scoring (BCS) is a really simple way to monitor their weight at home without needing a scale. At a healthy weight for Greyhounds, their abdominal tuck is prominent and their ribs and spine are easily felt. Because of their short coat, the last few ribs are usually visible, as well. It’s important to adjust how much you’re feeding so your Greyhound maintains a lean and healthy body condition.

Adequate Hydration for Overall Well-Being

When deciding whether to feed your Greyhound dry food or wet food, take hydration into account. Maintaining hydration is important, particularly in senior dogs, active dogs, and all dogs during hot weather. Water is needed for many bodily functions, including temperature regulation, digestion, and toxin excretion. Always ensure there is fresh, clean water around to encourage drinking, especially if you choose dry dog food for your Greyhound. Also, feeding high-moisture wet foods can be a helpful way to increase water intake.

Veterinary Allies

If you have a Greyhound that is gaining or losing significant weight, or that has digestive signs (vomiting and/or diarrhea), it’s worth bringing your dog to their veterinarian for a checkup. Your dog’s veterinarian can make sure there are no medical causes for their clinical signs and advise on the best food for your Greyhound.

Feeding Schedules and Techniques

Here are some tips when it comes to feeding Greyhound dogs:

• Feeding two meals per day is most common, but you can feed more. Feeding once a day is not recommended (please see below). Establishing a feeding regimen that works best for your dog and your schedule will help your dog develop good eating habits.
• Use a cup that is clearly marked at the right level or a kitchen scale to correctly portion your Greyhound’s diet. Eyeballing amounts can be wildly inaccurate and can lead to overfeeding your Greyhound. Feeding charts can also be useful in determining the right portion size.
• Due to the increased risk of bloating and gastric torsion in Greyhounds, some people recommend feeding using elevated food bowls. The evidence is mixed, with some studies suggesting there is no benefit, whereas others suggest a greater risk of gastric dilation and volvulus (GDV) with elevated feeding.^1,2 Other possible risk factors for GDV include feeding large meals and eating too quickly, but this too hasn’t been shown consistently between studies.^1-5 As there is insufficient evidence to know what is best, feeding with the bowl on the floor and reducing food volume and eating speed is generally recommended. Consult with your veterinarian to help determine the best feeding practice for your individual dog.
• Use puzzle feeders, snuffle mats, and other feeding toys to provide enrichment for your Greyhound. Slow feeders are also a great way to reduce the eating speed of greedy Greyhounds.
• Treats should make up no more than 10% of a dog’s total daily calories to avoid unbalancing their main diet and also to avoid overfeeding. For training, you can use higher-reward treats, such as lean pieces of dried meat, but be careful not to overfeed them.
• It’s always recommended to transition your Greyhound’s food gradually to any new diet to reduce the risk of causing digestive upsets. Do this over a 7- to 10-day period by gradually increasing the proportion of new food to the old food.  

For more expert tips on feeding your dog, explore our other dog feeding guides.

References  

1. Pipan M, Brown DC, Battaglia CL, et al. An internet-based survey of risk factors for surgical gastric dilatation-volvulus in dogs. JAVMA. 2012;240(12):1456–1462. doi:10.2460/javma.240.12.1456

2. Glickman LT, Glickman NW, Schellenberg DB, et al. Non-dietary risk factors for gastric dilatation-volvulus in large and giant breed dogs. JAVMA. 2000;217(10):1492–1499. doi:10.2460/javma.2000.217.1492

3. Raghavan M, Glickman N, McCabe G, et al. Diet-related risk factors for gastric dilatation-volvulus in dogs of high-risk breeds. JAAHA. 2004;40(3):192–203. doi:10.5326/0400192  

4. Elwood CM. Risk factors for gastric dilatation in Irish setter dogs. J Small Anim Pract. 1998;39(4):185–190. doi:10.1111/j.1748-5827.1998.tb03627.x  

5. Theyse LF, van de Brom WE, van Sluijs FJ. Small size of food particles and age as risk factors for gastric dilatation volvulus in Great Danes. Vet Rec. 1998;143(2):48–50. doi:10.1136/vr.143.2.48