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Weight
Sept 11, 2015 18:28:55 GMT 10
Post by Guest on Sept 11, 2015 18:28:55 GMT 10
Hi Tom,
What is the best way to keep on top of your greyhounds weight? It seems that the greyhound I have gains and loses weight from time to time but no more than .5 each week, if he is in work obviously he requires more meat and if he is not in work then i reduce the meat but I dont quite understand how a trainer would know what the perfect weight of a greyhound should be.
My dog gets a lot of good stuff, 180gm xp3020 kibble (30% protein, 20% fat), 650gm lean racing beef, suppliments, vitamin c, calcium, iron and electrolytes for dinner and 2 4x2 box1 biscuits for breaky sometimes with a banana or sardines. He is always rugged up when it is under 15-16 degrees to keep him warm and he is walked every day with a gallop up a straight every 2nd day.
Do you go by the sire and ensure they are the similar weight to the sire or is it more of a individual thing to the dog? How many ribs should show up? Should you see the back hip bone and front shoulder bones on top?
Thanks
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Weight
Sept 14, 2015 5:48:21 GMT 10
Post by Tom Meulman on Sept 14, 2015 5:48:21 GMT 10
Mate sorry about the late reply but unfortunately I recently had further surgery and have not felt much like answering questions.
Again I'm not going to be able to answer your question with any definitive answers because it is such an individual thing with each dog regardless of the shape of either parent.
First of all it is generally accepted that you should be able to clearly see the last two ribs but certainly not a hollow behind the last rib as that is in many instances a sign of stress. However the best method still is to start each greyhound off with enough body weight and volume as to look "comfortable" with a smooth line from the rib cage across the coupling without any significant hollows showing. Then over a period of 6 to 8 weeks with a solid workout behind the lure twice weekly gradually reduce the greyhounds starting weight by around 5 to 8% over that timespan while keeping a close watch on both time performances, recovery rate after each run, stress levels and of course general wellbeing.
This exercise should then give you a good insight into the weight that is best for that individual greyhound.
Cheers, Tom
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