Greyhounds are a popular breed among dog owners. Known for their speed and agility, the dogs require special dietary needs to keep their muscles strong and their joints working properly. An alternative to feeding them commercial, processed food is to introduce them to the BARF (bones and raw meat) diet. By transitioning your greyhound to an exclusively raw diet, you will see improvement in their teeth, gums, and overall health.
Raw Bones
When beginning the transition to a raw diet for your greyhound, start by introducing raw meat bones. These treats are an excellent source of minerals, are great tasting, and are imperative for keeping your greyhound's teeth and gums healthy. Raw meat bones will help clean out bacteria and food particles, while also massaging the gums. Be sure not to cook the bones for any period of time, as this causes the bones to splinter and can pose a major health and choking risk to your greyhound. Feed the bones completely uncooked.
Go shopping
When starting your greyhound on a raw diet, stock up on a variety of staples to create the meals, such as: meat, grain, and vegetables. Meats such as chicken, fish, and beef are good choices. For grains and vegetables, consider rice, noodles, peas, and carrots. You may also want to include eggs in the food, as they are a great protein source and will act as an emulsifier to hold the raw food together.
Preparing a raw meal
While you are creating your dog's food, try out a variety of recipes. It is ok to boil or steam the grain and vegetables, just make sure the meat is raw. Use one meat, one grain, and one vegetable in your mixtures. Also include other ingredients such as egg in the raw food. Run the meat through a food processor or cut it into small pieces to make it easier for your greyhound to chew and swallow.
See the benefits
After switching your greyhound to a raw diet, you will notice great improvement in his digestinal and oral health, as well as an increase in energy. Raw diets mimic the food that dogs ate prior to becoming domesticated pets, so the raw food is easier to digest than processed commercial foods. Incorporating raw bones into your greyhounds meal plan will help reduce mouth odor, as they are a great way to clean teeth. Your greyhound's short digestinal tract has natural immunities to bacteria such as e.coli and salmonella, so you do not need to be concerned with the safety of raw feeding.
Tags: your greyhound, diet will, grain vegetables, greyhound diet, meat bones, meat grain