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Caring for Your Greyhound?
Diet
A pet greyhounds' diet consists of about 4 cups of a high quality dry food per day. Our Greyhounds are fed Purina Pro Plan. You should feed your greyhound at the same time every day, remembering that he will have to go outside a couple of hours after eating. Greyhounds love treats such as milk bones and rawhide bones. Table food is not a good idea and could result in a bad case of diarrhea. Do not feed your greyhound before or after strenuous exercise.
Bedding
Provide your greyhound with a very soft bed. Greyhounds love comfort and they require it, as they have very little padding on their elbows and can develop a fluid condition if forced to sleep on a hard surface.
Exercise
In retirement a greyhound's exercise needs are not much different than any other dog; a couple of short walks daily and if possible they enjoy being taken to a fenced park or ball field once or twice a week so they can romp and gallop at will.
Your greyhound is used to walking only on sand or grass and his pads are soft and sensitive. Gradually get him used to walking on tarmac and you will have no problem. NEVER take your greyhound outside of a fenced in area without a leash, speeds of 40 mph and lack of traffic sense amounts to a recipe for danger. NEVER tie your greyhound outside on a rope or chain. Greyhounds have never been tied up and can get tangled up and injure themselves. If they chase after something they could break their necks when they reach the end of the chain.
Vet Care
Your choice of veterinarian is an important decision. Try to locate a vet who has worked with greyhounds. Greyhounds require only one fifth of the anesthesia that would be used on another dog of the same size. This is because they are lacking certain enzymes which break down anesthetic in their systems. It is very important that your vet knows this, as an overdose can be fatal.
Your greyhound should have a complete booster shot, heartworm test, rabies shot and physical once a year. Heartworm preventive medication should be used regularly. |
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