Hi at the moment my rescue girl Teasel is quite skinny So she is currently on 3 meals a day, I had a look at the sack of food and it advises about 5 to 6, 1/2 pint beakers worth a day.
She is currently on something called museli moist, which my lurchers are on, and she seems to really like it, so she is currently having 3 meals a day of 2 mugs worth

It is sticky and syrupy and does not need soaking before feeding altho i normally just add a tiny splash of water to soften any really hard bits up

Having not had a Deerhound before, i just wanted to see if i was on the right track with this, I have done a lot of reading up but sometimes i think you just end up going around in circles

Oh and i got her a raised feeder today as this morning i but a waterbowl on a bench for her in the garden and she seemed much happier drinking at that height and seems to eat a little slower at that height too

Sorry for all the waffle, any advice appreciated

Claire x

Hi Claire - try to vary her food a bit. Have you thought about raw feeding? There is lots written about it but you have to start slowly and introduce new things gradually. You could buy some raw chicken wings and give her a couple of these. Try raw eggs with shells broken up, goats milk, breat of lamb, lambs hearts,raw green tripe, lamb/beef/turkey mince,wholemeal bread soaked in egg, veggies liquidised (not onions)a raw meaty bone once a week. She will love you forever Lurchers will enjoy this diet too.

Please be aware that Deerhounds can suffer from bloat which is very dangerous and often fatal if not caught in time. Raised food dishes a good idea and no excercise for an hour before and after meals (well try not to - my hounds go mental in the garden as soon as they have had their tea!)

Hi

Yup, thanks im aware of the evil bloat do most people feed before or after walks? ive allways left it at least 1/2 an hour before or after walks with my lurchers but have allways found they eat better after a good run so generally stick to feeding them later

Thanks i did think about raw feeding i know they do very well on it, something to think about i guess.

Hi Claire, I agree with Houndy try to vary the diet a bit. The addition of some raw and/or cooked meat would be a good idea, but as said before introduce it gradually. I hope that Teasel puts on some weight and thrives with you.

Pam

Hi Claire - nothing more to add really, other than you MUST moisten the muesli, even if it seems quite sticky anyway

My Leah has majority raw diet, but she occasionally has Skinners muesli, which I assume is similar to what you have?? Although she will eat it dry, I always moisten it with boiled water cooled so still warm - sometimes she has gravy on it if I've had a roast dinner etc - you just have to watch that they don't eat dry food and then drink a lot of water, as that can be a contributing factor re bloat...

I buy frozen blocks of minced chicken/beef/tripe - for the chicken and beef I mix it with whizzed up frozen veg, and oats to pad it out - it's good for putting weight on plus the dogs love it

tins of srdines/pilchards in tomato sauce are good too as a stand-by (in case you're like me and don't always take stuff out of the freezer in time lol)

You'll soon get a good idea what your dogs like

Yes! Pilchards in tomato sauce - one of the tests for a dead Deerhound. If they won't eat it, there's something far wrong and you should try them with Stilton. Seriously, if you've got a picky eater or you're trying to bulk a dog up, then oily fish and/or a good grating of cheese on top of their regular food (mousetrap cheddar's fine, but the more aromatic it is the better) does the trick nicely.

I thought my Deerhounds were the only ones who liked fish in tomato sauce, I had one bitch who wouldn't eat it any other way. Mind you she liked anything in tomato sauce, I could have probably have fed her shoe leather that way and she would have eaten it. Her grandaughter is much the same.

Pam

Murphy likes Pilchard in tomato sauce, but ssshh, don't tell hubby, we pinch his tins from the cupcoard! I've not heard of museli for dogs before, sounds interesting!

Nearly forgot what I was going to say then! We vary the times of our walks, heatwave? then we are up and out at 6am for a 20-30 minute walk (no running this weather, Murphy looks on his last legs at the moment!!) At night I never feed before a walk, at the moment we are going out 8.30 ish, for an hour then he is eating at 10-10.30, he won't eat before as he thinks he isn't going out! these Deerhounds are cute and have more upstairs than we credit them for. It is far too hot to eat earlier on, plus he leaves it and flies get on it, so easier to feed late at night. In the winter, at it's worst we are out 2pm, and fed by 6pm, but we have good long walks then, walks aren't really enoyable at the moment in this heat. The best walks for us are when it has snowed, or rained heavily, because the golf courses are shut.....sshhh don't say that to hubby!!!

As far as I know there is actually shoe-leather in some of the chaeper brands of commercial dry dogfoods ( in tins most likely , too) .....

Where I live it gets very , very hot for several weeks in summer , around 35-40C , at nights then at times only down to 19-20C - this is horrendous and I am only glad to live right on a lake . During these weeks we go out by 5ish am for 1.5hours or so and then again at 8-9pm for 1/2 hour - the rest is spent under the ceiling fan and/or in the lake ( ok , I have to go to work , too ) . But , their appettites never seem to waiver - they get a handful of drydogfood usually 1hour before our morning hike ( one gets get too hungry on an empty stomach and has acid reflux/bile coming up otherwise ) and some meat a while after it . Dinner might get postponed after the evening walk when it is that hot . I am always hppy hen September comes and somewhat cooler temps again and perhaps even rain -

Verena ,from the sunny and hot and dry Okanagan Valley in southern BC