Italian Greyhound Feeding and Supplements

   Our dogs are fed a combination of a natural raw diet, home cooked meals, and free choice dry kibble. After the recent issues and deaths caused by dog food recalls, we have transitioned our our dogs and pups to "Flint River Ranch", and "Innova's Evo" kibble. (Flint River Ranch kibble can be ordered direct from the distributor, and will be dropped at your door. Evo info and dealer locations provided on our links page). We feed primarily Flint River Ranch, mixing in Evo and supplements based on our preference for ideal dietary needs of each dog. Your new puppy will be eating mainly Flint River Ranch kibble about a week before they go home to you. Regardless of what you plan to feed long term, start with a small bag of this food, and then you will be able to change them gradually to your preferred brand of food if you choose to switch. Don't make sudden changes in your pup's diet - you can easily cause an upset stomach for days with sudden changes - the best way to change is gradually.

Changing your pup's food type:
   Start your pup on their accustomed food for the first day, then the second day mix 1/4 of the new food with 3/4 of the original food. The third day you will mix 1/2 new food with 1/2 original food, and the fourth day mix 3/4 new food with 1/4 old food. In this manner you can change the pups completely over to your preferred food type in just 5 days, without bothering their stomachs.

Protein Content & Quality:
   Regardless of the brand of food you prefer, Protein Content is key. IGs have a high metabolism, and burn a lot of energy! They will do best on a high protein diet. The protein level you feed can be reached thru a combination of kibble raw feeding, and supplements (Supplements are detailed below on this page).
   Quality is extremely important in your dog food decision - a cheap food that has lots of "fillers" (corn, etc) will not be digestible or nutritional, and can actually be detrimental to your puppy's health. Many commercial foods are full of cheap fillers, by-products, and artificial preservatives. Taking corn alone out of your dogs diet will keep your dog much happier and healthier in the long run, and likely increase his life span as well. Corn is completely indigestible to dogs, has no nutritional value whatsoever, many dogs are allergic to it, and a corn based diet has been linked to the cause of many canine health issues. As if that is not enough, the corn in our country is loaded with growth hormones to mass produce it for the demand and variety of corn based products - the quality has been sacrificed for the quantity. If your dog, cat, or even yourself, have a predisposition to cancer, those growth hormones will feed that gene, increasing the risk of the growth of cancer. Frightening when you think about it!
    Feed your dog Well - it isn't worth saving a couple bucks on the cheap brand of kibble when you consider the loss of years to your dogs life and health.
    Feed your dog Carefully - many of the premium labels and brands are not what they appear, and are not even manufactured by the company marketing the product.

Dog Food Quality Rating System
   If you are curious about the quality of the kibble you are feeding, or simply struggling to decipher which of the many brands available would be the best quality for your dog, use this Dog Food Rating System. This is a simple way to judge the quality of kibble brands - and compare how different dog foods measure up.

Pet Food Recalls & Choosing What You Feed:
   In light of yet another pet food recall, and the scale of brands, families, and pets affected. Many families were shocked by the unexpected loss of their beloved pets ... many families who thought they were feeding good quality food.

   Co-Packing: Most people are surprised, and appalled, to learn that all the Iams/Eukanuba canned foods are not made by the Iams Company at all. In fact, in 2003 Iams signed an exclusive 10-year contract for the production of 100% of its canned foods by Menu. This type of deal is called co-packing. One company makes the food, but puts another company’s label on it. Co-packing is a very common arrangement in the pet food industry. While not commonly known, it is often brought to light when a recall is issued, and surprisingly when dozens of "premium" private labels are involved. This practice of co-packing is used by many large and “reputable” labels such as Iams, Eukanuba, Hills, Purina, Nutro, Doanes, Diamond, and other high-end, so-called “premium” foods.
    The big question raised by the co-packing arrangement is whether or not there is any real difference between the expensive premium brands and the low quality generic brands. The recalled brands in the latest recall run from the cheap walmart Ol'Roy brand, up to the high-end premium labels. Whatever the differences are between cheap and high-end food, one thing is clear. The purchase price, brand, and label of commercial pet food does not always determine whether the food is good, bad, or even safe.

Here are Dog Food Recall Lists, from the Food and Drug Administration, and the American Veterinary Medical Association:
   FDA Dog Food Recall List
   AVMA Dog Food Recall List

Flint River Ranch Dog Food:
   We have fed and recommended the Diamond Super Premium dog food line until recently. In light of the health issues and deaths caused by extensive recent dog food recalls, and Diamond's own recall two years ago that caused the sickness and deaths of many dogs on the east coast, we have transitioned into a new feeding program with Flint River Ranch. This is one of the best foods we have found to feed in our program. It is twice baked with all natural human-food grade quality premium ingredients, and no corn or fillers. As you read you'll understand why we spend so much time and investment on excellent food for our dogs, it's because we know that your dog's future health and quality of life will be shaped by your choice in food!

We feed and recommend Flint River Ranch dog food.

A high quality, all natural, oven baked dog food made with premium healthy ingredients and no corn and fillers.
Order FRR dog food easily and quickly online. Each order is filled directly from the manufacturer, and it will be promptly dropped at your door with no additional shipping charge!

   Flint River Ranch Super Premium foods contain only high-quality, all-natural, human food grade ingredients without fillers, by-products or chemical preservatives. To aid your sensitive pup's digestion, formulas also contain probiotic and digestive enzymes to aid in food digestion and nutrient absorption. A tasty nutritious diet for your dogs, FRR's protein source is high-quality chicken meal and lamb meal, neither of which contains by-products. All kibble is Twice Oven-Baked, making it highly palatable and easily digestible. Your dogs will LOVE the taste of this kibble, and because Flint River Ranch dog food products are high-density, you will find you need to feed 20-25% less than other foods. Each serving delivers the maximum nutrition without fillers, resulting in easier digestion and less stool volume and cleanup.

Cooking for your dogs:
   Two to three times per week we feed all our dogs a "home-cooked" meal. I will boil a whole chicken until tender, pull all the meat from the bones, and then drop some scrambled raw eggs into the boiling broth (with the chicken pieces) before finishing up with a kettle-full of rice. The end result is rice boiled in chicken broth, with wispy pieces of egg throughout, and shreds of chicken mixed in. A little oil can be added as it is cooking as well. Your dogs will love it!

   We supplement all our dogs diets with Satin Balls (recipe below) a healthy and tempting recipe you can mix together and freeze for easy daily use.

Feeding Raw:
   If you start researching raw diets, you'll hear a vast difference of opinions. Personally, I have found that a natural raw diet has been nothing but beneficial to my dogs. Raw bones and food are what dogs are naturally suited to eat. Commercially prepared cooked foods & kibble lack enzymes and other essential dietary components and contain some ingredients that promote allergies and are otherwise harmful for dogs. The conventional canned and kibble dog foods are convenient and practical to handle, that's why they are so popular. After a couple of years of feeding though, they can be harmful for your dog's liver - especially the super premium types.

If you decide to feed raw to your IG, your options range from packaged medallions of raw food, to simply picking up a couple ribs at the grocery store (and explaining to the family why the dog gets ribs while dinner is spaghetti!).
   * Raw bones are healthy for your dog. Raw bones are digestible, natural, softer, and nutritional, while cooked bones will become hard, brittle and lose much of their nutritional value.
   * NEVER feed cooked chicken bones to your dog. They will splinter into fatally sharp slivers and pieces and can KILL your dog. Raw chicken bones are fine.

Supplements ~ A couple little extra things I do:
   I use, and highly recommend, a wonderful natural supplement for all my dogs and puppies - "Pets Alive". I wouldn't be without it for my dogs - it works that well! This supplement will help to fill in the missing ingredients that most dog foods do not have, and will give your dog a wonderfully soft and glossy coat, healthy skin with minimal shedding, protection for their eyes, joints, bones, and immune systems!

You can find additional information by clicking the link above. As I am an affiliate with Gardens Alive, when you order their "Pets Alive" supplement (or any other products from their website) by clicking through from this link on my site, you will receive $20 off any $40 purchase! Try it for a couple weeks ... and see the difference for yourself!

   I use a bit of mayonnaise (often thinned 50% with oil) over my dog's food each day, and then sprinkle on the "Pets Alive" supplement powder and stir it all up. The mayonnaise or oil will conveniently make the powder stick to the kibble. Also, mayonnaise/oil will produce an amazingly healthy shiny coat as both provide extra protein/fat. Interestingly enough, mayonnaise makes their poop not smell as much too! I recommend either corn* oil or fish oil.
*While dogs can not digest corn, they can assimilate linoleic acid and linocleic from the corn oil.
   I often supplement with a raw egg a day also for individual dogs as well - again the added protein and fat will help if you need to add weight, and will also produce a wonderful shiny coat!

   All of these are high in protein and fat, and in addition to producing a shiny healthy coat, they will help prevent dry/flaky skin and hair problems as well. Do keep in mind though, an overweight fat puppy is not a healthy puppy. Most are so active that this is never really a problem, but if your pup starts to get chunky, slow down on the extras.

Satin Balls:
   Satin Balls are a total canine diet. They can be feed by by themselves or as a supplement, used to build up a show dog, or develop a healthy appetite for a picky eater. They will increase weight on thin dogs, build healthy soft skin and glossy coats, alleviate itching and chewing at dry coats/skin, and maintain a bright-eyed look and healthy energy level.

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