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9 Best Dog Foods for Greyhounds – 2024 Reviews & Top Picks

Nicole Cosgrove Profile Picture

By Nicole Cosgrove

Greyhound standing

Greyhounds are an active and exceptionally athletic breed. They do best on high-quality food that’s high in protein to support their active metabolisms and lean, muscular builds. But tons of dog food brands claim to be the best choice, how do you pick between them all?

In a perfect world, you’d be able to test all of these dog foods and formulate your own thoughts. But that would be expensive and time-consuming. So, we did it for you. After extensive testing and comparison, the following eight dog foods have proven to us to be the best choices for greyhounds, as you’ll see in our reviews. However, just the top three have earned our recommendations as leaders of the pack. Here is the best dog food for Greyhounds!

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A Quick Comparison of Our Favorites in 2024

Rating Image Product Details
Best Overall
Winner
The Farmer's Dog Fresh Dog Food Subscription Service The Farmer's Dog Fresh Dog Food Subscription Service
  • High protein
  • Pre-portioned meals according to dog's needs
  • There are other meat choices if chicken doesn't work
  • Budget Buy
    Second place
    Rachael Ray Nutrish Natural Rachael Ray Nutrish Natural
  • Affordably priced — great value
  • Packed with healthy nutrients
  • Maximum 11% fat
  • Best for Puppies
    Third place
    Nulo Freestyle Nulo Freestyle
  • Made with natural ingredients
  • Packed with calcium
  • Contains DHA to support cognitive development
  • Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream
  • No fillers
  • Grain-free formula
  • Made with real fruits and vegetables
  • Merrick Grain Merrick Grain
  • Made with whole food ingredients
  • 65% protein and healthy fats
  • Includes glucosamine and chondroitin for healthy joints
  • The 9 Best Dog Foods for Greyhounds

    1. The Farmer’s Dog Fresh Dog Food Subscription Service – Best Overall

    the farmer's dog turkey recipe

    Although we’ve got many great options for your Greyhound, we’ve picked The Farmer’s Dog Chicken Recipe as the overall best dog food. The company was started by dog owners who no longer wanted to feed their dogs processed foods but rather high-quality, pre-portioned home-cooked meals.

    There are various recipes to choose from, and each one has been designed and formulated by veterinary nutritionists and is free from additives and fillers. They’re healthy for dogs to eat and easy for humans to use, requiring you to simply open the packaging and pour it into your dog’s bowl.

    We love The Farmer’s Dog Chicken Recipe because it is packed with protein, with chicken as the first ingredient. The recipe also includes vegetables and fish oil which are high in nutrients. The fresh meals come pre-portioned according to your dog’s required caloric intake. It’s suitable for all ages, sizes, and dog breeds, allowing you to custom-order meals for each of your dogs.

    The Farmer’s Dog is a subscription-only service, so you won’t be able to purchase it from the store. However, they do deliver the dog food to your home, saving you time and gas. Upon signing up for the service on their website, you’ll be asked about your dogs. Accurately give them all the information they require as they pre-make the food according to your dog’s needs.

    Pros
    • High in protein
    • If your dog is sensitive to chicken, there are other meat choices
    • Meals are pre-portioned and pre-made according to your dog’s needs
    • Sign up is easy
    Cons
    • More expensive than normal kibble

    2. Rachael Ray Nutrish Natural Dry Dog Food – Budget Buy

    Rachael Ray Nutrish Natural Turkey, Brown Rice & Venison Recipe Dry Dog Food

    You might expect a dog food with Rachael Ray’s name on the label to be an overpriced product, but the Rachael Ray Nutrish Natural Dry Dog Food is anything but. In fact, we think it’s the best dog food for Greyhounds for the money. But don’t let the affordable price fool you; this food is packed with the sort of nutrition that can help keep your Greyhound in tip-top shape.

    For starters, it’s got a minimum of 26% crude protein. And this isn’t just any protein; turkey is listed as the first ingredient, so you know most of the protein is coming from a high-quality whole-food source. Plus, this food has an impressive 6% max fiber and just 11% maximum fat to keep your Greyhound lean.

    As if that’s not enough, the Nutrish Natural dog food is also packed with vitamins and minerals that will keep your Greyhound functioning at top condition well into the latest years of their life. That includes calcium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, and vitamin E. The only problem is that at just 269 calories per cup, you’ll need to feed the average 60-pound greyhound four to five cups each day!

    Pros
    • Affordably priced — great value
    • Packed with healthy nutrients, vitamins, and minerals
    • Maximum 11% fat
    • Minimum of 26% crude protein
    Cons
    • Fewer calories means you’ll have to feed your Greyhound a lot

    3. Nulo Freestyle Grain-Free Puppy Canned Dog Food – Best for Puppies

    Nulo Freestyle Turkey, Cod & Sweet Potato Recipe Grain-Free Puppy Canned Dog Food

    Puppies are growing every day, and just like a growing child, they need the proper nutrition to fuel their continuing development. The Nulo Freestyle Grain-Free Puppy Canned Dog Food offers top-of-the-line nutrition for your puppy to ensure that it grows big and strong and lives a long, healthy life. To that end, this food is packed with beneficial nutrients like calcium, phosphorus, and antioxidants. It’s even got DHA from salmon oil to help support your puppy’s cognitive development.

    The ingredients list of any dog food will tell you a lot about what you can expect from that particular product. This ingredient list starts with turkey, turkey broth, salmon broth, turkey liver, cod, sweet potatoes, and peas. Each of these comes from a whole food source, is entirely natural, and is packed full of nutrients to help your dog excel. Plus, sweet potatoes and peas offer easier-to-digest alternatives to the grains used in cheaper dog foods.

    We love the nutritional content of this food. What we don’t love is the expensive price. Granted, canned dog food is almost always cost-prohibitive compared to dry dog food, but it’s a drawback that’s worth noting.

    Pros
    • Made with healthy, natural ingredients
    • Packed with calcium, phosphorus, and antioxidants
    • Contains DHA to support cognitive development
    Cons
    • Cost-prohibitive

    4. Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream Grain-Free Dry Dog Food

    Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream

    When salmon is listed as the first ingredient of dog food, you know it’s going to be packed with protein, healthy fats, and all the nutrients your Greyhound needs to thrive. The Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream Grain-Free Dog Food lists Salmon as the very first ingredient, then follows up with a 25% minimum crude protein rating. That’s plenty to ensure your Greyhound stays sleek, strong, and muscular. Of course, salmon isn’t a cheap source of protein, so this dog food is definitely on the expensive side.

    Instead of using grains as a source of carbohydrates, this food opts for peas and sweet potatoes that make for easy digestion and provide long-lasting energy for your dog. It’s also packed with other real fruits and vegetables to capitalize on their natural antioxidant support to help maintain your dog’s health and immune system.

    For those concerned with chemical additives, you can be sure that this food is free from fillers, preservatives, and artificial flavors. Overall, it’s a tasty way to offer your Greyhound the nutrition it needs to live a long and healthy life.

    Pros
    • No fillers, preservatives, or artificial flavors
    • Grain-free formula
    • Made with real fruits and vegetables
    • Minimum 25% crude protein
    Cons
    • High price

    5. Merrick Grain-Free Dry Dog Food

    Merrick Grain-Free Texas Beef & Sweet Potato Recipe Dry Dog

    Dogs’ bodies use fats and proteins as their main sources of energy. That’s why the Merrick Grain-Free Dry Dog Food is made with an impressive 65% protein and healthy fats. With a minimum of 34% crude protein, this dog food has the nutritional content needed to ensure your Greyhound’s physique stays muscular without gaining additional fat.

    But that’s not all that’s in this dog food. It’s also formulated with glucosamine and chondroitin; two supplements that are given to dogs to improve their joint health and that show promise as a treatment for osteoarthritis. What’s also impressive is the list of things not included in this food: corn, gluten, soy, wheat, and artificial preservatives are all skipped in favor of healthy, whole-food ingredients.

    Of course, along with those high-quality ingredients comes a high price tag. This is one of the most expensive dog foods we tested. Worse, many of our dogs didn’t like the taste and weren’t interested in eating it! We had to add some gravy to get some of our dogs to eat this food. Still, it’s packed with vital nutrients and free of harmful additives, we just wish it was more affordable.

    Pros
    • Made with whole food ingredients
    • 65% protein and healthy fats
    • Includes glucosamine and chondroitin for healthy joints
    • Free of corn, gluten, soy, wheat, and artificial preservatives
    Cons
    • Very expensive
    • Some dogs don’t like the taste

    6. Blue Buffalo Wilderness Senior Grain-Free Dry Dog Food

    Blue Buffalo Wilderness Senior Grain-Free Dry Dog Food

     

    Blue Buffalo is known as one of the “healthy” dog food brands, and with that label comes a high price tag. Is it worth the higher cost? It’s hard to say, but the Wilderness Senior Grain-Free dog food starts with a minimum 30% crude protein, ensuring that your Greyhound has the essential building blocks to maintain its muscular appearance.

    But just as important is the quality of that protein. This food lists deboned chicken as the first ingredient, so you can rest assured that your Greyhound is eating nearly as good as you. That said, the ingredients list for this food is very long compared to other foods we liked, which means it’s probably more processed.

    Of course, protein isn’t all your Greyhound needs, which is why this food is also formulated with up to 7% fiber, helping to keep your dog’s digestive system working at 100%. For additional vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, natural whole-food ingredients were used to make this food, such as apples, spinach, blueberries, and pumpkin. Plus, like all Blue Buffalo dry dog food formulas, this one is packed with their exclusive LifeSource Bits that pack even more vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants into each bite.

    Pros
    • 30% crude protein
    • Made with whole-food ingredients like apples, spinach, and blueberries
    • Up to 7% fiber
    Cons
    • Too many total ingredients
    • Very expensive

    7. Instinct Raw Boost Grain-Free Dry Dog Food

    Instinct Raw Boost Grain-Free Recipe with Real Chicken & Freeze-Dried Raw Pieces Dry Dog Food

    Today, many discerning dog owners know that a lot of questionable ingredients end up in many commercial dog foods. But the Instinct Raw Boost Grain-Free Dry Dog Food is made with nothing artificial, so you can be certain that your Greyhound is only getting quality ingredients. Starting with real chicken, this dog food offers a minimum of 37% crude protein. What’s less impressive is the 4% fiber.

    Like many dog foods, this one is formulated with a variety of healthy vitamins and minerals such as vitamin A, vitamin E, zinc, selenium, and more. But for the exorbitant price this dog food sells for, we were expecting to at least see some glucosamine and chondroitin added for your dog’s joint health, but it seems that added supplementation has been forgone.

    So, what do you get for the ridiculously high price? You get kibble with raw bits. Bits of raw what exactly, you might ask. The added “raw” are little bits of all-natural food that’s packed with protein and made from real meat, fruits, and vegetables of the non-GMO variety. It sounds good, but we’re not convinced it warrants the staggering price.

    Pros
    • 508 calories per cup
    • Packed with probiotics for gut health
    • Made with nothing artificial
    Cons
    • Exorbitant pricing
    • Chicken meal is the second ingredient

    8. American Journey Large Breed Dry Dog Food

    American Journey Active Life Formula Large Breed Salmon

    Formulated with the specific nutrients that larger dogs need, the American Journey Large Breed Dry Dog Food is intended to keep your Greyhound in peak health. To that end, it’s fortified with glucosamine and chondroitin for improved health. Plus, it’s also got plenty of omega fatty acids to support healthy skin and coat.

    With deboned salmon listed as the first ingredient, you know you’re providing your Greyhound with quality nutrients. However, the protein content is a bit lower than many of the other brands we tested. We also weren’t thrilled with the inclusion of grains such as brown rice which can be harder on a dog’s digestive system than other grain-free vegetable options.

    Pros
    • Includes glucosamine and chondroitin for joint health
    • Omega fatty acids support healthy skin and coat
    Cons
    • Not as much protein as other dog foods
    • Made with grains that can be harder to digest

    9. Solid Gold Young at Heart Grain-Free Dry Dog Food

    Solid Gold Young At Heart Chicken, Sweet Potato & Spinach Senior Recipe Grain-Free Dry Dog Food

    Packed with protein from real chicken, the Solid Gold Young at Heart Grain-Free Dry Dog Food is made specifically to help aging dogs maintain their active lives. It’s made to be highly digestible so that even dogs with sensitive stomachs will have no problem with this food. To achieve this, they managed to stuff a minimum of 6% fiber into this grain-free formula and even added probiotic support for gut health.

    The problem is, you’re going to be paying an absolute premium for this blend. We don’t think the ingredients are anything particularly special when compared to some of the other high-quality but more affordable dog foods we tested. Worse, many of our canines weren’t even interested in eating this food. When they did, it made their breath so bad we had to take other measures before allowing our furry friends to give us any kisses!

    Pros
    • Minimum 6% fiber
    • A grain-free formula with probiotic support for gut health
    Cons
    • Makes for awful breath
    • Many of our dogs didn’t like this food
    • Too expensive

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    Buyer’s Guide: Choosing the Best Dog Foods for Greyhounds

    Now you’ve seen some of our favorite dog food choices for Greyhounds. But how can you tell which dog foods are good to make the best choices for your canine? After trying so many of these foods with our dogs, we’ve gotten pretty good at separating the best dog foods from the average. In this buyer’s guide, we’re going to share what we’ve learned to help you make the most informed decisions possible for your pup.

    What To Look For in Greyhound Dog Food

    Dog foods are like many other products — covered in advertising jargon and marketing ploys. They all claim to be the best superfood for your dog. Luckily, you can find most of the information you need right on the label to give you a good idea of whether a food is good for your dog or not.

    This label lists all of the most important information on it including the ingredients used to make the food, the nutritional content of the food, and how many calories are in each serving. These three pieces of information can tell you an awful lot about the food if you know what to look for.

    Ingredients

    Let’s start with the ingredients. These building blocks make up the entire recipe. High-quality whole-food ingredients make for healthy food that’s rich in nutrients to offer your Greyhound premium nutrition. But poor-quality ingredients make for low-quality food that doesn’t offer as much support.

    The ingredients are listed in order by the amount of each contained within the recipe. So, the first ingredient listed is the most prevalent, on down to the last ingredient, which is the least prevalent.

    The first ingredient should always be a whole-food source of protein such as chicken or deboned salmon. If your dog food lists chicken meal or some other byproduct as the first ingredient, then you probably want to choose a different food as that brand isn’t using top-quality ingredients.

    Also, check for grains that might be difficult for your dog to digest. Grain-free formulas are much easier on a dog’s digestive system, so check the ingredients list to ensure the food is free of rice, corn, and other grains.

    Nutritional Content

    After taking a look at the ingredients list and ensuring that quality whole-food ingredients were used to make your dog food, the next label to look at is the nutritional content. This label will include information such as the amount of crude protein in the food, the fiber content, fat content, and even information like how much omega-3 is included.

    By looking at the nutritional content label, you can get a very quick idea of the overall nutrition this food will provide. In general, dogs do well on a high protein, moderate fat, and low carb diet. Their bodies are built to use proteins and fats for energy, so high-carb diets don’t suit them well.

    Greyhound
    Featured Image Credit: AkikoCampbell, Pixabay

    Ensure that any food you’re feeding your dog has a minimum of 20% protein; more is better. Also, check fiber content; at least 4% is good but more is also better with fiber, which can help keep your Greyhound’s gut healthy.

    Calories Per Cup

    Finally, you’ll want to pay attention to how many calories are in each cup of the food. Each food has a different number of calories in a cup. If you don’t pay attention to this, you could easily end up overfeeding or underfeeding your dog.

    An average 60-pound greyhound needs to consume about 1,500 calories each day. That’s six cups of dog food that offers 250 calories per cup, but only five cups of dog food that provides 300 calories per cup. Some dog foods can even provide 400+ calories per cup, so you’d need to feed your Greyhound less than four cups of such a calorically-dense food.

    This will also determine how quickly you go through a bag of dog food. If two dog foods come in 25-pound bags and one has 250 calories per cup but the other provides 350 calories per cup, you’ll probably run out of the 250 calories per cup food faster since you’ll need to feed your dog six cups each day as opposed to just over four cups of the other food.

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    Final Thoughts

    With so many dog foods claiming to be the best for your dog, it can be difficult to choose the right one for your furry friend. After comparing so many dog foods for our reviews, we finally settled on three that seemed to be ahead of the competition.

    Our favorite overall was The Farmer’s Dog Chicken Recipe for its customization and high-quality ingredients. The subscription ensures your dog gets the freshest of ingredients.

    For the best value, we recommend the Rachael Ray Nutrish Natural Dry Dog Food. It’s more affordably priced than the competition, but that doesn’t mean they skimped on quality. It’s packed with healthy nutrients, vitamins, and minerals from high-quality whole food sources and contains a minimum of 26% crude protein to keep your Greyhound healthy and happy.

    And for puppies, we suggest the Nulo Freestyle Grain-Free Puppy Canned Dog Food. It’s made with only healthy, natural ingredients to provide your Greyhound with premium nutrition. And it’s packed with calcium, phosphorus, antioxidants, and even DHA to support your Greyhound puppy’s cognitive development.


    Featured Image Credit: Akiko Campbell, Pixabay

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