Need to fatten up puppy

mel123

I have a boxer puppy, who is almost 7 months old. Last time I brought her to the vet she said she needed to put on a bit of weight, she was a bit under weight. At the time she was a bit pickey with her food, but now eats her two big meals a day, but still needs to put on weight. She isnt sick, seems perfectly healthy and was fine the last time we brought her to the vet. I know the type of shape boxers have, but her ribs are quite visable and she needs to put on some weight. Any ideas what I should do? I read before that u can expand a dogs stomach by feeding them too much, which isnt good (not sure how true this is), so I didn’t want to keep feeding her and then once she puts on the weight not feed her as much and she will be starving….or maybe this is what I should do??? Any advice on what i should do? Thanks.

Toulouse

What are you feeding her?

If I were you I'd consult your vet on the safest way to help your dog reach the appropriate weight.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

I'd stick to advice from a vet if I were you.

orchidsrpretty

We had the same problem with our Boxer when she was about that age. Found a food that she loves and her weight slowly crept up. If shes eating and happy dont worry!

mel123

Feed her nuts and the vet said throw some mince in, so she eats that and loves it, and gobbles it up, like its not a case she is not eating. I will say it to the vet, but the last time the vet just said she will gain some as long as she is eating, but that was a while ago when she wasnt too keen on breakfast!! I just thought maybe there was something else I could do that I dont know about, was thinking of giving her three meals a day but will consult the vet first.

Jules

Again with another thread in this forum, a lot of boxers are highly strung and very very active. Maybe a change of food to a high proformance food.

Sigma Force

At that age most dogs go through a growth spurt so it could be just that like a gangley teenager. Twice a day should be enough for a dog like that, there are so many foods around I think Royal Canine do one specifically for boxers but any high quality food should be fine. If she looses weight obviously a trip back to the vet is in order.

SunnyP

Hi I breed boxers and some boxer pups can be really difficult when it comes to getting their weight up. You need to keep them on a good puppy food (nuts) like Beta Large Breed or Royal Canine. It is expensive but well worth it.

I also give my dogs the odd treat of mince cooked with garlic and they love having a raw egg (shell included), the eggs are great for calcium intake.

A good site for info is boxerworld.com

whitser

plenty of meat will put weight on your pup.
and make sure he's wormmed properly

Honey-ec

I have three Boxers, so have a lil bit of experience here!

First of all, make sure you have her on a high-quality food. Pedigree, Hills Science Plan and any of the supermarket own-brand ones are no good, I'm afraid. You need to look for a food that has pure meat (not a meat product) as the very first ingredient listed. Royal Canin, Burns, Arden Grange and some of the Red Mills varieties are all very good. Don't bother with the Royal Canin Boxer one though - breed-specific foods are a bit of a gimmick.

Secondly, don't just blindly following the feeding amounts on the bag - these are a guideline only. As someone mentioned, Boxers are a high-energy breed and I have never had one do well on the specified amount for their weight - they have always needed about 30 - 40% more.

Thirdly, most Boxer puppies go through a "walking skeleton" phase at some point in their development. If you want to bulk them up a bit more, raw whole eggs are great, as is a Kong filled with peanut butter, or even a peanut butter sandwich.

And finally, the last thing to remember is that you should be able to see the last 2 - 3 ribs on a Boxer, and it's far better for them to be slightly underweight than overweight, in the long run.

Good luck!

carwash_2006

Actually the Royal Canin Boxer food does have a point to it. The shape of the kibble should stop dogs with a Brachaeophalic head (squashed in face) from gulping their food down and make them chew. This will mean that their is a higher chance of them absorbing the food and getting the full benefit of it. I know quite a few Boxer owners that swear by it and had huge problems with feeding their Boxers before they used it. The fact that they chew it also means they will be slightly less gassy.

Off topic, but the German Shepherd food also has a valid purpose in that it caters for dogs with very sensitive digestion. Many a GSD owner finds that their dog can't torerate any other food.

BlackCat2008

I rescue a lot of dogs mostly all under weight in order to help them put on the weight and keep it on you need to build up the amount she's eating gradually, you say she is not a greedy eater so leave out a bowl of dry food and water at all times and put a dessert spoon full of cod liver oil on it two to three times a week no more than that, this will help keep her regular and feeling cleaned out so she feels like eating a little more.

I have a rough collie 2yrs old in the same position he has gained some weight but not enough as far as I'm concerned in the five months he's been here and will be having him checked for an over active toroid as a young lad in the neighbour hood had a beautiful white boxer that was very skinny but other wise looked in good health(shinny coat, bright eyes etc ) I spook to him a few times and he said the dog was a greedy eater and was been feed all the time to help him put on the weight but it was a no go, so his idiot vet well none in the area for making huge mistakes told him to have the dog neutered and that this should help I think the dog was about 9 months old, the lad went ahead and had it neutered and was told by the vet afterwords that boxers (especially white one's don't do well under anesthetic) the dog was very sick the next day and they brought him to another vet for a second opinion, they did blood test and found he had an over active toroid and told him the test should have been done before he was neutered to rule out why he wasn't putting on weight and that there was nothing they could do for the dog now, the dog died two days later and the lad is heart broken.

If you ruled out food as not being the problem then have blood test done on her before you get her neutered if she isn't already.

Good luck with her.

Honey-ec

I was going to note in my post that the main difference in breed-specific foods tends to be the size/shape of the kibble. Knew I'd regret not mentioning it! Again, the issue here is whether or not you think a slightly different shape is worth the extra money - it's not, imho, because there are other ways to slow your dog's eating, if you have a gobbler.

Also, there is still a lot of debate out there as to whether a particular size/shape of kibble is superior to another. Some people say a bigger nut is desirable, as it forces the dog to chew. Other say a smaller nut is better as the dog is less likely to ingest large amounts of air while it eats.

Ultimately, regardless of what you feed, the best practice is just to use common sense - supervise your dogs while they eat, slow them down if needs be and don't feed them an hour before or after strenuous exercise.

And BlackCat, it's a myth that white Boxers don't do well under anaesthetic. The only additional health problems that white boxers are prone to are sunburn and a slightly higher incidence of deafness due to a lack of pigmentation in the inner ear - and this will generally manifest itself within the first 9 months of life, if it's going to happen.

I would suspect that on top of the under-active thyroid, the dog in question may have had a reaction to Acepromazine, which is a commonly-used pre-anaesthetic. Many brachycephalic breeds have issues with ACE, and I would advise any boxer owners to direct their vet not to use it on their dog.

carwash_2006

You are right about it being whether or not a person thinks it is worth the extra money or not. If someone has tried several different foods and maybe doesn't have the sense or resources to put the extra effort into finding a way of making the dog chew and then they try this food and don't mind paying the extra money, then to them it's worth it.

I would personally be of your thinking, I feed Arden Grange at the moment, I like the fact that it is as good or better than a lot of the other premium brands, but about €10 or more cheaper. Also my dogs really like it, they have gone from being ok about eating to being hugely enthusiastic about dinner time since I switched them.