hi all, its been a while
hope you can help, we own 2 boxers and lucie (the youngest 22mths) is quite petite, we got her 10 mths ago from a breeder in w.yorkshire whilst living in wiltshire,its a fair treck let me tell you, but despite the travelling,she's worth it!!
When we first saw her at 12mths old,she was the scrawniest,ugliest but most welcoming boxer we'd ever seen,we just had to have her!!

Well!!   she's young,a bit of tlc,she'll come on grand, WE THOUGHT!!!!

10mths have gone by with concerning  trips to the vets but still no sign of improvement,Lucie still looks like the scrawny little dog we got ages ago.We've tried everything,tripe,liver,kidney's etc.
Has anyone else got this problem??  please let us know
I know some boxers can be late maturers but even so,Bruce who is now 2,was quite a petite boy but he's getting on just fine
Bruce and Lucie have the same food(bakers) should i consider changing Lucie's food?
please help,
very concerned

Yes please not only consider changing the food DO IT. Bakers is full of colours, sugar and salt that no dog needs.  If you want a complete dry food try Burns, a complete wet try Naturediet both of which contain only meat, rice and veg. 

But Bruce has been doing fine on bakers,should i change his food too?
if i did change their food alltogether,which should i get?

Boxerluv,

As tohme said - Bakers is full of rubbish.  It's up to you but I wouldn't feed it to my dog :)  Burns is good.

All dogs do fine on a lot of diets for some time, however medical and veterinary practitioners agree that we do not need added salt, sugar in our diets and that additives such as colourants can be harmful.  All I can say is that you cannot build a first class product out of third class materials; there are loads of alternatives out there and I am sure there will be others who feed complete foods that will recommend various alternatives but whatever your personal views and however well your dog seems to be on it now I would seriously reconsider this particular food.

thx,
i guess its out with the bakers and in with the burns then,how much would i expect to pay for a 15kg sack?
thanks for the advice, just want my dogs to have a healthy,happy life
thanks again

Hiya
Burns works out at 30p per 100g (a cup full). This is the recommended amount for each meal fed for dogs between 20-30kg. ie, my basset weighs 23kgs and therefore it costs me a total of 60p for her 2 meals a day.
As you can see, the amount fed is alot less than some other brands, basically because of the high nutritional value. Because of this, it actually works out far cheaper in my case....was previously feeding Hills Puppy at £1.79 a tin !
I pay £5.99 for a 2kg bag and get 20 meals out of it. (Not sure how much cheaper the 15kg bags are, but would suspect not much difference).
There was initial weightloss, but this has evened itself out over a period of 3 months and has resulted in a 'lean' looking & happy dog...well....as much as a basset can look lean anyway :D
HTH
Take care
Jo
:)

When you say petite do you mean in height or weight?

There are various complete diets which are better than what you are feeding.
I feed my Boxers Nutro complete and they are doing fine on this.
I've fed Arden Grange and Burns too. Some foods seem to suit some better than
others. I've heard good reports from alot re Burns - But mine lost coat condition
and another person I know her dogs lost too much weight on Burns. So it's a case
of finding what suits your dog.
I know I swopped my hooligans from the chicken variety to lamb and rice as they
were getting fat on the chicken Nutro!

Have the vets run a full diagnostic blood test for things such as thyroid disfunction?
It may be worth having her checked out for things like this.

I know of olden times people used to say bulk out with porridge, pasta and even suet
to put weight on dogs.....

Kind Regards
Kirstine :)

when i mean petite, every other female boxer i've seen either younger or slightly older were more 'butch' looking and just looked alot bigger than Lucie, i just want to know where i'm going wrong
thanks

I haven't had good results with Burns on my dogs but I have been told that Fromm/Eaglepack foods are very good and both include a probiotic to reduce stomach upsets too.   This company stocks both, so it might be worth ringing them?  http://www.postalpetsproducts.co.uk/

I have found decent results with Burgess Supadog Fussy & some minced raw tripe through it and Royal Canin Maxi Adult.

Lucie may be a ultra feminine Boxer bitch.

Have you measured her height?
To do this she needs to stand still (a big ask I know with a Boxer :D )
Then you need to measure from the floor bottom of her front foot to the point
at the bottom of her neck, where some would call withers on a horse.

Boxer bitches can range in weight too,
The average breed standard weight and heights are as follows 53-59cms or 21-23 inches in height
and 25-27kgs or 55-60lbs in weight.

My middle Boxer bitch is at the very top end of the standard for height and is actually over the
allowed average for weight. She is slightly over weight at the moment so I'd hate to think how heavy
she is!!
My current oldest bitch is 22 inches tall and is approx 26 kgs. So they can vary.

As longs as Lucie's pin bones (top of the hip bone) aren't showing on her back.
Then don't worry unduly re her weight. But if she is very skinny and you can't
put weight on her regardless of diet tried then get the vet to check her out again
and repeat blood tests etc.

Kind Regards
Kirstine

Boxer crazy, The point at the bottom of the neck on a dog, which is known as withers on a horse is also known as withers on a dog!!! ;)

Rox

Have found dogs do very well on bakers!!!

I have had a dog who just for some reason but on weight and it wasn't till he was 4 that he started doing so.  In the end we left him, he wasn't in danger, just gave him pleanty of food and he always ate it all.  Also don't forget lots of treats. 

If you want to change food then do, maybe try a food designed for an active dog rather then something designed for the everyday dog!

Rox

I have heard alot of people say that their dogs lose weight on Burns,probaly because it doesnt have all the grains and fillers that other cheaper products have?
I would try "Eagle Pack" POWER FORMULA,it is designed for working dogs,so it has higher proportions of fat and carbs,it has all natural ingredients.Dont forget to give treats inbetween mealtimes,treats are blamed for making alot of dogs become overweight ;)
I would mix plenty of pasta,raw eggs,suit,fatty lamb in with her regular meals.Give Burns a call,i beleive they also have a working dog formula,alot of people rave about their treats also,they seem to be a very helpful company,they should send you out some samples.

good luck

christine

BoxerLuv,

Just to let you know, the Burns formula I fed my younger 2 was the "working" formula as I preferred the higher fat content for my dogs.  They both had slimy stools and never looked that great on it, so it doesn't suit everydog.   Royal Canin do an energy food and a friend had her Munster on it, blossomed on this straightaway.

thanks for all your advice, i really appreciate it

Hi Boxerluv

You might like to try Arden Grange.  After years of trial and error, I'v been feeding all my boxers on this for 3 years now.  The adults love the Lamb & Rice and Salmon & Rice.  Not so keen on the chicken.  Even my friend's boxer with colitis put weight on and everything became "normal" on it.  If you ring them and ask to join their breeder scheme, the food is much cheaper, and delivered free if you order two bags or more.  I have to admit I add a little green tripe (not necessary at all, but I know they love it!!).

my boxer puppy was neglected when i got her and was very skinny - i've been feeding her hills puppy food which put no weight on but kept her happy but now i'm showing her i wanted a bit more weight on so now started adding affinity advance adult to it and she loves it.

hi

my boxer bitch is nearly a year old and very ribby and hip points stick out she was fed on burns i have just changed to nutro to see if she will gain some weight so personally l would not recommend burns to build your boxer up as it will have the opposite effect.
j

My liitle girl Lou was slow to start and was always quite lean - try Hi-Life it worked for her.
good luck, Aimi.

hi everyone, thanks for the advice
i think i'm going to give autarky a go, see if this helps her!!
i've heard so much about it and many of you use it, we'll let you know how we've got on!!
Lucie says thankyou for everything

Hi there,

I wanted to put weight on my westie, he is 14 months old and was advised to give him green tripe, so I mix it in with his usual meal (in my case Nature diet/James Wellbeloved + tripe) and can really see a difference in his body, I was also advised after feeding the pup to put him in his cage and get him to rest for a while.
Pat

hi pat
i switched both of them to Autarky on saturday and i've also added green tripe to it, as you do, and they can't get enough of it.
already i've noticed they both eat more which is promising to say the least,I was'nt concerned with Bruce at all but Lucie was my main worry,she sees me getting the tripe and won't leave me alone,so i'm wondering now if she's eating just because there's tripe in the bowl.
should i give less tripe and get her used to Autarky or should i give tripe with every meal?  is too much tripe bad?

Initially my westie throughly enjoyed the tripe added to the Nature diet/James Wellbeloved, and after a week did lose a bit of interest so I then replaced it with cooked chicken which I got from the pet shop ( actually it looks good and is sliced - though only for animals), I then after a week go back to giving the tripe.
I don't think personally that you should only give tripe on it own but can't do any harm added with the usual meal.
Pat