Hi all...I haven't been on the board in a while..I do have a quick question though...
It seems that I wound up with  puppies not going to their new homes as was planned, due to Hurricane Charley which moved through the nearby area and destroyed some people's homes and did much damage to others. Anyway...I am left with 6 beautiful little boxers that will be 10 weeks on Tue...
My question is...although they have been wormed regularly and vet checked for any parasites...and eat like small vacuum cleaners...(I make sure to feed them enough so that there is a little bit left over) do puppies go through a stage where they grow so fast they can't seem to eat enough to keep up? They look thin to me...their ribs don't protrude, but I don't think I should be able to see them, or should I? Their backbones aren't visible...but it's their sides that look thin to me. They are fed twice a day...in the morning and again when I get home from work. Is this normal? I'm concerned...
Thanks!

um well I am no expert at all but I have a 15 week old puppy that still gets fed 3 times a day so would of thought they maybe need to be fed a bit more but I am sure an expert will advise you properly. Good luck wit the little ones. Do they still have new homes lined up

I have tried feeding 3 times a day, and they really don't seem that interested in the midday feeding, they would rather play and ignore that meal and mom winds up jumping in with them and eating it for them after a couple of hours. I have also tried leaving a large pan of dry food with them while I am at work, but they somehow always manage to poop in it, spill it, or otherwise find something unhealthy to do with it besides eat it in the middle of the day...They do eat well for the morning and evening feedings.

Yes, pups do go through several leggy stages (which is when they become harder to sell - people want little cute pups, not bigger ones). To be honest, at 10 weeks mine are still on four meals a day (8am, noon, 4pm and 8pm with a biscuit last thing), dropping to three meals at about 12-16 weeks and two at about 6 months of age. Because their stomachs are so small they need lots of small meals rather fewer, larger ones, or they won't be getting all the nutrients they need. If they stuff themselves in the morning they may not be hungry enough to want to eat when they need to - more smaller meals means greater food intake overall. Can't the person who is at home with them during the day, keeping them clean, playing with them and socialising them supervise the lunchtime meal?

Hi,
I have boxers and they do go through a bit of a leggy stage at that age. They are also burning everything they eat. As long as you have checked for parasites etc and they are active and happy, I wouldn't worry unless their hip bones are protruding.  They do get a little ribby at times when they go through their growth.

Thanks for your responses...I will try cutting back some on the amount of food in the morning meal and see if that will increase their interest in eating their lunch.
I am interviewing people now for homes, since the hurricane destroyed or damaged the homes of all but two of the people who were on my list and they don't think they can handle a new puppy now. What a mess! I was devastated as the calls started coming in one after the other. Only two families didn't care that they had no electricity to their home, they just wanted to pick up their puppy! 

You must be starting to get frantic! :( It was bad enough when I had one pup not sell (ended up keeping him as well as the one I wanted) - by 10 weeks the injections started, and the lead training, and the intensive house-training, and the car-training, so I know a bit of what you're going through. One is a fulltime job on its own at this stage. Multiplied by 6 (and then some, because you daren't let them start forming a pack or they'll be almost unsaleable) doesn't bear thinking about.

Hi

I have 2 boxer one who is 4 and a 11 week old puppy!

I recently took my 4 year old to the vets and I was told he was over weight boxers should have a very definate waist and you should be able to see there ribs, our puppy is also at that gangley stage and she looks thin but as long as you leave plenty of fresh food down for them and freash water I assure you they will not go hungry if all those things are there they WILL not starve themselves. If your at all worried take the pups to the vets and get them weighed but i'm sure there fine!

Puppies at this age should be fed at leat 4 times a day, dropping to 3 times a day around 3 months of age.

If they are only fed twice a day then you are correct they are unable to eat enough at two sittings to satisfy their need for nourishment and proper growth.

How much do the pups weigh?  compare their weights to those of your bitches breeders pups or the stud owners litters, most breeders keep weight records of their litters to give an ideqa of the normal weight ranges at different ages.