I have 2 x 2 year old boxers who are litter sisters and that is where the similarity ends. Muffin is a big, strong, yet very soft and gentle bitch whilst Poppy is taller, much skinnier, boistrous, hyperactive & very mischievious.
My concern is that Poppy is not gaining weight and she had her first season at about 11 months and has never come back into season.
When we first had these girls they were 8 weeks old and Poppy was always the larger of the two. Then at 9 months old she ate her way through (wait for it) a garden shed, a rucksack, a lunch box and into my husband fishing stuff of which she ate 5 hooks and 7 lead weights. All in the time it took me to cut my lawn! She was obviously rushed to the vets where they removed the hooks and hoped that she would pass all the weights most of which she did but unfortunately one of them burst her small intestine so she needed major surgery for that, which meant she lost alot of her bulk although she did bulk up a little afterwards she is now as skinny as I've ever seen her.
I have taken her to the vets and she has been wormed 4 times in 5 months they said that she sees healthy in herself (which I have to admit she does) but I am now beggining to get worried as I've been giving her lactol and puppy food the same as Muffin  although not in such huge quantities to try and bulk her back up and still no real weight gain. She looks like she is starved! Her ribs, hips and even her spine stick out through her skin.
I'm not sure if the season thing is linked to the weight thing (although I did think about anorexic women who don't menstrate).
Has anyone got any ideas or tips for me or even been through similar?
Any tips, hints advice or even ideas would be really appreciated as I can't stand to look at her like this. Thanks

You are probably right that her poor condition is delaying her seasons they are designed for reproduction and she isn't fit for that.

Has she had bloods done especially a thyroid series?

How long ago was the incident with the lead weights and were they real lead? Are you sure they got them all?

Does she eat well or is she picky? I used RC Sensible for my dachsie as it has a higher fat content and he put on the weight and maintained most when we went back to normal kibble.

Hope you get some answers soon.

Someone has started a thread called Fat Boy feed for their underweight dog might be worth looking into for your girl.

Yes, I agree, when a bitch is not in good condition seasons will stop, the body will only reproduce if not detrimental to health.

IMO from your description this is not the normal lanky teenager stage, siblings often can and are different builds and although vets like to feel ribs, you really should not be able to see them, to be able to see her hip bones, ribs and spine, how can your vet think nothing is wrong? She sounds by description to be starved, to have this little muscle and meat on her bones, is very worrying.

If your other bitch eats exactly the same food and is well then why isn't Poppy? Just a thought do you supervise food, Muffin isn't eating Poppy's food is she? She obviously will burn up food quicker, being more energetic, if that is so she needs more than Muffin.

Good bulk up foods are raw meats, chicken, tripe, perhaps you could put her on a BARF diet and get her some chicken wings. Pasteurised goats milk morning and evening will also bulk her out.

But I also agree in some blood tests, a lot of adolescents do go through a skinny, gangly stage, in fact most breeds do :-) but bones like this should not be prominent. The lack of season (although some bitches do have huge gaps) would also scream out to me as a vet that something is not sitting right here.

At 2 years old if your other Boxer is fine you don't need to be giving milk or puppy food to that one.
Some dogs aren't able to digest milk once they are through being young puppies also puppy food is high in calories
and not balanced for an adult dog (fine for puppies or very finicky eaters)

Worming 4 times in 5 months isn't a good idea unless they suspect other problems.
Has she been tested for giardia? This can make dogs go very thin. Have heard of this recently in a Boxer who
was very thin. Worming on a different schedule to normal as advised by the vet will help this out.

Yes would be looking for further tests, some can get thyroid trouble, some adrenal problems such as cushings or addisons.

The other thing is how much exercise is she getting? Are you giving too much exercise so that she burns off what she is eating.

What food brand are you feeding? and what flavour as it may be there are better foods for you to try.
You might be better off adding tripe or lamb mince to her food rather than giving her milk.

Since I've owned dogs I've had 2 that had been operated on for eating rubbish that caused blockages / intusseption. One of them had some intestine removed which was damaged. Although both dogs recovered from the surgery they were always thin despite my best efforts to fatten them up and various tests at the vets which showed nothing unusual. I came to the conclusion that it was an absorption problem, maybe the surgery had affected their ability to get the maximum nourishment out of the food?

Thank you so much for all the replies. In answer to some of them I feed them seperately in different areas as they tend to squablle over food otherwise, so I know Poppy eats all her own food. She is currently on Pets at home own version of lamb advanced nutrition but I alternate that with the chicken variety. I have tried several different foods for her but she has a sensitive tummy and this was the vets recomendation and she is tolerant to it.
Having been to my vets several times about this problem I decided to take matters into my own hands on Friday night and phoned the out of hours vet that operated on her at the time and explained my problem only to be told that they had definately removed some of her intestine and the amount of tissue that was removed would act as almost a gastric bypass so the chances are she will never gain much weight and not to worry about it, they also believe that it is due to this that she has never come back into season. So it looks like you were all right!

Thank you so much for the help and advice I really feel that every dog owner should know about this forum, you guys are amazing. Thank you once again!

So pleased that you phoned at least you have an answer, I'm wondering though should you not have been told so much at the time, it looks as though Poppy has been able to gage her food intake herself then which is very good.

Looks as though little and often will be the key, but at least if people ask why she is so thin you can give an answer.

Wishing you both well, I guess she is very lucky to be alive. :-)