I am writing this on behalf of my sister-in-laws friend.
She has a 3 yr old Boxer bitch an it is losing weight so much that its back bone is showing. She has had it to the vets and they say it's normal for a boxer to be thin? (I haven't seen this dog so i can't comment)
She is awfully worried about it as she said she was never stocky but of good weight and now over a period of months she has lost weight.
She said it has the no.2's alot, i asked what food it's on and she said Large can of pedigree chum. I offered her some of my James wellbeloved samples and she said it won't eat dry food?
I didn't know whether it wasn't digesting enough food and was just passing it straight through?

Haven't a clue?
Sarah.

Hi
I have two Boxers, male and female and Pedigree Chum doesn't suit them as it goes straight through them. So we give them some kibble moistened with Butchers Choice tinned. Our Breeder recommended the James Wellbeloved with the butchers choice and my dogs don't particularly like kibble - but thats where they get all the goodness from - i personally don't think just Pedigree Chum would give them all of the vitamins for a healthy body and coat. Tell her to introduce the kibble and tinned gradually and be firm - when they are hungry they will eat it. Our Boxers are fairly skinny - but not so you can see their backbone. If she has lost weight there must be something wrong because as they get older they usually become more stocky. I think your friend should definitely change the boxers diet first and take her off the chum - if that doesn't put weight on her go to another vets for a second opinion. Hope it helps.
Tina

If I was your friend I'd be insisting on tests at the vets.
There's no way a dog should lose condition so that their back-bone is showing.
Some Boxers can be skinny upto 18months-2 years, but not so that their
back bones are showing.
It could be a number of issues,
Boxers are prone to cancers (although this normally happens later in their lives)
Then can suffer hypothyroidism, addisons disease, colitis etc etc.
I'd ask the vet to do full blood tests including T4 for thyroid trouble as an over-active
thyroid gland can cause them to lose weight. They may even want to do x-rays to see
if there are any 'growths' in the abdomen area
To be honest pedigree chum (tinned) is often too rich for Boxers and gives them the squirts.
Mine feed on either Nutro or Burns (complete dog food) as JWB didn't suit my monsters (Boxers)
Basically you need to find a good quality food that suits the dog and every dog is different.
Hope your friend soon gets to the bottom of this

Thanks for the advice guys, i have printed this off and gave it to my sister-in-law to give it to her friend.
I was suprised that she only fed it chum but she is very soft with it and believe it or not she has been feeding it a steak every other night to try and fatten it up lol...(Must be a fortune!!)

Sarah
p.s i'll let you know if i hear any news...

I have a boxer, he is 4 yrs old. I took him from my brother 2 yrs ago because he was not being cared for properly. He was so skinny his back bone was showing, like the one you described. Since I have had him I have learned alot about the breed. If you try to feed them extra thinking they will gain weight, you are wrong. Their digestive system is very fragile, if you feed them too much or you give them table food (steak) 9 out of 10 times it will go straight through the, causing loose stools. I put him on puppy food and I only feed him twice a day. 1.5 cup in the morning and again at night. If you feed them too much at one feeding they can develop "bloat" a serious stomach condition associated with deep chested dogs. It can be fatal. I hope this helps your sister-in-law

hi

i feed naturediet mixed with JWB to my boxer and she's doing really well on it .