We adopted a stray boxer..I don't know what to feed her

[coffeetx]

So she came into my life 3 weeks ago and now she is ours. Oh how I love her already! She is 60 pounds according to the doctor. We just got her surgery for the ruptured anal gland, a tumor on her front leg, and she is heartworm positive so soon she will begin treatments for that as well. I have no idea what, when or how much to feed her. I tried buying dry dog food but she hates it. She prefers to eat the cat's food. That is probably not good for her so when I realized she did that I put it away from her. She makes grinding noises with her teeth all the time. The vet said nothing is wrong with them and according to her she is about 2 years old. He said that she has an underbite and because of that she clinks her teeth. I just don't know what kind of food to feed her, how much and how often. Any advice greatly appreciated.

 

[Sansal]

My dogs like taste of the wild. It is grain free, high quality and affordable. Sky gets 2 cups a day, she weighs 45 pounds. Many dogs like the dry food better if you mix it with a spoon full of canned food (for example from wellness) or a little yoghurt ( low fat, plain) or cottage cheese. Also a healthy dog won't starve itself, whatever you decide to feed, put the food down for 20 minutes and if she doesn't eat pick it up until it is feeding time again. She will eventually eat and get used to regular feeding times. Good luck

 

[Cami]

Congratulations on your new addition!
Boxers are supposed to have an under bite. It isn't the reason *some* grind their teeth. They just do. I had one that never did and my new pup does. No rhyme or reason.
I also know dogs that don't have an under bite that do the same thing.

Most dogs LOVE cat food and you are right....it isn't the best option for them. There are many high quality food options to choose from. A healthy dog will not starve itself if it doesn't get fed what it perceives it wants (cat food for instance).

If she isn't the biggest fan of dry food perhaps softening it with some warm water will help her to like it more. Changing the texture can oftentimes do the trick. You could also try adding a bit of warm water and a tablespoon or so of canned food to the dry making a bit of "gravy" with the canned. This should also help tempt her to eat.
Don't keep changing foods or adding various items to her food in an attempt to get her to eat. This will only train YOU to create a picky pooch! Sometimes it seems as if they can hold out far longer with their stubbornness to eat what is in front of them than we can hold out watching them refuse it. **Don't add water to foods that contain citric acid as it can increase the chance of bloat.

Plan on feeding a couple of meals a day and not allowing for the food to sit out for extended periods of time. If she doesn't eat her meal within a certain amount of time (30 minutes for example) take it away from her until dinner time. She will soon get the message that she needs to eat a proper meal in the allowed time, otherwise she will wait till the next meal. It usually doesn't take too long for them to figure this out. Days....perhaps a week at the most and she will realize the routine.

 

[Gatorblu]

I agree with everything Susi (Cami) says. And like Santina (Sansal) I also would go with Taste of the Wild. It is proably the best quality for the money. Since your new girl likes the cat food so much, I would go with the Pacfic Stream formula since it has fish in it. (It might help with the transition.) You can get it a Tractor Supply, or go to there website and put in your zip code and get locations that sell it. I find the best price is Tractor Supply, tho'. Congrats on your new furkid!

 

[BxrMommieNAZ]

I agree with the others. I also would recommend either Taste of the Wild or Earthborn is also a good food and my dogs seem to like it more than the TOTW food. Both are good options, affordable, and not terribly hard to find (most of the time). In my area they run around $40 for a 30 pound bag and that lasts me 3-4 weeks feeding an 80 pounds German Shepherd and a 67 pound Boxer. I also feed twice a day.

Good luck!

 

[TawnysMommy]

Taste of the Wild High Prairie (yellow bag) with a spoonful of wellness 95% meat canned food mixed in. The dry dog food bag will have a chart on the back to show how much to feed. I like for my girl to have 2 meals a day. Good luck!