Concerned about puppy's weight

[Box Boys]

My vet said Buster's weight was on the low side and his nutrition needed improving so we made some changes to his diet at 10 weeks. He also sold us vitamins and he gets 1/2 pill twice a day. I wonder whether Buster is OK and whether he really needs the vitamins. I am concerned about his size/weight. I'm trying not to be, as I know there definitely seems to be some variances (at least based on what I read on the forum here). Buster's champion sire is 80 lbs., his mother is 55 lbs. When I picked him up (at 9 1/2 weeks his weight was 9 lbs. It is now about 11.5-12 lbs. (based on what I weigh him at on my scale at home). He was 11 weeks on Friday. He just seems little still. He did have some litter mates that were 11 and 13 lbs. compared to his 9 lbs. when I picked him up. One other litter mate was also 9 lbs. like Buster. Am I worrying about nothing here? I feed him three times a day...Royal Canin puppy (1/3 C) + 1.5 T of can I/D food + 1 T yogart. This is what the vet wanted him on. His stools are still not solid, so we were introducing the dry food slowly. Any thoughts? He is active and plays well and is engaging and very loving! Maybe he'll just be on the smaller side or maybe I'm worrying about nothing. Shouldn't his stool be solid at this point. The breeder originally had the pups on Royal Canin but switched because of the loose stools. Not sure if what I'm doing needs changed?? Any help would be appreciated! Thanks.

 

[gmacleod]

I think the weight is not a big concern (there are plenty of pups smaller than that at the same age).

You might consider a better quality dry dog food though. Both RC and ID are pretty low quality foods. Possibly it would be better to hold off on any further changes in the immediate term (in case changing foods makes the loose stools worse), but if they don't firm up in the next few days, I think I'd be inclined to spend a few days on a bland diet of boiled chicken/rice, then wean her back off to a better quality dog food.

 

[Box Boys]

Really? I thought that Royal Canin was a pretty good food. A lot of local Boxer breeders recommend the RC for Boxers. And, I assumed since the canned I/D was purchased at the vet's office, that it too was good. What would be a better choice of food for Buster? I am leery of making another change this soon as you mention, as he's had a lot of that recently. The breeder had the pups on Royal Canin and due to loose stools switched, but to One Purina or Purina One (?), I wouldn't consider that a step up from Royal Canin, as you can find it in the grocery stores. His stools were still loose and not solid when I brought him home, and very next day, his diet was changed by the vet to only the I/D for about 5 days. We (well, Buster) had one solid stool, then added the dry R/C, then we're back to loose stools.) So...obviously, I'll have to take my time here to get him adjusted. I would be interested in what type of food would be best? Thanks very much.

 

[Box Boys]

As to the boiled chicken and rice...could you tell me about how much I should give Buster at each serving (and do I still feed him three times a day). I'm assuming this is white rice too. Please let me know as I want to be prepared if I opt to try this out. Again, thanks so much. --Beth

 

[Caney Creek]

Really? I thought that Royal Canin was a pretty good food. A lot of local Boxer breeders recommend the RC for Boxers. And, I assumed since the canned I/D was purchased at the vet's office, that it too was good.

That's probably what they want you to think, unfortunately Hill's dog food is very low quality. It baffles me too how veterinarians can recommend it. For instance, the Z/D dry food (for dogs with allergies) lists starch as the first ingredient; it also contains sawdust, plus a few different preservatives that are known to be carcinogenic. :eek: Maybe some of their other foods are slightly better, but after reading that bit I don't have much faith in any Hill's product. As for the RC, it's not as bad as Hill's IMO, but there are still much better dry foods. Take a look at the Dog Food Analysis website -- it lists ratings, ingredients and reviews for most dry and canned foods.
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/

As to the boiled chicken and rice...could you tell me about how much I should give Buster at each serving (and do I still feed him three times a day). I'm assuming this is white rice too. Please let me know as I want to be prepared if I opt to try this out. Again, thanks so much. --Beth

I would still feed 3x daily, a bit more than the amount of kibble he was getting. Sorry, I don't know exact measurements :o But it should be white rice, plain (no salt). Minute-rice will do just fine.

As far as his weight, I don't think you should be too concerned about it... he might just be on the small side. As long as he's still active and playful, and is eating well... that's what's important

 

[gmacleod]

We would have to agree to disagree about the RC I would consider the "boxer" formula nothing more than a marketing gimmick (especially once you compare it to all the other super-dooper-special-and-unique-breed formulas... and find they're all made of the same low grade ingredients).

No food can magically be any better than the ingredients is it made from - and certainly not by sticking a picture of a boxer on the front and using breeders to promote it. Unfortunately, what RC is made from is mostly junk. It's not the worst food available. But it is a LONG way from ever being described as premium. If you care to check the site referenced above you'll find your RC formula amongst the lower rated foods. If you're interested, you could search the forums here also - there are plenty of previous discussions about that food - what is wrong with it and why. It is, however, a better option than Purina One. But really, we're talking low end of the market all-round.

As for Hills... That's one of the lowest quality foods in existence. LOL - One well respected canine journal even ran a whole series devoted to how poor this food actually is. It didn't get the nickname "cancer in a bag" for no reason Though to be fair, in recent years they've removed the chemicals from all but the prescription foods (tough luck in that case).

Anyway - to answer your actual question about the chicken/rice. You should use a mixture that's about 50/50 chicken to rice. Yes, use white rice. Brown is more nutritious, but white is blander - and its bland you're aiming for. A puppy of this age would need to consume about 8-10% of his body weight in food (cooked weight of food) daily. So if he's now 12lb, you'd be looking at about 1.1-1.2lb of food - then split that up into 3 meals. It wouldn't matter if he ate a little less than that, but I wouldn't feed him more.

 

[HurricaneBox]

I think the food discussion has been covered very well, but to answer your fears about his size... I wouldn't worry. My boy was (are you ready for this?) 8.5 lbs at 12 weeks when we brought him home, and yes he was a tad underweight, (could see his hipbones a bit) but he has always been far under the "average" weight for his age. At 6 months he was only about 35 lbs, and completely healthy, not underweight for his size, he is just small. Even now, at 17 months, he weighs 49.5 lbs and I need to drop him a pound or two as his ribs just disappeared He is just a tiny boxer. He never did explode in size like everyone said he would... I had to fight to get him from 40 to 45 lbs, and only by switching to a high quality, grain free food (Wellness Core) did I finally have success. I have been through canidae, California Natural, and Solid Gold and he never put weight on easily. So don't worry about your boy, as long as you can't see his hipbones and every vertebrae (you should see the last two ribs and some of his vertebrae is normal too) then he is at a healthy weight for his size. I think some vets just put blinders on and say he is this breed and this age so he should be this weight and never look at the dog and say well yeah but he is really small or really big and make adjustments to their thinking, you know?

 

[jamkaywill]

I wouldnt worry about his weight right now either. Abbie was a tiny girl she was really skin and bones. At her last vet visit she weighed 63lbs although she really doesnt look like she weighs that much. I out her on Wellness for puppy and she gained weight and really does look great.

 

[Box Boys]

Thank you everyone! It's unbelievable that the vets can recommend these dog foods that aren't of good value to our dogs. It's downright disturbing. Maybe there's some type of tie-in with the vets, certain breeders and the dog food industries to push for a certain food over the better quality foods. I never quite got the Royal Canin "Boxer" food either...didn't really know what the Boxer variety food had that the other breeds food didn't. I've checked out the dog food site and will definitely be changing Buster's food. I think for now, I will try the chicken and rice formula to see how that helps him. Heard mostly about Wellness, Innova and Canidae. Would any/all of these be acceptable in the puppy variety form? If anyone has had experience with a certain type and their Boxer has done well, I'd love to hear about it. Next question...I've always heard when switching foods, to do is slowly, and start by mixing both brands together. At this point, if I put him on a bland chicken and rice diet to improve his stools, I probably don't want to reintroduce the Royal Canin puppy food do I? So, should I go straight from RC to the bland diet of chicken/rice and then to Wellness or one of the other brands. I just want to make the right switch for Buster. I'm sure it's not been pleasant for him to have all the changes in his diet...and still have loose stools. Poor little guy!!

 

[gmacleod]

At this point, if I put him on a bland chicken and rice diet to improve his stools, I probably don't want to reintroduce the Royal Canin puppy food do I? So, should I go straight from RC to the bland diet of chicken/rice and then to Wellness or one of the other brands.

Exactly There would be no point in reintroducing a food that you're probably going to replace. So, looking for an alternative now seems a good plan. Then after a few days on a bland diet, you'll have the new food ready to gradually wean him onto.

All of those you mention are fairly good foods, so could make a perfectly good choice.