emaciated boxer

[Mac67]

My state boxer rescue is trying to foster a white male boxer that is extremely malnourished and possibly used as a bait dog for pit fighting. I don't know his age, except that it is probably under 2 yrs old and I don't know if he is deaf.
I have never fostered before, but I really want to help this poor boy. I will, of course, be talking to my vet if I do, but let me know what you think.

First, should I, having never fostered before, take in an animal in such poor condition?

If yes, what is the best way to safely put weight on a severly underweight dog.

 

[Adelle]

Yes even though you have never fostered before, please take him, he needs you.

Taking him to the vet is a good idea first, as you don't want him passing anything on to your boxer.

If you suspect he has been used as bait (poor thing) take introductions to your dog very slowly. You may want to keep them seperated for a couple of days, let them interact through a crate/baby gate and watch them closely.

If you do a search on here for the rescipe for Satin Balls I believe they are great for gaining weight, I also heard adding oatmeal to their food will help them gain weight also.

Give that baby some love for me. Keep us posted.

 

[bobsmom]

Just say yes

And then learn all you can about this poor guy's needs as you go along.

Our Bob is a rescue who came from the same type background, bait dog for pit bull fighting. We know he went through heck in his previous life due to several scars on his front legs. But he has the sweetest, most tolerant tempermant and is SMART as can be. He doesn't have an aggressive bone in his body. He loves being a house dog and member of the family.

When his new sister, Iris, came to live with us, another rescue boxer, she began escaping under the loose parts of the fence. We thought he was probably looking at her like "why in the world would you want to leave this nice place?" Fence is fixed now, by the way.

Both Bob and Iris were pretty skinny when they came to us. We fed frequent small meals, boiled chicken and rice, yogurt, eggs, cottage cheese, oatmeal whatever they would take and gradually started mixing in high quality kibble and increasing the intervals between meals. This worked so well that we recently had to put Bob on a low fat diet!

Good luck to you and let us know how it works out.

Carol

 

[Donna741]

Frequent small meals are the key. If you feed too much at once you can overload their system.

I too would say take him, with a trip to the vet before coming home.

 

[adeinert]

Yes, yes, yes. He will be so grateful and you will never experience anything like being part of saving his life.
At first, he won't be able to gain weight very fast because he most likely isn't accustomed to eating much. But you will be amazed after a few weeks what great nutrition and satin balls will do.

I would add in supplements such as Nutro or Wellness supplement. These malnourished kids need all they can get.

I also suggest making an appointment with the vet right when you pick him up. He will most likely need to be wormed. A good bath will probably be high up on your list of things to do and then feed and love and love and love.

If he is not neutered, you will likely put that off until he has gained some weight if he is severely underweight.
lovicon

Ashlie
www.flbr.org

 

[Holden's Mom]

While I have never taken in an emaciated boxer before, I have welcomed into my home , an emaciated cat. Donna 741 is right. Frequent small meals, bland meals really work. Plenty of liquids too. Best of luck with this poor baby. Keep us posted.

Pam and Pete

 

[adeinert]

I used chicken and rice for a very thin foster I had. She liked it and it was bland.
Ashlie

 

[Donna741]

Yes chicken and rice is a great way to start out. Especially since you don't know what kind of shape his digestive system is in
1/4 cup of canned pumpkin (not the pie filling, just regular pumpkin) in one meal a day will help with fiber too, to clean out that intestinal tract. Lord only knows what the poor guy has been eating and he probably has some nasty bugs running around in there. After he's been wormed it'll help him pass those out of his system too.

 

[basak]

Oh God, please take him. He needs you more than anything in the world... Everyone here has given great advice on gaining weight. Please hug him extra for us

basak

 

[Mac67]

Thanks for all the advice. I feel alot better about taking him in now. Hopefully, I can help him get a good start on a new and better life.

I haven't heard anything from the rescue yet, but I will let everyone know as soon as I do. If you'd like to see pictures of this poor boy here is a link.

http://www.geocities.com/brsm007/applicationtest.html

Be warned, its not pretty, but theres still some spark in his eyes.