My Female boxer seems small

[Tucker's_mom]

My Kaia was stuck at 36 lbs for about a month and a half. At just over 10 months now she's up to 46.5 lbs. I also switched her food from Innova (I don't think the turkey in it agreed with her) to Wellness Chicken.

Summerboxer:
I have to agree with Andie on this one. Eukanuba and Iams are not the greatest foods to feed boxers. There are many preservatives (which can cause cancer) and by-products (chicken feet, etc....yuck!) in both. It even says so right on the bag. And I'm not picking on your vet, I'm sure he/she is very good at their job. It's just that vets are trained very minimally in nutrition while in school and most of what they learn comes from pet food manufacturers anyways. My own vet recommends Science Diet which I would NEVER feed my dogs. I have just decided that I'll make the nutrition decisions for my dogs and she can take care of their health needs.

A lot of people do feed Iams and Eukanuba. It's just not something I'm comfortable giving my dogs. In fact that's what I started out feeding them until I came here and did a little research. Then I switched to Nutro Natural, then Innova and finally the Wellness (which I'm VERY happy with by the way).

I guess the final choice is yours, she is after all your dog. I just wanted to give a little more background into what Andie was saying.

 

[myrocky]

Thanks Andrea

If you do a search here you will find loads of info on Kibble and why some of it isn't good and others are. Sad but true, vets really don't have much knowledge in nutrition. However since we have so much information available to us via the internet we can educate ourselves in doggie nutrition

However Candi, if that is all your dog will eat then so be it. If she doesn't like other foods, there isn't much that can be done, short of doing a homemade diet. There are some really good foods out there for picky eaters, a search here will generate some brands of kibble. Maybe there will be something listed you didn't try before.

Summer I am sorry you got the feeling people thought you didn't like your boxer. I am sure that wasn't the intent but just to reassure you that there are other small babies out there too

 

[courtney323]

Madeline just turned 1 1/2 years and she weighs only 50 lbs. The vet thinks she will fill out over the next year or two and end up at 60 lbs or so.

She is very lean and muscular, but I also get idiots that say, "do you EVER feed her???". One guy at the dog park actually said, "I don't think she is a full blooded Boxer - she's too small...aren't Boxer's supposed to be, like 100 lbs??" He then proceeded to recommend that I buy her Alpo in a can from the grocery store. His dogs love it

This guy also happened to have mangy-looking mutts. I felt like saying, "do you ever bathe or groom your dogs?"
....some people.

 

[SummerBoxer]

Thank you all!

I guess I just trusted my vet, I had never heard that Iams could be bad for boxers. My dad also feeds his boxer that. Any recommendations of a food that has worked well for you? All I meant about people thinking I didnt like my boxer was that, pretty much everyone replying to this post says "it doesnt matter the size of your baby" I totally agree, but I love summer more than any thing. She is small for a boxer and it makes me feel good that shes not the only one! Thank you very much!

 

[daysha]

Kibble

Zoe was also eating Eukanuba when I first came to BW. She was not gaining any weight and not filling out very well so I did a search and posted about it and she has been on Nutro for about 6 to 8 months and has gained some weight and filled out very nicely. It helped her hair coat a lot too. My suggestion to you is Nutro which is fed by a lot of people here on BW. Also Innova and Wellness are also two other good kibbles to think about.

 

[SummerBoxer]

What type of Nutro do you choose, there are so many. Summer is 1yr and 3 months and weights about 40 pounds.

 

[SummerBoxer]

I just went out and exchanged my Iams for Nutro. (I really love my baby and you all had me worried!) I gave her, her first bowl and she really seemed to like it. Maybe I will see her gain a little weight also with this change. Thank you all!

 

[courtney323]

Just wanted to throw in my 2 cents on Nutro.

When I first got Madeline (at a little over 1 year) she was skiiiiiiinnnnny and she was being fed Science Diet. She hated it and would skip meals. Often she would go a day or so without eating.

After talking to a lot of people on Boxerworld I switched her to Nutro and she hasn't missed a meal since!! I have her on Nutro puppy formula (the purple bag), simply because I want her to have some extra nutrients and protein so she can gain a little and fill out.

My Vet has since told me to take her off of the puppy formula since she is 1 1/2. However, I will keep her on Nutro because I am convinced that it is a great food and she likes it. One day I may get the courage, time and energy to do BARF. Until then, my vote is for Nutro

 

[chickie1]

ok, here is my 4 cents worth, I currently have 4 dogs (1cent for each). my oldest (Lexi) is 7 weighs 75lbs, next is jazmin age 5 and 70 lbs, next is Sniffy age 5 and 77 lbs then the little one, Raven is 16 mths and 58 lbs. I was hoping for her to be bigger since her father is a tekanova boxer (german) but she is just fine, she is the same height as her mother, but still a puppy.
her brothers are the same hgt as my male (sniffy) TALL and the girls are average.
so, as she matures, i know she will be getting up there in wgt but I am in no hurry.

just have to sqeeze those faces everyday for bringing joy into my life.

 

[Eric J]

Originally posted by courtney323
Just wanted to throw in my 2 cents on Nutro.

When I first got Madeline (at a little over 1 year) she was skiiiiiiinnnnny and she was being fed Science Diet. She hated it and would skip meals. Often she would go a day or so without eating.

After talking to a lot of people on Boxerworld I switched her to Nutro and she hasn't missed a meal since!! I have her on Nutro puppy formula (the purple bag), simply because I want her to have some extra nutrients and protein so she can gain a little and fill out.

There are some negative reasons to use Nutro, if you do a search on this site you can find them.

As for using puppy formula, that is not entirely good for your boxer. A boxer takes two years to fill out properly. Feeding puppy food, gives extra protein and calcium wich makes them grow faster then what is healthy and puts undue stress on the skeleton and joints in particular. The only thing worse then commercial brand dog foods, is commercial brand puppy foods IMO.

Canidae, Flint River, Innova are just a few high quality kibbles out there you can gain information on with a search. The Whole Dog Journal (WDJ) also is easy to find online or thru a search here, that has a list of the healthiest kibbles, and what to look for and to look to avoid on their site. It is a great read.

One interesting point I have read by the BARF feeders, is in the wild, there is no natural puppy prey for the pups to eat, they eat what the adults do.