Please help us with Buddy

[karenmauney]

Hi Everyone! We are the new owners of Buddy, a white Boxer with one blue eye and one brown eye. We were told he was deaf. We consider that we rescued him since he was found by a vet at a house (the vet was at the house treating another animal) tied up to a clothes line by a rope. He was extremely malnurished and only weighed roughly 30 pounds when we got him. We got him on October 16th, 2011. We were told he was 7 months old at that time and was born roughly in March 2011. We had a lot of tummy issues (vomitting and diarhhea) at first, but were advised to switch his dog food and those issues have subsided. He is now on Eukenuba Large Breed Puppy Food and eating 3 cups a day. He weighs roughly 50 pounds at one year old (approximately). I just noticed on the bag that he should be switched to Eukenuba Adult Boxer Breed Dog Food. Any suggestions as to how to do this? Any help with training him would also be greatly appreciated.

 

[Chops]

Thank you!

appicon

Thanks for taking in this pup! I love to hear when a pup is rescued and in a better home.

As for food I would suggest (and others will too) that you take some time and do some research and get better rated food - I believe a four star dog food is the lowest you want to go - five or six are best. There are lots of foods out there that are great for your dog.

You can use this website and then you can see which ones are within your price range and where you can get them. Good luck!

Dog Food Analysis - Reviews of kibble

 

[buddhasmum]

How wonderful, Karen!
I once had a mixed breed stray who knew over 50 signs!
I'm hoping you have an older, trained dog for him to follow?
Sheepherders are great at puppytraining, in my experience.

If not, getting him to watch you for cues is the trick.
Give him lots of locational/ visual cues and nice smelly treats!
You may tether him to your waist, or keep him near you,
gently of course...so he learns to stay close. Kongs filled with
kibble and jerky or liver treats are helpful for quiet time when
you need to work or relax nearby. Crate training is ideal,
also a puppy class.

You may also contact a Dogs for the Deaf training center.
They may have resources in your area.
Have fun!

 

[brodieboxer]

Most of us on this forum feed either a grain free kibble or RAW (see sub forum for that), b/c many boxers have issues with foods with grain in them. Some good grain free foods are Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream, Acana, Earthborn, Orijen, Blue Buffalo Wilderness, Wellness Core, and Before Grain. I'm sure others will chime in with their favorites.

I feed my dogs Taste of the Wild Pacifici Stream, b/c it's not as pricey as some of the others. I'd avoid the Sierra Mountain variety for now, b/c Diamond Foods, TOTW's distributor, is having issues with that food right now.

I agree to look on Dog Food Analysis - Reviews of kibble for good choices. Foods that rate a 5 or 6 are preferable. They may be pricier, but you can feed less of them b/c they're more nutrient dense, so the cost kind of evens out.