Hi! I have an adorable 9 month old female named Lucy. We bought her from a reputable breeder when she was 9 weeks old. She currently weighs 44 lbs. Her ribs have always shown and we can't seem to get rid of them! We're now very close with her vet, as we've been to see him many times. He's checked her for Pancreatic Insufficiency (malabsorption problems) and those tests came out normal. He has also changed her to a vet-prescribed (and very expensive) kibble that it turns out she doesn't like. We've also had her treated for worms (even though she tested negative for worms) just to be sure. I've tried her on three types of kibble now and she doesn't seem very interested in food in general. Overall she's a very happy, lively, energetic well-adjusted dog. We just can't seem to get any meat on her bones! We're considering the raw food diet just in the hopes that she'll like it. Any suggestions?
Ribs showing!
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BooBoo & Riley
Completely Boxer Crazy
Lucy's Mom, what kibble are you feeding her now?
And have you consider add-ins to her kibble? I add the following...
Wellness kibble
eggs / cottage cheese / cooked ground beef / canned pumpkin / cooked liver / rice / pasta / fish / yogurt / fruits / etc... there isn't really any foods that my baby doesn't like.
And have you consider add-ins to her kibble? I add the following...
Wellness kibble
eggs / cottage cheese / cooked ground beef / canned pumpkin / cooked liver / rice / pasta / fish / yogurt / fruits / etc... there isn't really any foods that my baby doesn't like.
2boxerdogs
Boxer Booster
It is better for them to be on the thin side rather than the fat side. That being said I have one boxer that is fed raw and one that is fed kibble. On the one that is kibble fed we add "goodies" in her kibble. Things such as lowfat cottage cheese, plain or vanilla flavored lowfat or fat free yogurt, fruit and veggies blended into a mush, cooked oatmeal, sardines or other types of canned fish, scrambled or a raw egg once or twice a week. She basically gets the same that our dog that is fed raw gets only no raw meat. She gets something or a combo of goodies in her kibble twice a day. The amounts that I add to ker kibble are just soup spoonfuls of the above mentioned items--not a lot, but just enough to make her kibble interesting for her, although she has always been a good eater. The other one we have is the "terrible eater". We always used to say he was anorexic!That is why he is fed raw. I tried 6 different kinds of kibble on him--all before 5 months old! Good luck in whatever you decide to do. Paula
Ribs Showing
Thanks for your quick responses! We have tried add-ins but not really on a regular basis. In the past we've tried, raw egg, cottage cheese, boiled chicken and rice. All have certainly made her more interested but I guess I was hoping to avoid the add-ins as a usual thing. And, come to think of it, adding those things didn't really seem to make her gain any weight. Maybe if I tried it as a regular thing for a continuous period of time, I'll see a difference. On a nutritional level, I'm definitely interested in the raw food diet. It seems like it would help her all around (Lucy, by the way, has fairly major allergies also, as well as loose stools). Our vet says she's "physiologically quirky" and insists "we'll get to the bottom of it soon." You wouldn't believe how much we've spent on vet bills already. Any idea how long it should take (of her eating about 4 cups a day) for us to see weight gain? Thanks again for your help. I love this website!
Thanks for your quick responses! We have tried add-ins but not really on a regular basis. In the past we've tried, raw egg, cottage cheese, boiled chicken and rice. All have certainly made her more interested but I guess I was hoping to avoid the add-ins as a usual thing. And, come to think of it, adding those things didn't really seem to make her gain any weight. Maybe if I tried it as a regular thing for a continuous period of time, I'll see a difference. On a nutritional level, I'm definitely interested in the raw food diet. It seems like it would help her all around (Lucy, by the way, has fairly major allergies also, as well as loose stools). Our vet says she's "physiologically quirky" and insists "we'll get to the bottom of it soon." You wouldn't believe how much we've spent on vet bills already. Any idea how long it should take (of her eating about 4 cups a day) for us to see weight gain? Thanks again for your help. I love this website!
Scrapper's Mom
Boxer Insane
Actually, 44 lbs for a nine month old Boxer doesn't sound that out of line to me. They can look pretty skinny when they are still in that stage in-between puppyhood and full-grown adult. My vet recommended that I start giving Scrapper a little extra "breakfast" in the AM to help put some weight on him when he was young so I started giving him half a can of Wysong 100 percent meat. That's where I mix in his Brewer's yeast, lipiderm or salmon oil and vitamins. He still looks forward to that every morning. The rest of the day, he's not a gobbler, more like a nibbler on his kibble. But I commiserate with you on the allergy problems. Boxers are very reactive to lots of things. The less additives in their food the better. What type of kibble are you feeding? It may be a food allergy.
4 cups a day, that's quite a bit of food - what kibble are you feeding?
You say she did show interest in the "add-ins" but you have not done it on a regular basis. And you say you are interested in a raw diet......
I don't feed raw or Barf per se, but do cook for my dog and give him a variety of very lightly cooked vegs, fruit, meat, fish, dairy, eggs. From what I know of a raw or BARF diet....you are going to have to deal with "add-ins" anyway if you go to that method of feeding.
There are some premium brands that make canned food that is 95% meat and there are also frozen BARF-type food (usually have ground bone) that you can try.
But it sounds like you have other problems going on if you're dealing with allergies. Do you know what she's allergic to and how do those allergies manifest themselves? Digestive upsets? Yeast infections in the ears? Chewing on her feet?
You say she did show interest in the "add-ins" but you have not done it on a regular basis. And you say you are interested in a raw diet......
I don't feed raw or Barf per se, but do cook for my dog and give him a variety of very lightly cooked vegs, fruit, meat, fish, dairy, eggs. From what I know of a raw or BARF diet....you are going to have to deal with "add-ins" anyway if you go to that method of feeding.
There are some premium brands that make canned food that is 95% meat and there are also frozen BARF-type food (usually have ground bone) that you can try.
But it sounds like you have other problems going on if you're dealing with allergies. Do you know what she's allergic to and how do those allergies manifest themselves? Digestive upsets? Yeast infections in the ears? Chewing on her feet?
Karen&Chris
Boxer Booster
We had a similiar problem with our boxer puppy. She was uninterested in food, loose stools, and skinny--ribs and spin showing. It wasn't until we started treating her for Irritable Bowel Disese (vet diagnosed) and home cooking for her that we saw a difference in her stool and weight.
Originally the breeder had Lucy on Purina kibble. Then I switched her to Precise. The vet now has her on IVD (Innovative Veterinary Design) vegetarian kibble. Lucy just doesn't like kibble. The breeder told us that in order to avoid Lucy being a picky eater, we had to always pick up the food bowl if she walked away from it. Well, she's definitely a finicky eater and I'm picking up the bowl and putting it down constantly! She seems more interested when I add Natural Balance canned food (about 1/3 cup) to her kibble so I've been doing that, although it goes against the vet's interest in her being on a vegetarian diet. He thought that would lower her threshold for allergic reactions. Lucy is definitely not a consistent eater... sometimes hungry in the morning, sometimes not..
She's is allergic to the Leptosperosis shot, redwood bark, moldy wood (we had some in our woodpile) and a little bit to grass. She's gotten several severe cases of hives and swolen face. I've rushed her to vet emergency 3 times since we've had her! Poor thing! Unbelievably through all this, she's such a happy little sweetheart. Thank you for your food suggestions! I appreciate hearing, also, that someone else experienced a skinny puppy with ribs and spine showing. Maybe it's just a puppy thing, who knows? Thanks again for your help!
She's is allergic to the Leptosperosis shot, redwood bark, moldy wood (we had some in our woodpile) and a little bit to grass. She's gotten several severe cases of hives and swolen face. I've rushed her to vet emergency 3 times since we've had her! Poor thing! Unbelievably through all this, she's such a happy little sweetheart. Thank you for your food suggestions! I appreciate hearing, also, that someone else experienced a skinny puppy with ribs and spine showing. Maybe it's just a puppy thing, who knows? Thanks again for your help!
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