You need to feed that dog

[DragonflyBoxers]

Body types

Originally posted by Boxerpal1
You know, until this post, I really hadn't thought about the different body types or how people classify them.

Being involved in resuce, I notice that there are definitely different body types. It seems that most of the older lines are more stocky, short and solid. The newer lines seem to be very leggy and dished and not nearly as bulky. When I took my Ceasar to a trainer (a long time boxer fan) she mentioned how different he looked physically. She went so far as to say that she thinks the AKC will eventually break out the breed - American Boxer and ? Boxer. When I take the Boyz walking, most people don't even realize that it's the same breed.

 

[Aimee]

Re: Oh ya...

Originally posted by MacFish
I told her that I thought hers looked too skinny and she said it was because she fed the BARF diet. She said that it helps build muscle and doesn't add fat. I don't know if that is the case or not but if it is, I don't think I will feed BARF anytime soon. I don't like the skin and bones look!

I have dealt with both weight extremes at my house. Baxter was overweight and it was always a struggle to get him to his "ideal" weight on kibble. Since he has been on a raw food diet, I am able to keep him at 75lbs without all the fuss because I can regulate everything that he eats. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Lexi. We had a heck of a time keeping weight on her and she is going on 6 years old. A raw diet has helped me be able to bump her weight up to the 55lbs that she needs to be and maintain her there because again, I have complete control over the variety that I feed her. I have found feeding raw to have numerous benefits and very few drawbacks. It isn't for everyone but I thought I would offer my experience incase you ever decided to look into it

 

[Aimee]

Re: Body types

Originally posted by DragonflyBoxers
When I take the Boyz walking, most people don't even realize that it's the same breed.

I get the same thing! Some people recognize Baxter straight away as being a Boxer and ask if Lexi is a mix and yet others recognize Lexi as a Boxer and ask what Baxter is Baxter is shorter and stalkier and Lexi more leggy and thin

 

[DragonflyBoxers]

Re: Body types

Originally posted by Aimee
I get the same thing! Some people recognize Baxter straight away as being a Boxer and ask if Lexi is a mix and yet others recognize Lexi as a Boxer and ask what Baxter is Baxter is shorter and stalkier and Lexi more leggy and thin

LOL I find that older people recognize Kid as a boxer and the younger ones think he's a pit. Very strange!

 

[Snork]

I can sympatise. I'm having a horrible time keeping weight on Geoffy. The vet and the people who are knowledgable about boxers all as one tell me that he is in good weight for his body type (he is tall, lean and leggy), maybe a little on the skinny side, but good for his leg (he just had an ACL repair surgergy). At the same time, even though he is on 5 (yes, FIVE) cups of Solid Gold a day, I get comments on the street all the time about the "starved dog."

Unfortunately, BARF would not work for us because he is violently allergic to beef.

I'm learning to ignore the idiots, although sometimes they still get to me.

-snork

 

[Laura Poplin]

Well, Daisy got spayed on Friday and the vet said she was overweight and I should start feeding her adult dog food rather than puppy food. So Lily's food won't be a problem any longer, since she will be back on adult also.

I've learned a lot from your posts. It's good to know I'm not the only hearing comments about my dog's weight. Thanks for posting!

 

[Jaelle]

Unfortunately, BARF would not work for us because he is violently allergic to beef.

My dogs are on a raw diet and don't eat beef very often, it's not needed. What it's needed though is a good variety, but that can include a lot of meat, white and red, but no beef, like chicken, guinea fowl, duck, turkey, emu, venison, lamb, pork, horse, etc...

 

[Emulous]

Originally posted by Snork
At the same time, even though he is on 5 (yes, FIVE) cups of Solid Gold a day,

I give Charlie 3 cups a day of Nutro but he always seems hungry. He always gobbbles up his food in about 10 seconds. Should I feed him more? I can see most/all of his ribs but he's only 5 months old. He does have alot of muscle though.

Emulous

 

[SuzanneC]

I would MUCH rather see puppies a little on the slender side than fat. Especially with large breed puppies, too much energy when they are growing causes their body mass to increase faster than their growing bones can handle. This dooms them to degenerative joint disease when they get older. If more people would pay attention to how much they feed their puppies and realize that a skinny Boxer is not an underfed Boxer, our dogs would be better off in their old age. It's nice to see such a large group of people DOES understand this :D Hooray Boxerworld!

 

[sashamom]

Sasha eats at least 4 cups of nutro a day.....we just switched her from iams to give her some variety....not to mention she gets lots of table treats as well....chicken, beef, steak and she loves fruit! Our vet along with several of my clients who are in school to become vets have all said that boxers are a lean breed and it is really to their advantage as the hip dyplasia becomes a problem later on!! I think most people are just not used to such active dogs!!!