Lhasa Apso Q&A

I am fostering a 1 year old boxer, she is very well behaved but I do know she was left abandoned for a little while, and she is somewhat bony I can see her ribs and her spine poke through her fur, is this common in young boxers?When do females fill out? Ive been feeding her puppy food to get some meat on her bones but am wondering if I should switch to feeding her wet and dry food, she doesnt like the puppy food. What should I do?

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Answers (2)

You can still see my three year old female's ribs. Seeing the spine isn't good. Because they are naturally so lean, I was told to stand them up and if you can see a little belly, then they are okay. I took mine off of puppy food at one year. I'm big believer in just trying several different feeds to see which one they respond well to. Luckilly mine loves cheap dog food. Have you tried worming her?


I have a male boxer who was pretty skinny until he reached four - people still say that he looks skinny as you can see his ribs, but my vet has advised that this is how a healthy male (or female) should look. Before my boxer put on weight when he was four, you were able to see his spine and, sometimes, his hips. I broght him to the vet regularly and the vet was not very concerned. As long as you see a vet regularly, and there are no underlying health conditions, I think your dog should be fine. Some people are a bit skinny sometimes also! My liil guy didn't seem to like to eat as much as other dogs and was not treat motivated (he still is not) so to encourage him to eat I would by gravy to pour on his food or occasionally put bacon or bacon grease into his food. This was just done occasionally and is VERY fattening so I wouldn't recommend it for a dog that is of normal weight or overweight. It sounds like you can try this if you dog is not eating her meals. My boxer is perfectly healthy though, and has filled out so only his ribs show a little and the vet says he looks great. Many dogs are overweight these days. My boxer loves to run and then, after running fast and hard has an increased appetite - I suggest encouraging your boxer to have daily runs - off the leash in a big fenced in baseball or soccer field is great (at night when no one is around is my favorite time to do this- just be sure to pick up afterwards). Have you let her play with other boxers? try exercise to increase her appetite. good luck and dont worry about it if the vet finds her to be healthy.



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