Emaciated Boxer?

Question

We found a boxer last night and we are going to keep him ( unless we find his owner), but he is very skinny and I need to get his weight up. What is the best way to do this( dont be cute and reply with " feed him", you know what I mean). I think he is about 9 months old.

We are going to take him to the vet..no question. Just to put you guys at ease.

is science diet good???

Answer 1

Feed him a high quality puppy food like Wellness. Feed him as much as he'll eat.

Answer 2

VERY SLOWLY! You will need to feed him small amounts 3-4x's a day. If he is emaciated I wouldn't look for his owner. Dogs don't get like this overnight. I would make appointment with the vet and draw blood to check his levels. Blood will tell you alot like if hes anemic which more than likely he is. It will tell you if his kidneys are failing, if hes severly dehydrated. I'm guessing since the dog made it to your house hes not as bad off as one thinks when you say emaciated. Can take about 6 months before he's his beautiful self again. One of my fosters was a emaciated boxer when I was part of boxer rescue. She was in bad shape but came out of it with flying colors and no ill effects. Its just always good to have them checked to make sure your not dealing with any underlining issues then just neglect.

EDIT** When looking at dog foods, you want your first 3 ingredients to be meat, not by products or grains. I am feeding my dogs and cats now WELLNESS adult! I have learned all this from my YA friends and now know whats good and whats not good. What ever food you decide just make sure its puppy kind for now!

Answer 3

The first thing as I guess you know is take to the vets for an exam and see if there is a reason for the weight problem.
It is important not to feed a skinny dog large amounts of food at one feeding.
Give no more than 1/2 cup about 4 times aday. I would also add boiled white rice and boiled chicken. Teh way I do it is get skinnless ,boneless chicken breast adn boil 2 pieces., as the chicken cools I add the rice and boil the rice in the chicken broth from the boiled chicken. This is very bland and should not upset the stomach much.
Please email me if you need help and I would love to know what the vet says.

Answer 4

Thank you for rescuing this guy. I agree,first thing to do is take him to a vet after you have contacted people in search of its owners. The vet can scan him checking for a microchip also. Young Boxers have a tendancy to look skinny. Hopefully this poor guy hasn't been starved or has parasites. The safeest way to add weight is to feed a high quality well balanced diet. Don't try to pack on the pounds quickly. Many Boxers have sensitive digestive systems. Also,over feeding will cause diarrhea. Add the body weight back on gradually and safely. Thanx again for helping this fella.

Answer 5

Since he is very skinny and he is a stray who knows when the last ate was so do not let him eat alot of food at one time. Feed him a good brand of puppy and feed 4 times a day about 6 hours apart. Puppy food is usually pretty high in calories and protein. A little peanut butter mixed on his food may help some, cottage cheese is good in protein-just be sure not to over do it. Be sure to take him for a check up at the vet to check for dehydration, parasites, etc. If he has parasites (worms) which all puppies do and if the previous owners didn't worm him he will have them and will not gain the weight he should. Thanks for taking the dog in, I hope it all works out.

Answer 6

If you're keeping him, the first thing you might want to do is get him checked out by the vet to make sure he's ok. Take in a stool sample so he can be checked for worms and treated if need be.

As for increasing his weight, just feed him a really good quality dry dog food (Canidae, Innova, Solid Gold, Wellness, eg). You want to put weight on him slowly. He's a large breed puppy, so you need to be careful not to damage his joints. Part of his emaciation could also be his age - he's going through the gangly stage.

Answer 7

bluebonnetgranny...that's not right to tell this person to just forget about the possible owner...that's mean...dogs get loose for many reasons...not always irresponsibility either...accidents happen you know. I would be upset if one of my dogs got loose and didn't bother to find the owner somehow...although I do have collars with id label on them for a just in case....if I were to find a dog in this situation, I would do what I could to get his weight up and put some fliers up around your neighborhood...don't put your address on the flier, just your phone number and just put Found Boxer Dog...and when people call make them describe the lost puppy...that way you don't get a bunch of crazies coming to your home trying to claim a free puppy...if the true owners come along...present them with the vet bill and make sure they reimburse you for it before turning over the puppy to them...if they won't...keep the puppy. I was in a simular situation once...my dog got out of his kennel over night and got out on the road...got hit by a car...some people saw him earlier in the morning and picked him up and rushed him to the vet then called me...he had a broken leg...they paid the vet so that he could get the care he needed...and presented me with the proof...I paid them and picked up my dog from the vet...if it wasn't for those people...my dog would have died out there on the road...and I thanked them and was very grateful. So please...do what you can for this puppy...but there might be a good explanation of why he was loose and lost...so try to find the owners at least by putting up fliers...best wishes.

As for food wise...I don't like science diet or iams...they are both mainly based on corn and animal by products....I feed my dogs Nutro Max....the first ingredient is Chicken....not corn and then chicken byproduts...but just plain chicken...I get the one for large breed puppies...it's better and cheaper than science diet...when vets suggest science diet or iams...it's because they are getting paid to promote that certain brand. What ever brand you get...make sure the meat is the first ingredient and not a meat by product.

Edit...Mo' I am right there with ya...I use to have a black lab that could chew through chain link and did several times...nothing could keep that dog in.

Answer 8

Kudo's to you for saving this dog.

Hills Science Diet is garbage food, as well as Eukanuba/Iams, Beneful, and ALL grocery store brands. The are full of fillers, by-products, dyes, chemical, etc. Stay away from them.

Go to the link below and see what is available in your area. Try to get something rate high. The ratings go from 1-6. One being the lowest and 6 the highest. They tell you the ingredients, the rating and why they gave it the rating.

I feed my dogs Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul because it's rated high and it's affordability and availability in my area. Not available at Petsmart though.

Good Luck in your search.

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews

Answer 9

in case you do not want to danger the soreness of having this dogs and dropping it to its criminal proprietors then the main obligatory element you are able to and the only good element to do is: touch the interior sight shield or aspca!! they are going to be attentive to the regulations on the subject of puppy possession, police are actually not legal experts! the shield could require which you convey the dogs in, persist with their instructions. once you turn him in ascertain which you fill out a sort to undertake him whilst he will become available, do not forget approximately this! if he's chipped the shield will touch his proprietors, the thought-approximately it rather is frightening, yet whilst he have been given remote from his proprietors they'll ought to pay the shield fines and consequences and that they have got a constrained quantity of time to %. him up. there are a number of, many canines in the shield that have been picked up as strays and by no capacity claimed. at the same time as he's there they'll supply him a vet examine, grant needed vaccines and neuter him if he isn't already neutered and if he isn't claimed (frequently 3 days) then you definately would be the 1st persons on the checklist to undertake him. and the cost of adopting him would be so under in case you took him to the vet your self which you will want to do besides!! then the dogs would be yours legally and whether he does have a chip you would be the criminal proprietors. his previous proprietors will now not have a criminal declare on him. then all you should do is have his chip registered on your call to guard him ought to he get remote from you! i double checked and a minimum of the place I stay turning the dogs into the shield and using for adoption is the only criminal thank you to possess a stray dogs, the waiting era is 4 days. they does not say how long the proprietors have in the event that they discover somebody with their dogs who would not persist with this technique. (i don't think of they want that to be an selection)

Answer 10

i agree with all of the above regarding feeding him small meals several times a day. and we don't know the extent of his "emaciation" however i always think my parents' boxer/lab mix looks too skinny even though she's fed very well, she just burns so much energy she never really gains weight. the vet said she's maybe a tiny bit underweight, but fell short of telling them to feed her more. anyway, we can see her ribs plainly even though she's the "picture of health" so keep that in mind. for a boxer with high energy, i'd be sure to give it foods high in protein and fat. especially considering the winter months are approaching. if you're in a warmer climate that's not quite as important, but the lab/boxer stays outside in the winter in MN so a little extra fat is no problem... if we could get her to gain weight, that is.

also, for those with negative comments about owners who don't take enough precautions to keep their pets in their care i'd like to ask if you've ever witnessed the determination of a golden retriever on a 2.5 acre plot just before a thunderstorm hit. Amber ran away numerous times, even after we fixed the fence (she'd find another week spot we didnt' know about), tied her on a long cable to another cable in the backyard, and put fencing on TOP of her kennel to fully enclose her. when a thunderstorm hit there was no stopping this dog who was fiercly afraid of them. she even tore a gaping hole in a basement door once (we were expecting thunderstorms but had to work so we thought she'd be better down there). this dog chewed through a tow strap (used for towing CARS), ripped the wiring out of a snowmobile trailer, broke a cable tied to a tree, and dug a 30 foot trench in the backyard. she also tore the tags off her collar several times. don't ask me how cuz i couldn't tell ya.

after we'd fixed all of the above and thought we had her contained, she got out one last time. it was easter, and because she didn't have tags i had to search for her. i found her at a vet around noon on monday. she had been hit by a car and had died. i thank GOD for each and every person who found her prior to that and called the number on her tags. i also thank GOD for the animal control person who happened to find her and pick her up on a holiday because otherwise i would have found her on the side of the road on my way back home after easter dinner.

recently found a stray cat that had been neutered and declawed and had a collar on so long it had rubbed fur and skin off it's neck (not a safety collar-shame). i put up signs all over the place and got nada. no idea where he came from, no tags, no chip.

the moral of these stories? always keep tags on your animals if they are outside or if they are escape artists (we called amber "houdini") and chip them if you can afford to (i don't know how much it costs). it'll hopefully save you some heartache if/when your pet gets out, despite your best efforts to keep them safe.

Answer 11

If he's emaciated be very careful about the first food you give him. You should take him to the emergency vet today if your regular vet is not available. If he has been starving and you give him solid food it could kill him. At least pick up the phone and CALL the emergency vet! They can advise you.