Just worried she's too thin...

[sesua]

Hi everyone,

Jayda is 15 lbs at 9 weeks, but she looks so thin to me. I know many of the posts say you should see 1-2 ribs but it seems I can see all her ribs and she has a very indented waist. She always seems so hungry. Would you please take a look at these pics to set my mind at ease?

She was at the vet today and seems she has colitis (small drop of blood in stool; no diarrhea). Vet did not say she was underweight or otherwise unhealthy. Stool sample was normal. Now she is on bland diet for few days and I was told to feed only 0.5 cups twice daily (along with some meds - antibiotics, dewormer, antacid). Before she was eating almost 3 cups total over 3 feedings (Blue Buffalo dry and Avoderm wet mix). Now she's really gonna starve?

Any thoughts?? Thanks for helping...

http://i671.photobucket.com/albums/v...a/b2e249e4.jpg

http://i671.photobucket.com/albums/v...a/895c572b.jpg

http://i671.photobucket.com/albums/v...a/b1da6165.jpg

http://i671.photobucket.com/albums/v...a/c72482db.jpg

Erica

[Caney Creek]

Originally Posted by sesua

I know many of the posts say you should see 1-2 ribs but it seems I can see all her ribs and she has a very indented waist.

You should be able to see the last 3 ribs in adult boxers, but boxers are much MUCH skinnier as puppies. I remember being able to see nearly all of Caney's ribs when she was a pup, and occasionally a little of her hips and spine (the parts you're really not supposed to see) depending on how she was sitting. She had a good appetite, plenty of puppy energy, and no health problems. She filled out eventually without us having to change her feeding regimen. It's just a stage they go through.

It sounds like you're feeding her the right amount. The bland diet that the vet prescribed does seem like very little to me, but I have no experience with colitis so that might be a necessary part of treatment. Hopefully someone else will be able to give you some more insight on that. You might want to call the vet back about it too, it might be OK for you to gradually increase the amount over the next few days or so.

If she had worms that would explain why she has been so hungry all the time even though she's been fed. Worms can also cause colitis. Maybe this round of medication is just what she needed. I'd just wait and see if those issues have improved once she's off the meds and bland diet, and back to her normal routine.

[kayboxer]

Your pup doesn't look too thin to me. Olive looks like that, well, she is a bit heavier now that she is 6 mo. old, but she DID look like that. I agree with Caney, the vet's diet does seem a bit lacking in amount, but I am definately not an expert. That is only one cup of food daily? I don't know how a pup could survive on that, they use so many calories growing and playing that just doesn't seem right. What about going to raw food or home cooking? I know, for many people that just isn't an option, but it is supposed to be good for colitis. Just thought I'd throw that in there.

[sesua]

Thanks for your replies. I'm glad to hear that she is not too thin and looks healthy. I am very relieved.

I did call the vet back and she said it was a misprint about the amount of food. It should be fed in the same amount I have been feeding regularly. So that's good. I hope that this does the trick and she feels better. So far no more blood in the stool. So it seems to be working fine. She definitely likes to eat. The stuff is thick and clumpy and still she devours it. I'll be glad when I can get her off it. I'll look into the raw food diet as well.

Thanks for all the advice!

Erica

[Skywalker]

What a beautiful girl!! Since we have had our boy we have been worrying about his weight as we have always been able to see his ribs and hips and most recently his spine also. We have had him checked out numerous times and he is fine and actually pretty heavy! Knowing that boxers can be a bit lanky when they are young we have put it down to him growing so fast as all his weight gain has gone into his height etc. We feed him the top amount for his weight and he is now starting to fill out (he is 11 months) so it looks like we can now see less of his ribs and his spine is disappearing. So I'd stay stick with it if shes been checked out etc it is probably just her growing and as for being hungry they can get hungry when they are having growth spurts.

Good luck

[sesua]

Thanks for your advice and your compliment! (Luke Skywalker - I like that!!) It's nice to hear that others are experiencing the same things in their dogs so I now know that she is doing perfectly fine. Yes she is definitely growing fast. I guess we may have to wait a year or so for her to fill out. Then again she may stay lanky forever... We will wait and see. As long as she's healthy I am happy.

The diet is going ok. She likes the bland diet just fine. (I mix it with a little bit of Blue Buffalo so it won't be much of a switch to get her back.) Her stools are really nicely formed too. But I know she can't stay on it for very long. Maybe this should be for the feeding forum so I'll go ask about it there.

Thanks again!!

Erica

[LILYLARUE]

I think she looks perfectly fine! Lily was always getting attention and I was always getting those "looks" like I starved her to death. She filled out a little by 6 mos and then at 1 year she filled even more!

They say boxer's grow tall the first year. Grow thick the second and then grow their brains the third!

[Daisy Doodle]

Originally Posted by LILYLARUE

They say boxer's grow tall the first year. Grow thick the second and then grow their brains the third!

LOL! Too funny!

[Abby Angel]

Jayda looks good to me. She is still very young and has alot of filling out to do. Beautiful baby! They go through their stages just like kids do even that silly lanky stange. You have nothing to worry about, you have an adorable puppy there.
__________________________
Marie~mommie to:

Maggie~fawn/whit flashing
12/16/08 Rainbow Bridge
Abby~brindle/white flashing
DOB 12/21/08

[sesua]

Thank you for the compliments! Listening to all of you now I know she will be just fine...