My Skinny Zoey

[Kfett]

Hello my name is Karl and have had my first Boxer Zoey for almost 4 months. She is very tall and seems to never fill out. I have had her checked for worms and they say she is fine. I feed her Iams smart puppy proactive food. she is never short on energy and runs at least 200mph. She eats very well and never misses a chance to eat my cheese nips which i dont mind sharing. Its seems to me she is very skinny and i was concerned something isnt right.

It may be nothing other than a rambuntious pup burning it off as all my neighbors say. I have also been told it isnt unusual for a Boxer to be thin until they are older. she seems to show no problems at all. She acts and plays very normally well maybe more than normally shes a handful.
Am i reading to much into her thinness or should i be concerned. like i said the Vet says he sees no problems but I prefer input from real Boxer owners. If you browse over to funny pics. in the Photo gallery you can see my Zoey. That pic doesnt really show how thin she is but I will post more.

Thanks for any advice or Input.
Karl

[BxrMommieNAZ]

If you do a search on this topic here you will find hundreds of posts on this. The first year boxers tend to grow upward, the second year they fill outward, so it is very normal for a boxer pup (especially at your girl's age) to be very lanky.

With that said, I would highly encourage you to look at other food posts here and check out Dog Food Analysis - Reviews of kibble and choose a healthier and more nutritious food for your girl as Iams is about the equivilent of you eating McDonald's all day everyday and nothing else. Obviously not healthy nor nutritious. I would definitely recommend a higher quality food. I would also advise against sharing things like cheese nips, they're not good for you so why get your dog introduced into something that isn't good for them? Choose healthy treats for your pup. Not to mention there are loads of things in them that are allergen triggers for dogs. It's best to keep the human snack foods and non healthy items for your human family members and not share with the dog for a variety of reasons.

[Caney Creek]

Ditto on the above post. Boxers are a lean breed, and boxer puppies (under 2 years of age) are especially lanky. If your pup is healthy and still has plenty of energy, I highly doubt that her being thin is anything to be concerned about. I have a white female who is 2.5 years old now and is filled out very nicely but as a youngster she was skin and bones, especially before she was a year old. I don't have any pictures in my gallery of her at that age that really show how thin she was, but you could see all of her ribs at any given time. And, I swear that her being white made them even more obvious

[Kfett]

Thanks alot for all the info I was worried. After looking at the galleries I see alot of the younger Boxers that look thin just like she is.

I will also look into better food for her I always thought Iams was the good stuff. I am guessing science diet is about like Iams so i will read some post and get the good stuff.

again thanks for all the info.
Karl.

[BxrMommieNAZ]

Originally Posted by Kfett

Thanks alot for all the info I was worried. After looking at the galleries I see alot of the younger Boxers that look thin just like she is.

I will also look into better food for her I always thought Iams was the good stuff. I am guessing science diet is about like Iams so i will read some post and get the good stuff.

again thanks for all the info.
Karl.

Dog Chow, Ol Roy, Science Diet, Pedigree, Iams, Eukanuba, Purina One (anything made by Purina), Beneful, Kibbles N Bits, etc are all about the same. Good rule of thumb, if you can buy it in a grocery store, pet store (minus 3 foods at PetCo and 1 at PetSmart), or discount store (ie Wal-Mart, Target, etc) then it's garbage and find something else.

The dog food analysis site is very helpful, you will want to choose at least a 4 star food from there.