fattening up skinny dog

shamanen16

My boxer, Baxter, has always been a little on the skinny side. When he was a puppy, the vet said he was just so active that he can't keep any fat on him. Now he is two years old (still very much acts like a puppy), and he is still REALLY skinny. His ribs are very visble and his shoulder blades and hips stick out. His backbone also shows. Strange thing is the muscle he does have is very tough. The vet has looked him over and done different test and says he's completely healthy, just skinny. He suggested feeding an extra meal, but he doesn't want it. He's just not hungry for more it seems. His behavior is normal so nothing to suggest an illness/disease, no worms, plenty of exercise. I don't know what else to do. The only thing I've noticed different is that he goes to the bathroom almost twice as much as my other boxer. Is this just a high metabilism? What can I do to fatten him up a little? When people see him, they think I'm not feeding him enough.

ScentHound

Recipe I use

Can get expensive

1 cup her dry food
1 can of high end canned food
3 eggs
1 cup of fatty hamburger
a couple of glops of Peanut butter
some unflavored molasses

Mix together and Feed as needed.

Proof it works, I had her on this diet for about a month after she was through her Parfo. Then weined her back on her normal diet.
Missy before


Missy now

Brittany

My Boxer was very skinny when we adopted him but he had diarrhea all the time. He went to the vet twice and had fecal exams done and they came back fine. The third one showed he had Whip Worms we treated that and after three days his diarrhea was gone. About 2 weeks later he had gained 6 lbs. I did a little research on Whip Worms and apparently the Whip Worms don't always show up on the tests so it usually takes multiple tests for the Vet to figure out it is Whip Worms.

I am not sure if this could be the reason but I thought I would share my experience.

What types of tests has your vet done?

shamanen16

Hi ScentHound, thanks for the tips. I put a boiled egg in his food tonight and he loved it. I've heard of giving eggs before but didn't know how to cook it. I figured boiled couldn't hurt. lol I know he will love the other ingredients.

Brittany, I'm not sure what kind of worms he was tested for. The vet tech told me they did a fecal flotation and a heartworm test. He's been tested twice for each and both came back negative. Is there a different test they should do for whip worms? He has not had diarrhea. In fact it all looks quite healthy. Sorry to any squemish ppl, but I've even poked around in it to make sure nothing looks "off." All seems fine. I'll attach a picture of Baxter. I'm new to this so I hope it works.
-Baxter is the bigger dog in these pictures. The smaller one is Roxy. I know she looks a little overly healthy, but she's not the problem. We've only had her for two weeks now, and this has been a constant problem for Baxter. I have to separate them for dinner time to make sure she doesn't eat all of his too.

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Mikey

Gosh he does look really skinny-I can see his spine!

Do you have unfaltering faith in your vet?

If your vet has done two tests for worms, and shrugs his/her shoulders and sends you home with a dog that skinny-I'd look up other vets. They should not only be testing to see what the problem is -but imo giving you a feeding plan to get the weight back on.

If your vet thinks worms are not the issue-he/she should be looking for the issue-whether it's medical or food-I think it was irresponsible to test for worms and not give you any other guidance.

I would REALLY REALLY suggest you find another vet.

fawkese1

he does look skinny...have you mentioned whip worms to your vet? sometimes you need to be specific like that... i believe that they have to do a different test for them, but i've never experienced them before...
what type of food are you feeding him? you mentioned that he goes more than your other dog... are his stools loose? what is his appetite like?

Brittany

You said he was 2 right? My vet was super concerned when I brought Kimber but because he was adopted from the shelter was pretty sure he would put weight on quickly. After he was treated for Whip Worms he gained and is still gaining. But he was really skinny like your dog. I could see all of his ribs and I was really concerned. I would ask your vet to test for Whip Worms and if that is negative I would take him to another vet for evaluation. It is okay for dogs to be skinny but you never want to SEE their ribs.

Gone2Dogs

What kind of food are you feeding? I know the boxers I know and board are all poopers unless they are on nice food. Any grocery store crap and they are a mess. I would find some top quality diet that works for him. It may take a while but if he won't eat quantity I would try quality.

PappyMom

Has your vet done any blood work? Could be a diabetic thing, a kidney thing, or just a picky eater thing..

We only had our Pei for 7 months BUT he battled his renal failure for years before us. He often lost weight, gained weight, and lost weight again.. Rule out renal failure and diabetes..and then try to up the protein in your dog's diet. Boxer's are a muscular breed. He could probably really benefit from the extra protein.

Until you have ruled out other diseases, get yourself a tube of nutri-cal. It is a yummy, gravy like substance that is pure calories. It worked wonders for us, and I will forever stand by nutri-cal. We always have a tube in our fridge.

Once you've ruled all the rest out, make the food more interesting. Crack a raw egg over his kibble for breakfast.. I've had dogs that have done well gaining weight back on with a bag of puppy food instead of adult food. Same brand, just puppy. Puppies require more protein, so ultimately the food will be higher in protein and calories.

And the dog's favorite source of protein? Fill a kong full of peanut butter and freeze it. He'll be entertained for hours and he'll get lots of nutrition.