Boxer not eating

kaaybeeh13 · 10-16-2011, 03:49 PM

I have an 11 month old female boxer. Her name is Shiva. I feed her Blue Buffalo puppy food. I try to get her to eat 4 1/2 cups a day. But we struggle with that. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions to get her to eat a little more. She weighs 40.6 lbs ( just stepped on the scale yesterday) I was curious if that was a good weight for her. Her sisters all are closer to the 50-57lbs range. Any tips? Thanks!

Ron · 10-16-2011, 05:26 PM

Have you tried other kibbles? Our oldest boxer is kinda picky when it comes to his kibble. He may eat it for a weeks, but then he'll stat sticking his nose up to it.

We found that he really doesn't care for kibbles with fish

other things you can do is make the kibble more enticing. Add things like an egg or cottage cheese to it.

Sometimes dogs are just picky eaters though.

Post pics of your pup, it will be easier for people to judge her weight better.

And welcome to the forum

kaaybeeh13 · 10-16-2011, 06:37 PM

This picture is a little bit difficult to see her weight. But you can see that she is small. This is from a couple of weeks ago.

superpimp · 10-16-2011, 08:25 PM

Try adding a bit of warm water to the food to make it more palatable.

kaaybeeh13 · 10-16-2011, 09:04 PM

I've done the water thing. It only works the first day or so then she's over it. =(

superpimp · 10-17-2011, 07:12 AM

Do you spoil her with human food at all?

purplelori · 10-17-2011, 08:58 AM

No help with the food issue--but LOVE the ear, she's a pretty girl.

Ruby Red · 10-17-2011, 10:30 AM

Wow, she is pretty! I feed mine a raw diet [raw meat and raw bones] - no one leaves anything around here.........Does she get much exercise? Sometimes dogs won't eat if they are not hungry, if they don't get out and get a good run, there is little to stimulate their appetite.

You can mix things into the kibble, but be warned you mgiht be setting yourself up for having to mixing human type foods in all the time to try and get her to eat it.

I do know how you feel, my last dog, bless her, I went through every dog food on the market with her - tinned stuff, kibble, got to the point where she wouldn't even eat cooked human foods ...............it was in pure desparation that I went into a pet shop and said what on earth can I give her, and thankfully the shop assistant told me about raw. I remember taking away a couple of frozen packs away thinking I bet she won't eat this either, well, how wrong was I - we never looked back from that day! poor dog, just wish I'd known about it sooner!

As well as being very pretty, she looks fine, boxer puppies can sometimes look on the the slim side, they don't really seem to fill out until they are around 21/2-3 years age.

JoeV · 10-17-2011, 01:13 PM

do you leave the food out all the time, like after she doesn't eat it all? if so, maybe take away the kibble after putting it out. then put out the food again at the next feeding time - no treats or anything inbetween. she'll learn she needs to eat when you put out the food or she'll go hungry. just a thought.

kaaybeeh13 · 10-17-2011, 09:21 PM

Thanks everyone for the compliments on the baby! Sure do appreciate it!

To answer a few questions...
She doesn't get human food at all.

I originally didn't want to free feed her because I work with dogs and have seen way too many over weight boxers and def. didn't want that to happen. But, since she wasn't eating too much I just started leaving it out because I didn't want her to go hungry.

I've never had a dog that I had to force to it. It's a little frustrating.

I was told about adding chicken or beef broth to her food. Any concerns I should be aware of on that?

I was also told about chicken livers in her food. Adds protein and will bulk her up a little bit? And.....will this cause her to have tons more energy on top of her usual?

Sorry to be a worry wart. Just would like to hear some feed back from fellow boxer lovers!