[Blue32007]

Blue is almost 11 weeks old now, and we just took him to the vet for his second round of shots.  He only weighs 10.4 lbs.  You can't see his ribs, but he is very muscular.  I look at all the pictures on here of puppies his same age and most of them totally out weigh him.    I'm just wondering if we should up the amount of food we give him each day.  He is probably eating about 1 1/4 cups of dry BilJac puppy food a day.  Let me know what you think.  I don't want him growing too fast so that he develops hip problems later

 

[boxerbaby18]

Was he the runt of the litter?

 

[JessiesMom]

Blue reminds me sooooo much of Jessie... She was so skinny when she was that age, it scared the crap out of me....

you could see all her ribs.... i hated posting pictures of her because I felt like people would think that I was starving her...   I'd say give it a few more weeks and see how he's doing.

 

[Blue32007]

No, there was actually a puppy smaller than him.  When we brought him home, they had told us he was 8 weeks, and neither of us did the math till after we picked him up because we were so excited to have him.  When we brought him home he was about 5 weeks, and weighed 4.5 lbs.  He was skin and bones, I kept weighing him for the next couple weeks to make sure he was gaining weight.  And it doesn't seem like our vet knows much about Boxers, because she has no advice for us.

 

[JessiesMom]

This was at about 9 weeks old...

 

[Newcastle]

If you can't see his ribs, then it's not likely that he's too skinny.  You actually want to be able to just see the last few ribs in an adult Boxer; puppies commonly go through various stages where they're either 'walking skeletons' or their skin is just hanging off of them, but neither condition should linger for more than a week or two.  Really, you want to go by condition rather than weight; Boxer puppies all grow at different rates, but as long as he is active, eating well, eliminating normally, lean but without hips and spine being prominent, then he's right where he should be.  (A little too thin is much better than a little too fat, as well.)

 

[samsonsmom]

Moms start weaning at about 5 weeks, but Blue could have missed some important nutrients by being removed so early...I wouldn't panic yet..If you are not happy with your vet tho, I'd start shopping around for another that may have more knowledge about boxers.. I dearly miss the vet I had in Calif, he was extremely knowledgeable and kept himself current on new practices...Hard to find, but worth the time and effort in locating....If you are not seeing ribs, that's a good thing by the way..Boxers go thru a growing spurt and he very well may catch up!!

 

[Blue32007]

Thanks....  To me he looks perfect!  He is super cute, and runs around like a crazy man.  I just wanted to get some opinions to make sure we aren't doing anything wrong.

 

[mom2scoutandgunner]

Scout was the runt of the litter.  The breeder told me he was a little guy with a big attitude and OH YEAH he was right.  He has always looked on the thin side to me but everyone tells me he looks just right.  

I think Blue looks great!

 

[Mastray]

I think he looks great! If anything is "wrong" with him... it's just that he is the runt of the litter... which doesn't really mean anythings wrong with him. Also... he got taken from his mother pretty young but I don't think that will have SERIOUS affects on him. I have seen two different types of boxers... kind of short legged and stalky... or thick.... and tall and slender. I truly think the shortlegged and thick ones are runts of the litter... that's what some one normally tells me when I see one like that.

For now I wouldn't be to worried... he looks great!

 

[southerngirls]

First let me say i LOVE the pic!! Isnt he just the cutest thing with that bulldog!! as for the weight i think he looks wonderful. I wouldnt worry to much right now. easier said then done, but keep us posted on how his weight is going. at 16 wks reese was at 20 or 21lbs so he seems to be on track, atleast with how much Reese weighed. She is going through some of her tall and skinny phase though, so she looks really lean right now.

 

[boxerlove]

We got our Teaki at about 5 weeks, the litter was large and the mother no longer nursing, they didn't have good conditions where she was so we wanted her out of there.  She was small average sized and plump like a puppy but still small when compared to our last puppy.  We got him at 8 weeks and he was so much bigger than Teaki at that age.  I think it all depends on the puppy, Ziggi went through stages where he had lots of extra skin hanging.  He is also much longer than Teaki.  I think if he is playing, has plenty of energy, etc. and eating well just keep an eye on him and see how he does.  If things change or he loses weight then make sure you get him checked again.  Our vet has her own boxers so she is very good at keeping up with them, if you can find a vet that has more experience that might help too.

He is cute as a button!