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Why isn't my boxer puppy growing?

Hi everyone. Ok. So my husband finally found a dog he was willing to get for us, only problem was that she was 5 weeks old and already weaned from her mother. I knew that was too early, but we took her anyways. We’ve had her for about three weeks now. She refuses to eat anything other than dry, crunchy dog food. She’s probably doubled in size from when we first got her, but that was in just one week. So now, we’re surprised to see that she hasn’t seemed to grow anymore. She feels about seven pounds. Her body’s very round, but you can see all of her ribs and the bones at the top of her hips. I’ve tried feeding her more, etc. but she doesn’t seem to be getting any bigger or fatter. And a friend of mine saw a boxer of the same age three times her size. I’m just worried that being taken from her mother early has stunted her growth or something. Any suggestions?? Thanks!

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Answer #1

Well, dry kibble is better for her than canned dog food…if it is a good quality food (ie NOT Benifil, or a generic brand)…and her poop isn’t runny or slimy…then her health is probably good. Large breed pups shouldn’t be fat (roly poly)…Is this pup a registered pup? If not, t may be a crossbreed, or a throwback to a smaller breed in it’s ancestrey. However she should have grown quite a bit in a 3 week period, even if she’s small (don’t compare this dog to other dogs…the breeding is not the same).

Boxer puppies, until they are about 18 months are notoriously thin…they simply burn off most of what they eat, and the rest goes into growing.

If it were my pup, and I was worried, I’d take it to the Vet and see if there are any metabolic issues happening…and a health check.

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Answer #2

It could be that she wasn’t getting all the nutrients that she was supposed to get. We also recently got a puppy that was (without our knowledge initially) taken away from her mom to young.

What we do is to feed her 3 times a day, give her raw egg in the morning over her food and we got some bob martin puppy vitamins and a protein powder supplement for dogs that we give to her. She is really coming along well and gaining some weight. So maybe it is worth a try.

Also some boxers just are smaller than others and females smaller than males. So that could also be the problem. furthermore it’s only been a few weeks, give her some more time. She should eventually grow up.

Answer #3

if shes not eating her dog food mix it with a little bit of water so its softer

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