Expert: Renee Cox - 6/9/2008

Question
I'm buying a Full Blooded White Boxer off a lady and it's three years and and the boxer is a rescue dog. And she has told me that she is really skinny. I fear for the dog and when it gets here I want it on some type of dog food that will give her all her nutrients but also make her gain weight. If you could and respond to me as soon as possible it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Answer
Hi Courtney. What kind of food is the dog on now? And has the dog been wormed lately? Hook worms will cause a dog to lose a lot of weight, so will tape worms. Make sure the dog has been properly wormed, and find out what kind of food she's on right now. If it's not a very good food, you may want to think about Dog Chow, or Iams. There are a few really good foods out there right now. Some people don't like Dog Chow, but it's what I've used on my almost 13 year old Boxer since he was an 8 week old puppy. He's always done really well on it, and is never skinny. :-) Eukanuba, or Iams is also a really good food. There's also Purina Pro food. What ever you switch her to, do it slowly as it it can cause stomach upset. And remember, some Boxers are just made slim. They won't put on a lot of weight no matter how much you feed them. Good luck!