Help!

We have all needed help in the past.  We will all probably need help in the future. This is where you can ask for any kind of help regarding Boxers.

Comments

[Sharon]

Greetings Fellow Boxer Lovers! I adopted a 4 year old female white boxer from BRLA last September. I was aware that boxers have sensitive stomachs; but my baby gets diarrhea often. I've taken her to the vet with a feces sample and they've done an organ screen--everything is fine. I give her Nutro Lamb & Rice Meal kibble and canned meat. But sometimes she does not want to eat her food. I swear she must get bored of it. So I have added cheese, rice, home cooked beef to her kibble. But Everytime I make a slight variation to her meal she gets serious gas and diarrhea. I have fasted her and given her pumpkin puree to help her feel better. Oh and I have since lifted her bowl from the floor to help reduce the gas. Please help! Any ideas/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Kerry Andrews]

First, I'm not an expert but it sounds to me like your changing her food ALOT. My advice would be to pick a food and stick with it. Give her at least two weeks to adjust to the diet. This means NO table scraps NO variations. If in two weeks try another food. Try to remember that when you have a belly ache you don't feel like eating either put her food on the floor for 20 min and if she doesn't eat pick it up and try again tommarow or in the evening if you feed her twice a day.

[Chantelle]

Hi there!

My boxers sound very similar to your girl. From what I have found boxers are often allergic or have sensitivities to both beef and lamb. Try switching her to a kibble that uses venison or fish. I find my boxers do very well on these foods with less gas, poor and tummy upset. Natural Balance, Frommes, Go Natural are all some examples. These cost a little more but you tend to feed less so in the long run they are about the same. Pumpkin is always a great thing to add as it helps with an upset tummy. If she does have a tummy ache try using a couple of feeds with just rice, pumpkin and you can add a little cottage cheese.

[Barbara Schwab]

Hello,
I would like to tell my fellow Boxer Lover's about my Boxer Boy Drac . He is 12 years old. About a year ago I noticed his right hind leg wobbling as he walked. After many different evaluations, [Xrays, meds., etc] he was diagnosed with DM [Degenerative myelopathy]. A neuromuscular disease that attacks randomly. It is most prevelant in German Shephards. However no breeds are excluded from this terrible illness. I live in an apt. upstairs, which has made it very difficult for Drac and I. His right leg has gotten progressively worse over the last yr. and he can barely walk . The stairs are the most difficult. His front legs are so strong. He still acts like a normal super loving and happy Boxer, with a voracious appetite, and the same stubborn and mischievous nature our dogs are known for. he is in NO pain, as this illness is not one associated with physical pain. I use the "Bottoms Up" leash to get him up and down the stairs. It has been very challenging on my back.I give him vitamins, glucosamin, flax, etc. Many people have told me that I should put him down because "When they get like this" it's just too hard. Well, it's very hard, however I choose a "different quality of life" than "No life". Drac now has a great Wheel Cart, and when I take him to the park in it, he runs around just like he did before he contracted this illness. I know having a handicapped dog is really tough on us, mainly because of the "Bathroon " problems, however, we somehow manage. I just wanted to know if anyone else is in a similiar situation, or knows of any Boxers with DM, that are dealing with it as I am. Thank you, and Bless all of you for all that you do for our best friends.Love, Barbara & Drac

[Sonia Johnson]

Hello Fellow boxer lovers! My husband and I rescued Hogan from boxer rescue in August of 2004. He has had bouts of diarrhea and gas, but not too bad. We have been using Natural Balance dog food since we brought him home. It works really well. We don't feed him table food, but give him occasional treats, which natural balance sells also. It is a bit pricey, but I want only the best for Hogan. When Hogan has had serious bouts of diarrhea, our vet recommends giving him Immodium AD to help his stomach. It you go to www.onlynaturalpet.com, they sell alot of natural products and gives advice to use natural remedies. I hope this helps.

[Nancy Cross]

I rescued a beautiful boxer girl, Whitney in July. She had severe leash aggression but we have worked thru it. I have had many big dogs but she is the first "really" dominate dog I have ever had. I believe we both have finally agreed that I am the pack leader. May I have your opinion. What is the best way to introduce two dogs? With my other dogs it just happened??? Your advise is greatly appreciated.

[corey]

for dogs w/sensitive stomachs: our female boxer has colitis as well. it seems to come & go, i notice it more on long walks & lots of excitment, new places etc. when her's acts up i put pumpkin in with her kibble. i have also done the cottage cheese. i like yogurt though because it has all of that good bacteria (the acidophilus/ bifidus) in it to help coat the intestines & stomach. i have been told i could even just go get the powdered acidophilus/bifidus (at the health store)& sprinkle it on her food. also, i'm sure you know, but when you switch food start adding a little of the new to the old, gradually increase until it's just the new. we have been using the natural balance but are in the process of switching to avo derm the formula for sensitive stomachs. it's supposed to be good for the skin & coat & has all of the good fatty acids. our white boxer has really prickly hair & some patches are very thin & some are very thick & tufty & yellowish. does anyone know what this is? our vet just said that is his coat, nothing to worry about.

[George Taylorson,]

I have a male boxer that has Myasthenia Gravis which is now in remission. We have been facing a big decision concerning Buddy. We took him to our vet for another problem which is now corrected. While there the vet said he had a mild heart arrhythmia and wanted to do an ECHO and put him on medication. He has been doing great, but we did not have the Echo done on him for his heart arrhythmia, ($400) nor have we started him on the medication the doctor prescribed for him. The medication along with his Myasthenia medication would cost us over $300.00 a month. In that he is doing well now, we are trying to decide if we need to pursue with the a fore mentioned. Any input you could give us or any advice from your specialists, would be greatly helpful. Can he live a long life under this condition and what are the chances of doing so? Thanks

[Kim]

Sharon my guy did the same thing until I switched him to Canidae ( I think that is how you spell it) It is pricey but I mix it with Kirkland dry so it lasts longer. No more problems...good luck

[Judy]

Hi,
We adopted a female boxer, Harley, in August, '06. In late February of this year she started losing hair on both sides of her body. The vet did not run any tests (although he had run blood tests for something else which turned out fine). He said he believed it to be "seasonal bilateral alopecia" which is common in boxers. The skin where the hair fell out is dark. There are a couple of spots now on her back near her tail. Supposedly, the hair usually grows back in a few months and sometimes repeats itself. The areas do not bother her at all - no scratching, etc. It is believed this fall out is due to lack of sun.
She does spend days inside sometimes when all of us are at work. Does anyone have info about this? Thanks!

[Janice Gould]

My male Boxer is 7 1/2 - he is the best dog I have ever owned, but we have a major problem when we go for walks - he sees another dog and just about pulls me off my feet to get to the dog - its not out of aggression, he is not a fighter, but he just wants to get to the dog. I have tried every type of collar known to man, and the only thing that I use with some success is having a small water bottle on me that I mist him with when we are passing another dog, just to distract him so I can get past the person with the dog.
Any recommendations? I have a pinch collar, but he yelps when I use it and I dont want to hurt him.
thank you all
Jan

[Doug]

The pinch collars is suppose to be uncomforatble for them and is built to curb the problems that you are having. The dog has learned that when it yelps, you remove the collar, it wins the game. My suggestion is, put the pinch collar back on and when it starts to pull, one quick yank and make it sit until the other dog gets by, you let the dog back up, it wins again. This is about total domination of the dog and by the sounds of things, you do not have the upper hand. Rememeber, dogs are smart and anytime they win, you lose.

Doug

[dawn rudio]

My female adopted boxer was full of mange and kennel cough. We put her on dern caps es with vitamin c minium 2000 per day. a great skin & coat formula made for pet depot, cottage cheese, yogurt and salmon. In just six weeks her hair is full and shiny and has not had a single recomended dip that we were told she would need ! I think the diet and derm caps are marvelous !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Kerry Andrews]

Nancy,

I don't know if you've already adopted your second dog but wanted to share my experience. We have an aging female dominate boxer and wanted to adopt a second. From past experience she was very dog aggressive and we were ver concerned about bringing a second dog into our home. We contacted boxer rescue and they had us bring her and our two children with us. We took turns my husband and the boxer rescue staff each took a dog and I trailed behind with the two kids. We would then switch. It took us hours to find the right dog. We were suprised to find that our dominate female choose the hulking very intimidating male with dairhia and mange not to mention NO ears. All I can say is that you should trust boxer rescue. They take the time to make sure its a good match. It wasn't the easiest transition but know he is a big lump of love.

Hope this helps
Kerry

[Jennifer]

Our boy Luke is a very fussy eater. He also has a very sensitive tummy. After about 20 mins. of eating his kibble, he would get weird head shakes for about 20 to 30 seconds. We took him to 3 different vets which resulted in 3 different answers. After doing some reserch we decided to switch his food. We tried all sorts of different foods. Some of them were very high grade organic kibble and very expensive! Our last resort was switching him to the raw diet. Since doing so we haven't had a head twitch and his tummy is not as anywhere near as sensitive. We don't feed table scraps or give him raw hides. During my research I learnt that raw also controls Colitis for dogs.

[Concerned Boxer Parents]

We have a three year old male boxer. He is neutered and in excellent health. When camping six weeks ago, we let him (& his sister) off leash to run & play as only boxers can... When we returned to the motorhome we noticed his limp. We visited the vet and he was placed on an anti-inflammatory along with "no" exercise for two weeks. Upon completing his round of meds, his limp remained so we returned to the vet where he underwent sedation for x-rays. The vet feels he has a slight tear and placed him on the same anti-inflammatory meds for 14 days and "no" exercise for three weeks. If his limp remains the vet advised surgery will be required... The surgery is called TPLO. Any comments - pros or cons - regarding this procedure would be greatly appreciated. He and his sister have always excerised together, daily runs and walks. He no longer joins her in the runs or walks. He is allowed only a five minute walk per day. He weighs 84 lbs and she weighs 58. Other than boy vs. girl we can't explain the size difference as they eat the same food (no people food allowed) and exercise the same amount. He is an active dog. Any advice would help tremendously!!! Thank you.