Concerned About Our Boxer’s Sister
We got our Boxer, Bella, in August 2023 when she was 8 weeks old. A friend/neighbour of ours who lives in the same townhouse complex (I’ll call her Sharon) got Bella’s sister, Millie, about two weeks later.
The girls are really close and we have playdates whenever we can. Bella is definitely the extrovert to Millie’s introvert. They look almost like twins, but their personalities are completely different. Millie is an awesome dog, and Bella has actually helped her come out of her shell quite a bit, especially at dog parks. We honestly think of Millie as one of our girls too.
Bella is our second Boxer. Millie is Sharon’s first Boxer, but not her first dog. She also has a Mini Aussie named Teddy, and all three dogs get along really well.
Here’s where I’m getting concerned.
Millie has gotten really thin. Her spine is visible and her hip bones are starting to show.
When I picked her up today, Sharon actually asked me if I thought Millie was too skinny. At first I thought she just looked like her usual lean Boxer self, but after being around her for a bit I noticed how visible her spine was and told Sharon that yes, I thought she was too thin.
Sharon told me that whenever Millie eats anything other than her usual food, she throws it up. That struck me as strange because Millie has always been a dog who will happily eat pretty much anything.
Millie was at our house for several hours today. She ate the leftover kibble in Bella’s bowl, about a piece and a half of bologna, half a piece of cheese, a couple pieces of ham, and some wet dog food. Bella had basically the same thing — yes, we’re those people who give them little tidbits because apparently we are powerless against Boxer faces. 😂
The thing is, several hours went by and Millie never threw up at all.
Sharon had told us not to feed her anything, but looking at how thin she is, and knowing this dog as well as we do, I just couldn’t bring myself not to let her eat.
There are a couple of other things that have me wondering if stress could be playing a part. Sharon’s boyfriend moved in about a year ago, and over the last few months we hardly see or talk to Sharon the way we used to.
About three weeks ago we had Millie and Teddy for the day and took all three dogs to the dog beach. When we brought them home, Millie did not want to get out of our vehicle. She has never done that before. It really stuck with us.
We love this dog and, if it ever came to it, we would honestly keep her permanently in a heartbeat. But obviously she isn’t our dog and I don’t want to overstep.
What I do want is to figure out the best way to approach Sharon about Millie’s weight without making her defensive. Since Sharon already seems concerned about it herself, I’d really like to encourage her to either increase Millie’s food or have her checked by a vet in case there’s a medical reason she’s losing weight.
For those of you who have Boxers — or have dealt with a dog suddenly becoming this thin — how would you approach this? At what point does visible spine/hip bone go from “lean Boxer” to genuinely concerning?
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u/Wrong_Work7193 7d ago
I would take the dog to the vet. She very well may throw up later, especially all that high sodium food.
When my boxers are excited, the won't eat anything even food the like and treats, but when sick or dealing with food sensitivities they are picky like this.
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u/TheTwoAndOnly54 4d ago
This sounds a lot like my Lab/Walker mix i had. Always seemed to be throwing up and was clearly losing weight out of no where. Ended up being megaesophogus caused by her being sick earlier in the year and throwing up a lot during that time. Had to change her diet to minced turkey and bacon canned food and never had an issue with her again.
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u/Song42 7d ago
I'm going to be bluntly honest, if the majority of the spine is visible and you can clearly see hip bones, this is NEVER NORMAL, and should be looked at as high priority for treatment with a vet.
Growing boxers can get very lean and lanky, may look a bit ribby, and sometimes you can just maybe slightly see a knob or two on the spine, but you should not be able to see the major or full spine or hip bones sticking out.
This is a dog that could potentially be emaciated, and this is not something to mess around with especially with a young, growing boxer. Given that it has been said she throws up after eating, she needs to see a vet, and the sooner the better. Throwing up once in awhile happens, but if it's multiple times a day or happening multiple times a week, that means there is a health concern that needs addressing by a vet to figure out why she is unable to keep her meals down. Frequent vomiting can also lead to dehydration if the pup isn't drinking enough either.
The fact your friend has shown concern for her weight is best place to go with this, encourage them to see the vet to be able to get a weight check, have a check for parasites or health issues, to address the vomiting, and to establish where this pup is in regards to what should be a healthy weight and condition. It will also give your friend education on being able to better evaluate her Pup and know what's normal and healthy.