Adopting a Boxer mix: Is 41 lbs normal? What about leg/eye health?

Zeus might be suffering from a medical condition causing him to lose weight, possibly intestinal worms, food intolerance or an intestinal disease. i would recommend taking him to your vet in order to try an investigate this issue.

This is hard to answer without photos of the puppy, but if you have concerns about the health of the puppy I would inquire if the breeder is willing to take this puppy to his local vet to have him examined and then request a copy of the medical records from that visit. That is unfortunately the only way you will be able to know that kitty is healthy enough for adoption. You can also ask that the vet test Naughty for intesitnal parasites. Intestinal parasites are the most common cause of low weight in puppies. There really is no other reason for an underweight puppy except for malnutrition (not feeding enough food), which the breeder should know not to do. If the puppy is just small (runt) but considered to be a normal body weight (Body condition score) by the vet, then there are no major concerns with adoption Naughty. Keeping all these things in mind you should be able to come to an informed decision on whether to adopt this puppy or not. A good breeder would know to feed the puppies enough food to encourage proper growth, and also to deworm the puppies routinely to prevent intestinal parasites from robbing them of their nutrition. I hope that you are able to come to a decision soon regarding Naughty! Best wishes and take care.

He actually doesn't appear to be underweight based on the pictures shown. I'd have to examine him to be sure, but the biggest indication that he is not underweight is the fact that he appears to have well-developed muscles. Dogs of this breed tend to be naturally lean and put more weight on their muscles rather than their ribs, or belly. If I was concerned that he was underweight, then I would first want to rule-out a disease, or parasite causing him to lose or not gain weight. It's best to have a veterinarian evaluate him, so you can ensure he's healthy and ensure that you are not going to feed him unnecessarily. Dog obesity is a big problem in the U.S., which means that the average person thinks a fat dog is at ideal weight; and a dog with an ideal body condition, or a lean body condition is thought to be starving. The truth is that the lean dogs are statistically healthier and live longer than overweight dogs. Some dogs (much like people) are able to naturally maintain a lean body condition. Leo is one of those dogs, but would urge you to have a veterinarian examine him to make that call. Below is a link to a body condition scoring guide. This is what veterinarians use when assessing whether a dog is overweight or underweight. We prefer them to be at a BCS of 4 or 5, but some are naturally at a 3. https://www.wsava.org/sites/default/files/Body%20condition%20score%20chart%20dogs.pdf At this time, I recommend feeding him normally and would not recommend a diet change until he can be evaluated by a veterinarian. I hope that helps and all is well with Leo.

He is very cute! Congrats on the adoption. Frequently, these rescues may have a low grade illness. The stress of transport and a new home can cause a worsening of symptoms. Since he is "new" to you, have him examined by your veterinarian to diagnose and treat any pre-existing conditions. Consider blood work and a fecal exam to make sure the weight issue does not have a serious underlying cause. At the very least, he will get a clean bill of health and you can likely chalk up the symptoms to the stress of transport and a new home. Monitor for other signs such as coughing, vomiting, diarrhea or a loss of appetite. It may take him a few days to settle in.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Jax is adorable!! Thanks for the pictures! I think his eyes look normal. I tend to see puppies with droopy eyes occasionally get red conjunctival tissues especially when tired. And sometimes after excitement. If he develops squinting or abnormal eye discharge then I recommend your Vet examining the eyes. I wish you the best!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! He is very handsome! I recommend a high quality diet that is hypoallergenic which may help him such as Science Diet z/d or Royal canin ultamino. Both of these are of great quality and also are well-tolerated. If he is 56 pounds like the profile says, he should eat about 1,000 calories per day. That caloric information of the food should be in the back of the bag of the diet you choose. Good luck and have a great day!

Hi there. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I think that based on the photos Bruno looks very characteristic of a 5 month old GSD. I am not really sure what you are worried about. I would not be overly concerned about anything related to his looks until he is full grown (about 18 months of age). You absolutely don't want a large breed puppy to grow too fast as that can cause joint abnormalities so be careful of this. He should be eating a large breed puppy food so I hope the Royal Canin you are feeding is this type of diet and not just a general puppy food. If you have specific concerns I suggest you take him to your vet for an exam. Again, I think he looks just fine from the photos. Best wishes.