Dogs are great pet companions, loyal to their owners and very loving. In homes that have a dog as a pet, they are often looked after and treated as though they were a member of the family. There are many breeds of dogs, and each breed has its own specific characteristics and requirements when it comes to taking care of them. Boxers are large, strong dogs with a muscular build. Unlike other breeds, they eat more as puppies than they do as adults. In this OneHowTo article we'll explain how much to feed your boxer.
Puppies up to 6 months old
Once weaned from its mother, your Boxer should start to eat solid foods. To begin with, decide if you're going to feed it dry or wet food, as both are suitable for Boxer puppies. However, dry food is usually the most recommended by veterinarians because it has a lower risk of deterioration and provides more nutrients in more concentrated amounts. Having said that, sometimes Boxer puppies need to adapt to solid food gradually after weaning and, in this case, can eat wet food until they reach three months.
The quantities that you should feed a Boxer dog up to six months are greater than for an adult dog, given that adult dogs have a tendency to put weight on easily and this breed needs its ribs to always be visible. In addition, Boxer puppies are very physically active, so they need more food than adult dogs.
Until three months old, a Boxer dog should eat four times a day; from three to six months, this should be reduced to three so that it gradually gets used to it. This way, from weaning to three months old, you will feed your Boxer puppy 80 g of feed (wet or dry) at every meal, so that it eats 320 g in total per day. From three months up to six months old, the total quantity per day remains the same but is given three times instead of four times a day, meaning that you'll feed it 100 g at each meal.
Adult Boxers
Once your Boxer dog reaches six months old, its diet needs to change, and you should make sure that its food is composed of 40% meat, 50% vegetables and 10% carbohydrates. At this point it should be dry rather than wet food so that its teeth develop correctly. The amount to be given at every meal is reduced to 80 g and you will only feed your dog twice a day.
Once your Boxer reaches a year old, you can prepare its food yourself as long as you take into account the following: all food should be cooked and should not have added salt. Some items are completely off limits; you should not feed them any chocolate, potatoes, legumes, spices, your leftover food and pastries or sweet things under any circumstances. In addition, it becomes more difficult to measure the quantities, which should remain at 80 g at each meal, twice a day. It is therefore a better option to keep with the dry food in the specified ration of nutrients (meat, vegetables and carbohydrates) and feed it 80 grams in the morning and 80 g at night.
Food supplements
Once your Boxer dog is fully grown (from six months old, at the very least) you can supplement its nutrition with fish oils or flax seed oil to make its coat shine with health. You can also give your dog treats to help with training, provided that it was hard and treats are given in moderate amounts so that your dog is not consuming too many extra calories on a daily basis.
If you want to read similar articles to How much to feed my Boxer dog, we recommend you visit our Pets category.