Vet says boxer puppy will be abnormally small

Question
I have a 13-week old male boxer puppy I bought from what I believed was a reputable breeder in Alabama. I took the puppy to my vet, and he seemed concerned about Jackson's size. At 12 weeks (when we went to the vet) he weighed in at 14.5 pounds. He is now 13 weeks, to the day tomorrow, and weighs 15.8 pounds. My vet said he will likely be a 40-50 pound dog, and was fairly adamant that he will be "very small." His parents are both fairly large boxers, certainly well within the normal range. I've put him on higher quality food (Science Diet, at the vet's suggestion) in an effort to put some weight on him... he's pretty skinny. He stands about 14" tall. My question: Is it possible to conclusively determine what size he will be at just 12 weeks?

As an aside, this dog was not the runt of the litter.

Answer
No, you can not determine his adult size at his age.

The old adage about the size of his paws is more an accurate determining factor of his "size."

If his paws are good sized, then he should grow into them.

12 weeka is only 3 months old. That is extremely young.

If you are concerned for his size and weight, feed him a proper high protein diet. Science Diet is sold by vets in order to make money-- that's why they recommend it.

Although it can be purchased at PetCo and maybe PetSmart now, it is not the best diet for a Boxer.

I prefer Blue which is expensive. Or a reasonable all natural puppy and adult food is Diamond. Google Diamond (dog foods) and it has a store locater for you to find the nearest dealer.

Google all natural dog foods Online or go to your nearest PetCo (I think they offer all brands and the best) and read the ingredients.

You do not want corn, corn meals, and any by products. Boxers are sensitive to those.

Chicken and Lamb with brown rice ingredients are perfect, and offer him Lamb and Rice too for a variety. Most dry foods have an equal in a wet food (cans) and you can mix it with the dry once a week for a wonderful treat.

Speaking of treats, you also need to select an all natural doggie treat- no crap ingredients (pardon the expression)...

A wonderful homemade treat is easy:

Flour, smooth peanut butter, a dot of garlic powder and water to mix. Use a cookie cutter or roll the dough in little rolls, and bake. These are delicious and even you could eat them. All natural.

I don't use a measuring recipe, but maybe a cup of flour, as much smooth peanut butter as you'd like with a dash of garlic powder, and enough water to make it into a dough. I usually flour my hands to roll them, or flour a sheet of waxed paper to lay the dough out on and roll with a rolling pin flat to use a cookie cutter.

Also, try another homemade meal:

Cook lean ground beef in a skillet with water. Do not brown up crispy, but soft and cooked. Add a dash of salt and garlic powder (no garlic salt) and cook up brown rice and baby carrots (cut up for a puppy) and mix all together and store in the refrigerator. Off this warmed (micro wave is okay-- but test it so it's not "hot" please) and add to his dry food mixed.

Chicken can be used for this as well. Skinned, white meat. Cut and shred tiny so he does not choke. No bones please!!!!! Puppies devour their food fast because of fighting litter mates for food and they won't grow out of that until 6 months old or so.

Feed him canine replacement milk once or twice a day besides his fresh water at all time. Hartz makes a powder to mix with water. Store refrigerated.  Of course the pet stores offer it too and other brands, but the Hartz brand (and that's the only item I'll use of Hartz) is usually in the pet isle of most grocery stores. Check and see for your convenience before making a trip to the pet store and paying higher prices.


Also, offer him PLAIN (not fat-free, but regular) non-flavored yogurt. Mix it with his puppy food once a day too.

They love plain yogurt, and you can usually buy your grocery store's generic brand cheap.

You can also add a can of tuna packed in water (no oil) to his puppy food, and also canned white, chicken meat. This is high protein and healthy and natural. It will help him gain weight while maintaining his health.

He should gain weight within a few weeks.

Try this and let me know in about 3 weeks. Your boy will fatten up and be healthy as a lark.

He should inherit his parents size. If he remains small, get a Boxer-savvy vet that will do a blood test on him to check his thyroid. They usually do that at 7-12 months old, but puppies can inherit it from mama. Mama's owners might not realize she has thyroid if she does....

It's better to be safe than sorry.