9 weeks and 5.5 pounds

Question
My family is proud to have a new member. George is a male 9 week old boxer
and was the runt. His brothers and sisters were double his size. We have had
him for a week and he has only gained 0.4 pounds-he was 5.1 pounds at his
8 week puppy shots. The vet assures my family that he is healthy and that
most boxers are a bit ribby as puppies however I am a little concerned. The
vet also said that he is tall and that may give him the appearance of being
thin. He has a healthy appetite, no worms, and sleeps and plays well. Am I
just a nervous sibling or is he too light?

Answer
Sorry Stacy but without seeing him the only thing I can do is go along with what the vet has said.  .4 pounds in a week is a good amount to gain...little weight gain or loss in dogs is normal, it's humans that pack on 10 pounds at a time.  :)

What you want is for him to be healthy...try not to obsess on his weight.  Yes, Boxers are a bit ribby as they're growing.  They spend the first year growing 'up' and then the next year growing 'out' (gaining muscle mass).  

I, too, have a runt that weighed 12 pounds at 12 weeks.  :)  He grew up to be a very healthy boy, albeit it just a tad under the standard in height and weight.

You want to be careful that you don't overfeed him and try to put too much weight on him.  A true runt has a smaller bone structure than his siblings and you'd be doing more harm than good.

If you can send me a few good photos, I can look at them tomorrow and tell you what I think.

Nicole@boxerdogplanet.com