My Siberian Husky Is Too Skinny?

[WhiteWolf]

I have a 6 month old siberian husky female. She's so particular when it comes to her dog food, she will starve herself for days no matter what we do for her. We have tried MANY dog food brands that were highly rated (and expensive lol!) We would keep her on the dog foods for awhile.

Shes just so skinny and doesn't look like your typical husky because she has short hair and is extremely lean..

Is there any kind of food I can give/make her that has a ton of calories?

Thanks!

[Jase]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

 

Puppy foods are generally more calorific so that will be your best bet if you want to stick with kibble. Origen and TOTW are very good ones, but I don't know what you have tried so far.

 

See this link

 

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/best-dog-foods/best-puppy-foods/

 

There are some excellent freeze dried foods on the market that you add warm water to and they will reconstitute to a good meal - these are generally more expensive than kibble.

 

I would personally be looking into feeding prey model raw or BARF and including things like lamb flaps which will add calories.

 

Best of luck with finding a suitable food for your lovely girl.

[NOBELHOWLUC49]

I have just recently started Noah on raw feed…. I think if he had to take one more mouth full manufactured food he would of gone on hunger strike, completely…. Raw feed diet is not something I have ever tried and still finding it a bit daunting (Week 1) but he now is excited about his food. lots of helpful tips on this forum if you are not sure… 

[Emma]

Also it's worth keeping in mind that at 6 months old all huskies tend to look a bit skinny to some extent as they're growing rapidly upwards but not yet starting to fill out (this usually happens sometime after their first birthday).  On the forum, we refer to it as their lanky teenage stage, lol. 

It can be hard trying to find a food that they'll eat religiously as they're notoriously fussy eaters.  Eat like a horse one day and turning their nose up the next!  Good luck . 

[SnowDogLove]

On the forum, we refer to it as their lanky teenage stage, lol.

I refer to this stage as "the uglies" although I never really think they're ugly, it's just funny to look back at them at that age and realize how much prettier they've become. [emoji39]

[SnowDogLove]

As for your food problem, I know I wouldn't be able to afford doing a raw diet with all 4 of mine so I stick my guns with kibble, which I guess they've never had an issue with anyway but I digress. You may be doing more harm than good by trying all these different types of foods, she's going to get the idea that she gets to be choosy about her food and you start losing out on the pack leader demeanor. The best thing I've ever done for mine, because Cara can be a picky eater sometimes, is pick a good quality food that you want her to stay on, puppy food in your case, and give her about 30 minutes to eat it. If she doesn't, pick it up and put it away. When she gets hungry enough, she will eat it, it's not in these dogs nature to starve themselves, as long as she is otherwise healthy. Huskies are a naturally slim breed and don't require as much food as other breeds their size, and eventually she will fill out more. But take a look at her parents also, were they uncharacteristically thin?

[MollyCharly]

I think it is very common for puppies this age to be skinny, or leggy, or lanky.. My boyfriend think Molly looks like atat from Star Wars.. see photos below for similarities :-) 

if you can weigh your pup every week, you can then chart the data, you should see a steady growth every week but it does slow down around 7-8 months depends on breeds some earlier too. It shouldn't be a big deal how much the pup is gaining, but it should be steady growth from birth. My dogs are raw fed so their growth are slower compared to their siblings, but eventually they will all reach the supposed mature size, Charly did, and I am not too worry about Molly either, her chart has just started to slow down at around 7 months old of age, she was gaining about 700grams each week prior to this. When Charly was a puppy he gained 500grams every week un to maybe 6 months old so I think it depends on breed/size too.

 

 

[WhiteWolf]

Thanks for the tips guys, I will give these a try! We are trying a raw food diet, but I'm not sure if shes getting the nutrients she needs

[jmscott]

It's better for a growing dog to be underweight that overweight. Be careful about what you may be told is a 'healthy' weight, most pet dogs are overweight. There's a great FB group for fit, healthy dogs, I think the name is something like "No, Its Not Starving - Fit Healthy Dogs"

 

 

For raw so long as she is getting the correct percentage for her adult weight, a good variety of meats, and the correct amount of organ meats, she should be fine.

[Markulous]

Can recommend Lamb Green Tripe (if you can get it in Toronto) as brilliant, not only for putting weight on the dogs, but also the dogs love it! Failing that, any not-so-good cut of Lamb will work really well. Much is made of the balanced diet and the answer is, in general terms, there needs to be some balance but there's plenty of the right ingredients in pretty much any raw food. Yes, a good idea to have a bit of this and that (like liver, heart, fish, etc) but no need to overthink the whole thing

I tend to point people to A Raw Start Explained on FB

[Joey.Zarly]

Some huskies are leaner, my Siberian Husky bitch Zarly (desexed) is a leaner type, has been all her life and she's 5 next month.





She's fed mostly a raw diet and she gets 1 cup of grain free dry food.

[Ohio4husky]

My boy is thin too. My vet says its because he's intact and otherwise very healthy, but i have to be careful what brush i use over his back so to me, he needs more weight too. He's a fussy eater deboot. He eats anytime i change kibble, but then after the newness wears off, it will sit for days at a time.

I too am taking the venture into raw. He happily catches rabbit and squirrel so his hunting drive is high, so I'm thinking raw will be much more satisfying to him.

[zannabianca]

My Vet says that in warm temp, they tend to have anorexia 

[Clare70]

My boy is a GSD x Husky and has always been very skinny though he would eat a whole sack of kibble.  Now he's reached 16 months he's starting to fill out, plus he's getting his winter coat.

 

As long as they are healthy they won't starve themselves

[zannabianca]

My boy eats 270g per day and seems still hungry o.O i should give him 150g, but he eats salad as well and apple, so he eats so much and he look skinny  

[sarahjng]

My Vet says that in warm temp, they tend to have anorexia

I will be the first to admit I don't know much about huskies, but there are members on here from all over the world, I've never noticed the ones from hot countries all have skinny dogs

  

My boy eats 270g per day and seems still hungry o.O i should give him 150g, but he eats salad as well and apple, so he eats so much and he look skinny

Are you sure that's the right amount ? It sounds a bit low to me.

[zannabianca]

150? dunno I read online that more or less an husky eat 150g per day. But i am giving him 270 now