[DeutschHund]

I am dog sitting for my friend,a beautiful 2 yr old husky. My friend was only feeding him once a day,which is def' not enough as the dog is a little skinny.

I have been feeding the dog once in the morning and once at night,but it does not seem enough. So how often should I feed him?

I am not new to dogs,but the dogs I am used to are beagles and they did fine with 2-3 feedings a day.

 

[Kathyy]

Your idea of good body condition and your friend's idea may be different. I like my dog to be lean and I would be very upset if I came home and my dog gained weight because he was being fed more food more often. Please feed the dog exactly the way your friend told you to feed him.

 

[Niraya]

Huskies don't need to eat as much as others dog. Many husky owners only feed one-two meals per day. Theyre a very lean breed. Don't feed the dog more than what his owner feeds him. Your friend may be (is probably) more experienced with Siberians than you are as not every breed (or dog) is the same. I'd be really upset if I left my dog in a friends care and found out they didn't follow the schedule for her. I know my dog better than anyone else . Think of it like that.

 

[Nil]

What makes you think the dog is too lean? Do you know how much he weighs? Siberian Huskies should only weigh between 35lbs and 60lbs. Can you see ribs? You should be able to feel them easily without too much pressure but you shouldn't see individual ribs popping out. Where does he stand according to this scale?

http://vet.osu.edu/vmc/body-condition-scoring-chart

I'm a fan of thin to moderate. If he is either of those he is perfectly fine. If he is emaciated, then that would be a problem.

 

[Sibe]

How often =/= how much. Once a day for a 2 year old is fine. How much does she weigh now? How much food is she getting? Can you post a picture? You might think the dog is too skinny, but it might be fine. Can you see all of her ribs? If you can't see ribs she's probably fine. Often you can see the last rib or two when a dog [husky] is at a good weight.

When I rescued Kaytu, a husky, she was too skinny (pic on left). Now she's perfect (on right).

This is my other husky, also a perfect weight.

 

[Donna5503]

I've had dogs my whole life & I've fed every breed only once a day after their 1st birthday. They all lived long, happy & healthy lives. I now have a Siberian Husky. I also feed him once a day. I've read up on Huskies alot, and every different articles I've read all say the same thing.....that Huskies don't eat that much, in fact, some days my guy will not eat. But from what I read it is common of the breed. I agree that you should not change the Huskies schedule.

 

[DeutschHund]

My friend is actually a little uneducated about a lot of things,dogs included. I may not know a lot about huskies,but I know more about dogs in general then my friend. But the reason I wondered about his feeding schedule is because his ribs and spine were showing and he seemed too skinny to me. I will get a picture up soon. He seems way skinnier then any other husky I have seen. My cousin also has a husky and he is not as skinny as this guy and is not overweight either, my cousin's dog looks healthy.

My friend visited the other day and is not mad that I have been feeding him more,in fact he said "least he has put on a few pounds", which makes me believe he knows the dog is too skinny too.

Thanks for the input though.

 

[DeutschHund]

How often =/= how much. Once a day for a 2 year old is fine. How much does she weigh now? How much food is she getting? Can you post a picture? You might think the dog is too skinny, but it might be fine. Can you see all of her ribs? If you can't see ribs she's probably fine. Often you can see the last rib or two when a dog [husky] is at a good weight.

When I rescued Kaytu, a husky, she was too skinny (pic on left). Now she's perfect (on right).

This is my other husky, also a perfect weight.

The dog's ribs are showing like that first picture,sticking out a little more then that and his spine is also very visible.

But the dog also has worms (see my other post) and that may have something to do with it.

 

[Niraya]

You should then try and educate your friend about the proper care of his dog . If the dog isn't a healthy weight and looks healthy by the next time you see him, call animal control and they can give your friend a nice warning and come back for a recheck to make sure the dog is getting properly fed.

 

[Sibe]

Maybe he's also not feeding a food that the dog is interested in? Or are you continuing to feed what he was?

 

[WasChampionFan]

My good friend is a very well known short distance racer with 25 dogs in her kennel in NJ. She feeds her dogs 2-3 cups of Annamaet Ultra per day during training. She uses another Annamaet formula in the off-season so they don't gain weight.

Huskies are very thrifty eaters.

 

[malamutelove]

I have known also huskies/malamutes to be picky eaters. Maggie gets fed only once a day. Well I am trying to get back into the raw diet. She get 3-4 cups of dry dog food and 1/2 can of wet. I depends on how much the dog is getting, not how many times a day,