Hey guys,  I'm new to this forum but am a veteran in terms of Husky ownership.

I've had my 6 year old female Siberian "Samantha" for 4+ years now, and have recently been having a hard time getting her back to the physique she should be.  She weighs in the low 50's, but she's a bit of a runt so 50lbs looks really heavy on her.  Unless it's raining, I walk my girls 8.5 miles/day, 4.25mi before dawn, and 4.25mi after dusk so it's cooler for them.  Sam's daughter, my other dog, is half Siberian/half Carolina Dog and doesn't have the same weight issues (please don't lecture me on breeding/fixing, she was pregnant when I rescued her, unbeknownst to me).  I feed them both 1.75 cups/day, spread over two feedings.  They were on a salmon/sweet potato food, but I switched to a weight management formula that isn't making a difference after 3-4 months.  I'm considering stepping up to a good grain-free food, but have read that it could cause already overweight dogs to gain even more weight.  We've walked over 700 miles since Jan. 1st, so there's really no reason she shouldn't be able to get back to being super trim.

I'm looking for recommendations for food/diet changes?  Please note that I am a full-time student, so I can't afford to pay more than $60 for anything smaller than a 30lb bag (i.e., Blue Buffalo Wilderness is not in the budget).  Thanks for any advice!

Have you taken her to the vet to make sure there isn't a thyroid issue or something else that is causing the weight issue? Obviously you are not overfeeding and under exercising.

Have you tried different feeding amounts to see their effects?

My boy is at his ideal weight at around 48-50 lb and he will blow up like a blimp on more than 1 cup a day. Frankly, I am amazed at the amount most other huskies his size size can eat on a daily basis. I know if my boy ate 1.75 cups a day he'd blow up and would retain excess weight, maybe your girl is similar.

I am not sure how kibble works vs raw food and dogs vs cats but we found out we were feeding our one cat not enough food and that was actually causing her to not loose weight. We upped the amount of food to what was recommended and she has probably lost about a half pound since then.

wpskier222 wrote:

Have you taken her to the vet to make sure there isn't a thyroid issue or something else that is causing the weight issue? Obviously you are not overfeeding and under exercising.

No, I moved recently to go to school and haven't been Vet shopping in the new town yet.  The thyroid would make sense on the metabolic rate, but neither her energy level nor her coat seem any different (I mention this bc hypothyroidism in humans causes brittle hair and increased fatigue).

Huskyluv wrote:

Have you tried different feeding amounts to see their effects?

My boy is at his ideal weight at around 48-50 lb and he will blow up like a blimp on more than 1 cup a day. Frankly, I am amazed at the amount most other huskies his size size can eat on a daily basis. I know if my boy ate 1.75 cups a day he'd blow up and would retain excess weight, maybe your girl is similar.

I'm considering trying different feeding amounts.  We've somewhat recently switched from one large feeding per day to two divided ones.  I'm honestly afraid to feed her any less, given the level of exercise.  Unfortunately, we're in an apartment so she needs that much exercise to keep from getting too wound up.

lepp1892 wrote:

I am not sure how kibble works vs raw food and dogs vs cats but we found out we were feeding our one cat not enough food and that was actually causing her to not loose weight. We upped the amount of food to what was recommended and she has probably lost about a half pound since then.

This actually makes a lot of sense...just like with people, if you exercise a lot while dieting your body will slow down the metabolism.  The ironic adage "you have to eat more to lose more" might apply here as well.

Check for thyroid. It doesn't always cause issues with coat and fatigue. It often presents itself in weight for dogs.

Yes, I know all too well about thyroid issues.
When I adopted my boy, he was 115 lbs. 9 months later, we took off 40 lbs. Since then (2012) he has maintained 70 lbs.

We checked his thyroid, and he was borderline, so my vet decided to put him on a very low dose of thyroid meds, and when he lost 10 lbs, we took him off.

He stands 26" tall and is now 3 weeks from his 9th birthday.

As Megan stated, thyroid issues don't usually present themselves in energy and coat as Storm had every bit of energy as my female, and although his coat was coarse when we adopted him, within a month of getting him on a better diet, his coat completely changed.

He now gets 1.5 cups a day, split in two feedings. (My female, standing at 22" tall, 47 lbs, gets just shy of 1.25 cups a day)

I started with 3 cups of food a day, which is what he was getting. I then transitioned 1/4 c of dehydrated food in place of the dry and reduced the dry by 1/8 c. Because the dehydrated food makes more 'volume', this filled him up the same, even if he was getting less food. I slowly transitioned his food to 1/2 dehydrated and 1/2 dry. At one point, I had him on a senior food because I found it to be less in calories like a weight management food, but higher in protein content. As I reduced his food, I had to still create bulk without adding as much calories, so I added green beans.

Our exercise would consist of about 1.5 miles of walk a day, and on the weekend, about 2x a month, we'd go for a hike - not even a long hike.

So you have the exercise, but I would slowly reduce the amount of food. I would also look at a senior food vs. weight management food, and adding some kind of bulk like green beans as you reduce the volume of dry food.

Great point about the green beans. My parents have a very large golden that was also overweight. Last year, at 12, he started having hip problems and they had to slim him down. My mom was only feeding him 2 cups a day (I'd estimate he weighed about 95 lb, and should be 75), so she switched him to senior food and added 1-2 cups of green beans a day. He has definitely lost weight and his hips are much better.