Some pics I took yesterday. Nero will be 4 months on Wed.

He's lost a fair bit of weight over the past week. Hopefully he will pick it back up quickly.

He looks perfectly healthy to me I wouldn't worry about him putting on much more weight if that picture shows him "thin"!

So cute!

Koda wrote:

He looks perfectly healthy to me I wouldn't worry about him putting on much more weight if that picture shows him "thin"!

He might look ok but he's lost enough now for me to be able to feel all his bones and joints. Not surevwhy he's had an upset tummy n vomiting but he's been ok today. It could be due to the switch in kibble but I've changed his food back to pedigree from purina which he gobbled up nicely. I started him on purina when I bought him and switched to pedigree about a month ago because he stopped eating it and it was giving him gas. He was doing really well on pedigree but I bought a purina 18kg bag again after a vet owned pet store advised against pedigree.

He's also been pretty moody today when sitting with me he's been nipping quite hard even after I yelp or smack him he comes in harder. He's never done that before today. I'll see how he is tmrw but the vet said see how things go, if problems persists bring him in after the weekend

A couple of things... switching kibbles should be done gradually. The cold turkey switch from one to the other back and forth could certainly have caused his upset tummy. Sibes have VERY sensitive stomachs.

Two- it could just be the kibble itself. A husky's digestive system should be rather efficient compared to most breeds, so whereas pedigree and purina are perfectly fine for most dogs, they don't do the job on a husky. A big reason they don't do well on them is the quality ingredients and the fillers used. Many huskies can't digest grains well, so most of us are on a grain-free formula. I don't know what's available in Australia, but I would check out www.dogfoodanalysis.com. The majority of us here feed a kibble that's 5*s or higher for that reason (as reference, both purina and pedigree are 2*s or below). Jenn and I are on Taste of the Wild formulas and are very happy with it, for example, and it's an all-life-stages food. Acana, Orijen, and Wellness all also come with puppy appropriate foods as well, I believe.

Third- as for the biting, I know it probably didn't start that way, but smacking him WILL only make it worse. Think about it, you're reacting "aggressively" (I use that word lightly because I don't think he's aggressive in the slightest) to an "aggressive" action... so what is that teaching him? Continue with the yelping, but when you yelp you need to stop ALL forms of contact/communication. If he's pursuing play even afterwards, you need to separate yourself from him. Yelp, and then move into another room and close the door behind you for a couple of minutes until he's calm. If he remains calm when you come out, then initiate playtime again. Huskies HATE HATE HATE to be ignored. Sometimes it takes a while, especially as he's probably teething, so you just need to be calm, patient, and persistent.


ETA: It's worth mentioning that vets, unless they specifically went out to take courses on their own, have absolutely no animal nutrition experience whatsoever. Most vets here will recommend science diet which is a crap food. They get kick backs from certain brands, but they have no idea what constitutes a quality food unless they've done the research on their own (which some admittedly have, but that's not your norm). Just as an FYI, so take what your vet says on nutrition with a grain of salt.

Damn, one more thing: You SHOULD be able to feel his ribs, you shouldn't be able to see them through his coat. Huskies are athletes. Their frame, ESPECIALLY as puppies because they haven't filled out yet, is very thin, lanky, and many people who aren't used to it think that they're malnourished. You should be able to feel the ribs, but not see them and his hip bones shouldn't protrude. As long as that's true, you have a perfectly healthy husky. Most people overfeed and end up with an overweight dog cause they don't realize

going off the last thing Tori said you do not want a FAT sibe, it is very hard to get the weight back off. I am dealing with that right now. in the pictures he looks to be a good weight and seems really fluffy if you look at a lot of our groups huskies you will see they are all what i like to think the fit side of a husky except for my girl who is a bit heavy. that should help you with how your boy should be looking. the food switching could be causing the upset tummy, you need to blend the foods together over at least a weeks time to adjust them. and i do suggest you looking into other brands of food as well, it took us about 3 months till we settled on TOTW and have had a ton of success on that.

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I did gradually switch the food and he was fine. No loose stools. This is his 2nd week on just purina and this is the week he's had problems.

I went looking for premium foods but like everything else in aus they start at well over 170 bux per 10-12kg bag Even the purina was 80 bux! I'm gonna order online once this bag runs out. Which puppy formula do you guys suggest? All I found for totw is adult.

He stopped nipping weeks ago actually, just for some reason yesterday he was a real pain, he was actually hurting me...

Food takes about 2-3 weeks to really settle into their systems. For example, we tried Koda on a high quality kibble (Innova Evo) and it firmed his stools up almost immediately. However, after about 2-3 weeks he got the runs again. I don't know why that's the magic number, but I've read it elsewhere on top of it being my experience. So I still think it's the food.

TOTW is an all-life-stages food. Thus, it's appropriate for puppies as well as adults. Any of the bags should work fine for Nero. We're on the Pacific Stream because I like fish formulas for huskies. It's more natural as that was their main source of protein in Alaska and the northern territories in which they were bred in isolation. I might stay away from the Wetlands as its protein is very intense for many dogs. Try the Wild Prairie or Pacific Stream I'd say.

If you feel more comfortable with strict puppy food... Blue Buffalo Wilderness has a puppy formula that is rated decently and you could switch to something higher quality when he's an adult.

We had Embry on Purina for quite a few months when we first got him because he had such bad reactions with other dog foods, then we found Taste of the Wild, and it isn't very pricey at all! We pay $20 for a 13lb bag which lasts up a bit over a month, feeding 1 cup, more or less, twice a day. They also have 3 flavors, which we switch up 2 of the 3 monthly so he doens't get bored He doesn't like the Pacific Stream(salmon), he won't go near it! and then Wetlands gives him gas, but we just hold out noses now

Ill get some more raw into his diet until he settles down, I've found this: http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php?product=2039&cat=all
Just for the 13kg bag it's $139 here!!!!

It's the only decent stuff that's available here in aus. I'll keep hunting but that one looks the best. TOTW & Orijen are not available here amongst many others.

I'll try him on some actual salmon n see if he likes it first though. Good thing about the place I'm buying it from is that they give a money back guarantee if the dog doesn't take to the food within 7 days, so I can swap it out for another type.

Howdid I manage to derail my own pictures thread

is that on the dog food sites that will ship to you? there's a good number of them that aren't extremely pricey.

Oh the land of Oz and your prices. I hear they're censoring your internet now too :p What will they think of next?!

Canidae is a decent quality food and most certainly better than Purina or Pedigree. I would comfortably feed it if my dogs did well on it. It has a few minor ingredients that I am slightly wary of "tomato pomace," and the lack of ethoxyquin-free fish sources. However, those are minor concerns and not something that would keep me from feeding it at all (as an example, I fed TOTW willingly before their ethoxyquin-free guarantee just recently).

You're doing all the right things. Finding the right food for you and your dog is a long and difficult process, but the research and time you put in now will make both you and Nero happy Unfortunately there's no magic combination. It's trial and error and what works for your dog won't be what works for others. But you'll get it

He is such a cute little bugger! Love the one of him running toward the camera!
I am the odd-ball here in that I have not read anywhere here that anyone feeds their Husky Eagle-Pack. We tried many, and were Pedigree feeders for a long time before getting Nanuk. They have a web-site. (I met Barbara Schafer, the trainer of Mya in Eight Below and co-author of "Be the Lead Dog" on that website.) It has been a very good food for us. Not grain-free as so many others feed their Huskies, but has not upset their stomachs at all. Stools are firm, no gas bombs, and their fur improved greatly after they started eating it. Many formulas to choose from. Price is not too bad. $30 for 30#. We have our Mika on the low-fat formula, and slowly but surely, she is losing the wieght! Nanuk & Isis are on the regular adult formula. Anyway, just wanted to throw another option out there. As stated by others, it is a personal decision and not everything works for every dog.

We actually used to feed Eagle Pack Holistic Select and were very happy with the ingredient list, but it never sat right with Koda so that's when we looked into grain free. As a grain-inclusive kibble, I think it's one of the best on the market

Jennet&Embry wrote:

We had Embry on Purina for quite a few months when we first got him because he had such bad reactions with other dog foods, then we found Taste of the Wild, and it isn't very pricey at all! We pay $20 for a 13lb bag which lasts up a bit over a month, feeding 1 cup, more or less, twice a day. They also have 3 flavors, which we switch up 2 of the 3 monthly so he doens't get bored He doesn't like the Pacific Stream(salmon), he won't go near it! and then Wetlands gives him gas, but we just hold out noses now

Jack does not like the salmon either! have not tried the wetlands yet but thanks for the gas heads up in case we have the same issue!

Some new pics. He'l be 5 Months next week!


You Know I'm Chillin
I reeeeally wanted to take his lead off so he could have a good splash around without it.











Bummed out I'm gonna miss his 6th and 7th Birthdays

he's so big! it's crazy how much they grow between 4-7 months!

He looks great! And yeah, he is big!! He's probably the size Koda was at 7 months But all dogs grow at different rates He looks very healthy!

he looks amazing!! great photos!

He is just so beautiful! Everything about his pics screams "PERSONALITY!" You are doing a great job with him!

He looks great! and he has grown so much this last month! love him!

He's adorable!!!!!!!!!!!!! Looks like such a sweetie! =) As far as the food, yep, everybody is right! My gained so much weight after being spayed and being fed Purina. I recently changed her food and am walking her more often, but it's been a few weeks and it's pretty hard to have them lose the weight!

amykmac wrote:

He is just so beautiful! Everything about his pics screams "PERSONALITY!" You are doing a great job with him!

Awww shucks

Thanks for the kind words guys. It was pretty much IMPOSSIBLE to get decent pics of him. He tends to shy away from the camera a lot, otherwise he'l nip me really hard...