My Siberian Fenix is quite a small boy and I do have people asking me if he is purebred or a mini more often now. He is 8 months old hardly 30 pounds and shorter than a year old show female on the low end of the breed standard. It doesn't stop him from getting around, and chasing the other dogs at the park. He is also very very husky like. Vocal, runner, digger, curious, etc.

It's just his size. At first I thought the breeder may have been wrong about his age but his teeth are right at where they should be. He has pretty short legs and a short back. I am just curious if he still has growing to do or if 8 months is when they slow down normally, Raiden at 7 pretty much stopped growing. And I know that some dogs grow at different rates.

I was told his mom is 45 pounds and his dad is 65.

Here are some examples of his shortness



This is him with a 5 year old female Husky, she is a little larger than breed standard. And next to our Bull Terrier.

Okay, cliché time; Husky's are like most people, they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, short and tall, svelte and - er- not so svelte, they're the only breed I know of that colour doesn't matter and eye colour - sheesh, it seems as if everything's fine as long as they have eyes!

At eight months old, he's still got a year or more of growing up and out to do ... why's he so small? Well, because he's only a little Husky!

Yeah I was just curious. Only because I hate the questions I get when I walk him or take him to the dog park. Is he mixed, is that a mini husky, etc etc. Bleh. At least I know no one will ever ask if he has wolf in him LOL

I only ask because his parents are standard and he is itty bitty. But I don't mind

did you see his parents? did you see the rest of the litter? have you had contact with the other pups since? he does seem really short. could just be bad genes.

OK I am going to preface this by saying...I don't really know what I am talking about, so use your head when considering this comment.

What occurs to me is that his head is out of proportion to his body...like some human growth disorders. Has your vet checked his growth hormones, growth plates.

The first thing that came to my mind, and to my husband when I showed him the pics is dwarfism. He also said malnutrion, malabsorption, vitamin deficiency and, like Jenn said, parentage of the dog, and maybe a trip to the vet.

He reminds me of Heather's Rogue (she used to be active on here, not anymore) who was tiny. That was also a female though.

Jennifer, good questions! I'm sorry I didn't think from that angle ...

Ami: I had to flip back and forth between pictures - in the second, his head definitely looks over sized while in the first not so ... I assumed that that was just the magic of the camera - malfunctioning. Still, in the second picture, if you ignore the head, his legs actually look to be in reasonable proportion to the rest of the body.

Other than being a small, young pup and almost obscenely shaggy (like another dog I won't mention) he really - to me - doesn't look that odd. Leg length can be very deceptive when there's that much hair hanging down . Maybe a good straight on side shot would be helpful ...???

Al - as I said, I really don't know what I'm talking about but may be worth asking the vet.

Also...Mommy is Amy, pronounced long-A mee. Puppy dog is Ah mee, Hebrew for member of the tribe, Japenese for beautiful (so I've read).

Annnddd...watcha mean, obscenely shaggy

amymeme wrote:

Al - as I said, I really don't know what I'm talking about but may be worth asking the vet.

Also...Mommy is Amy, pronounced long-A mee.  Puppy dog is Ah mee, Hebrew for member of the tribe, Japenese for beautiful (so I've read).

Annnddd...watcha mean, obscenely shaggy

Well, obviously the pup has more sense that the mother so I was addressing myself to her .... hm, don't think I'm gonna get myself out of trouble for forgetting which is which that way, am I??

'scuse me, I think I'm gonna go find another topic, this hole's getting deep enough ...

aljones wrote:

amymeme wrote:

Al - as I said, I really don't know what I'm talking about but may be worth asking the vet.

Also...Mommy is Amy, pronounced long-A mee.  Puppy dog is Ah mee, Hebrew for member of the tribe, Japenese for beautiful (so I've read).

Annnddd...watcha mean, obscenely shaggy

Well, obviously the pup has more sense that the mother so I was addressing myself to her .... hm, don't think I'm gonna get myself out of trouble for forgetting which is which that way, am I??

'scuse me, I think I'm gonna go find another topic, this hole's getting deep enough ...

And.... Al, Ami is a he

Since you are 5 yrs my senior, I'll respectfully pardon you on this one

Ichigo seemed small and funny shaped to me at 8 months old. Four months later and he is around 26" at the withers. He may overtake Loki's 27" by the time he hits two. Who knows. If you got from good breeder, I would ask about growth rate since they know their pups best. Don't assume he is done at 8 months though. The vet saw Ichi alot early on and techs said he just don't grow. Then, bam. He grew a lot after 8 months. I took him in recently and they were floored by his size.

Thanks everyone for the replies. I didn't think I would get this many. My husband got him for me from a breeder in Monteagle, TN. I asked for pictures of parents and they are bigger. I was told mom is 45 and dad is 65. Has anyone else bought a Siberian in Tennessee?

And I am going to ask her if I can add the owners to his littermates on facebook and see if there is much of a difference. Either way I love him and if he stays puppy size forever that's okay. I just hope it won't have a negative affect on his health. I do have him on taste of the wild and he is given raw for treats a couple times a week.

But I do plan on asking these questions when I take him to the vet to be neutered. He could be a dwarf like some of you said. He is definitely "purebred" but possibly not good genes as mentioned. I know the question "why is my husky so small" is asked a lot, but he really is small. LOL.

(sorry for the fur still working on it, he had a few mats when I got him and I couldn't comb them out so he is a bit rugged looking)

his coat and coloring are just like my girl sierra, he is handsome, regardless of size

Wow - in these pics, he is almost a carbon copy of Ami!

And I don't see any disproportion between head and body.

Not really much. He is pretty proportionate. He is just 8 months old almost the size of a 5/6 month old puppy. Maybe 30 pounds now. I dare not say it, but I think he is what people would call..... A mini. Or to me possibly a runt. He's so little and cute.

Here is my itty bitty next to everyone if this give you an idea. An adult Rottweiler and Bull Terrier and my family.




Let me know if I need better pictures and I can get some :3

Victoria, been watching this thread. I am by no means an expert, but I read a lot. I can not tell from your pics if his growth plates have been "sealed", the best way to know is at his"ankle" area of his front paws, if he is still growing it will appear like a bump at the "ankle" area. Some huskies are very slow growers and may not completely fill out until close to 3 years of age. I would start with the breeders, ask questions, ask if any of their current pups were small and if any previous litters. Also did they do a hip test on mom and dad? If so, were they ranked as good, great, etc. Lastly speak with your vet, ask about the growth plates, ask if they see anything wrong in his growing. He is absolutely beautiful, and he has gorgeous eye shape and ear shape, love his peaches and cream coat. His body seems to be good with his leg length, so indeed he may be a very tiny husky. I would really have your vet focus in on his leg development, if your vet does not seem to worry and his legs are fine, then I would just be happy you have a tiny guy.....

AHappyYeti wrote:

Here is my itty bitty next to everyone if this give you an idea. An adult Rottweiler and Bull Terrier and my family.

Let me know if I need better pictures and I can get some :3

First (if you'll allow me back in this thread? ) As @Miyasmomma said, it's hard to tell if bone development has stopped or not - it's normally pretty easy but all the hair on the legs is deceiving. In the third picture down I think I can still see some of the bump from growth plates but in the others it's not obviously there ... so a side picture, up fairly close where we can see his legs - to me front legs are more obvious - would be helpful.

More pictures of them all would be nice; you really have a good looking family there - two and four legged all together!

Whether he's "normal" or not, I have to agree with everyone else, he's a stunning dog!!!