Hello everyone!! A week ago my hubby went about bought me a husky puppy it was a surprise ( a wonderful surprise) the only thing is they told him she was 8 weeks old but she is super small. I have an appointment with our vet this week but in the meantime I am a little concerned with her size. She is active and oh so sweet. She weighs 3 lbs. Can anyone let me know what is the normal size and weight for this age or if your opinion she is younger than they said.

Hi Erika,

I think 3lbs is a little small for an 8 week husky pup. The person who your husband got the pup from may have lied about her age. Hopefully she checks out healthy when you take her to the vet! She's cute!

I haven't been around young puppies in more years than I care to count but that pup looks very young. And a bit skinny - am I seeing right? Her ribs are showing? If I remember correctly, 8 week old pups are sort of plump little roly-polies. Hows her coordination? Does she walk without wobbling, is she active, lively? I would not let one that young be out in the grass unless I was 100% sure no other dog has pee'd in that area in...years. Without shots, she is very vulnerable to lethal diseases.

Hopefully, others here who have more recent experience with young puppies will chime in...

Congrats on your new pup - she is a sweetie pie.

Thank you! I figured she was somewhere closer to 6 weeks because she is tiny but even though she is small she is a fierce little one, lol. We did try to contact the people that sold her to him they had the entire litter and the parents on site but he said all the puppies were the same size as her so he didn't think anything of it until we went to the pet store and everyone there asked if we were sure about her age due to her size, unfortunately they have not responded.

she is a little clumsy but she tries to run around and climb on things. To me she is a little on the thin side but no her ribs are not showing she is plump and you cant feel her bones when you carry her but i am used to super chunky pups my last puppy was an english bulldog and those are rollie pollies lol. She did come with a shot record and supposedly they gave her her first set of shots as well as deworming. I talked with our vet and he told me that if she got the shots before 8 weeks they wouldn't really do their job and she would have to start from the beginning.

I hope you did not take her to the pet store... she is way too young to be exposed to dog diseases. Parvo virus in particular will most likely kill a pup that young. She needs all her puppy shots before she goes put in public which means somewhat between 12 and 16 weeks. Carry her if you are in public places and don't let other dogs near her unless you absolutely know they are fully vaccinated.

Yes I just said I took her to the pet store when I went to buy her food. This is not the first puppy I have had just the first husky so I know about illnesses they can have. That being said I carried her. My only question is if she was small for her supposed age.

She is in no way 8 weeks. My guess would be closer to 5 or 6--she looks very small and not developed enough for even six weeks, she is very, very thin.

Is she eating okay? She is awfully young to be away from her mother, and I would talk with a vet to see what kind of nutritional supplements she may need since she likely missed out on necessary nutrients from mothers' milk.

My guess is she was weaned way too soon. You will have an uphill battle ahead of you.

She eats very well which is good I did talk to the vet to ask about supplements and he said we would discuss it at our visit. Unfortunately the people that sold her were bad people but at least we love her and are trying to do everything we can to make sure she is happy and healthy.

Hey another Texan, welcome to our club!  Snow dogs in the desert (and the hill country and the coast and ....)  You're not all that far from me (in Texas terms) only about 450 miles away.

Erika, what the others have suggested, I'll be blunt and say.  You have a beautiful little pup there - but she's going to be a real handful.  If a puppy is separated from her "puppy pack" too early  (and in this case 8 weeks is considered the minimum, 10 is better) the puppy doesn't learn a *lot* of things that they would normally learn from their mother and siblings.

They didn't learn how to be sociable (dog style sociable) so her responses to new dogs (or any other animals) is apt to be wrong.  Rather than wanting to meet and greet they're apt to be shy or maybe aggressive.  

They didn't learn something called bite inhibition  - that's how hard they can bite in play - so when she's teething, you're going to find that not only is she going to chew anything she can get her teeth into, she's real apt to chew on you and since puppy teeth are sharp and she didn't learn not to bite hard, well, you're going to have a toothy monster on your hands,

When she's had all her shots and you can get her out and about, you're going to have to teach her how to behave; you're going to have to teach her that not every big dog is out to eat her and it's not right to try to eat anyone she's not sure of.

You're going to have to teach her bite inhibition - and I'd suggest getting a pair of leather gloves to save your hands.  Get her good puppy chew toys so you can swap them in for a while when her chewing gets to be too rough.

We'll be here to answer question (and I intentionally left a lot open for discussion)  You've taken the first step in doing things right - where her "breeder" did so much wrong - ask away, we'll all be glad to help and provide moral support when you start wondering where this monster came from.

ETA: since I didn't address the question you did ask - I have to agree, the puppy I see there is about 5 weeks old.

Welcome to the forum fellow Texan! Erika she is lovely. I am placing her age at around 4 weeks old. Average 8 week old huskies are around 7 pounds. her back legs are not fully developed, and I would be very watchful for worms, if her belly is rounded and hard good sign of worms. I have a feeling this pup has not had any medical care at all, no worming, no shots, since shots at the youngest start at 6 weeks old. Does she have any teeth? Here's a fairly good guide to guesstimate age of a puppy http://www.fidosavvy.com/puppy-teeth-information.html Work with your vet, because shots given pre 6 weeks are totally useless. Some stores like Tractor Supply have milk supplements, you can soak her kibble with it, or give to her as an added food source. She should eat several small meals a day, 4-6 meals until you are certain she is 8 weeks old, and then feed 4 times a day. Right now it is growth and development that you need to focus on, around 6-8 weeks of age is when you can start adding in training and teaching bite inhibition. Right now she needs to be safe and warm, which I am sure you are wise to, but honestly most people do not have much experience with young puppies pre 8 weeks old. You will be tested often, this breed is really like no other, being one step ahead of her will lead to a wonderful companion. Any questions that you have don't hesitate to ask, she is a wonderful looking pup.

Thank you for all your help we go to the vet tomorrow afternoon and see how we can get her big and strong and healthy. I appreciate the suggestions and tips and I will be sure to ask more questions as time goes on!

You make sure to tell us what the vet has to say, y'hear! ( Please )

Good morning everyone! Well I took Khaleesi to the vet yesterday afternoon. He says she is 5-6 weeks old, he gave me a milk supplement to give her since she missed out on getting enough of her mothers milk. She has been eating good and weighs 5 lbs now he said she looks healthy no worms which surprised him because he said that dogs that leave their mom so soon are usually sickly. He wants to see her back in 2 weeks to get her shots and we are going to give her the flea prevention then.

She is really something everyone there was in love with her. She kept "Talking" to anyone that walked into her room it was adorable. I am thankful for your help tips and concern and it looks like Khaleesi is on her way to being a happy healthy husky!

That's a fantastic report! As the vet said, it seems as if dogs who are taken this early are normally sickly since they haven't gotten that good "mothers love". Sounds like you're doing an excellent job of raising her Erika - kudos to you for that.

I had to laugh at your comment about her talking to everyone, that's a good sign. To me it means she's bright and alert and willing to confront the world - neither afraid of it or aggressive - very good!!

Keep coming back, please. And feel free to start yourself a "52 weeks of Khaleesi" - they grow so fast and change so much, it's always good fun to look back at how they've developed over time

That is great news Erika!! And I agree with Al we need to see more pics of your beautiful girl

hi, welcome to the forums. she is a cutie and i agree with every one she looks 5-6 weeks old.