So Kiba is now just over 13 weeks old and weighs about 20# (had her at the vet on Monday). She still seems on the skinny side to me and it doesn't bother me too much since I know that's actually better for them in the long run.  My concern is the bag of food says I should feed between 2/3 to 1 1/4 cups a day for her age and expected adult size but I am feeding her 2 1/4 cups a day just to keep her where she is at.  I was feeding her less and then she really looked skinny, like seeing ribs skinny. She almost inhales her food at every meal and goes looking for more too.  Her stools are consistently firm so no issue there.  
My question is this. I know that bag food recommendations are horrible but I have never seen them recommend lower than needed, they usually recommend too much. But should I be concerned that I feed so much more and maybe try something with higher fat or protein? Or even just mix something else into her food to supplement calories so I feed less? She's on purina proplan large breed puppy right now (and yes I know what most people here think of purina but I haven always liked it and my dogs have done wonderful, if I was having tummy issues that would be different) I also have a large bag of her food right now and don't want to just waste it.
I know when she turns just right I can still see her ribs from across our entire yard through her fur. She definitely has a shorter sleek coat.

Heather, yea she is a little skinny, but as long as she is healthy, she'll get there. On to the food question. If she is doing fine, poops are fine, then who cares about what you feed. it is not the greatest of foods, but eh. Bag recommendations are just that, some may eat more some less. I have noticed that with grain frees most huskies eat less, like 20-25% less than the bag recommends. Grain frees are denser and have higher proteins that are meat based vs grain based protein. Which means a dog will typically eat less, and bag lasts longer. You can try to increase, and back off if poops get too frequent or become pudding. However, I will mention this, most huskies in general do not do well on grain inclusive foods. If your dog poops more than say 3 or 4 times a day as a pup, as an adult more than 2 or 3, then your dog is not processing the grain part and is missing some nutrients, and that is why many dogs appear to be hungry all the time, and woof their food down, because the grain just isn't doing it's job. It is your decision and what works best for you, your budget, and your dog. At this point I could suggest ways to add weight, however, those suggestions tend to create a picky dog, since your dog is not picky, but skinny I will not.

If I remember correctly, Archer (son's dog) was eating 3 cups of, first Blue Buffalo, then TOTW at 4 months of age. And still looked pretty much like your pup. Like a scrawny young teenaged human boy. One thing to remember, Siberians are not large breed dogs - so maybe on your next bag of food just get the regular one.

Are you sure the bag says...nevermind, just checked it. I did notice that the focus puppy proplan large breed chicken and rice has 417 cal per cup. If I remember correctly, my TOTW High Prairie only has in the 360 range.

Luka was that way too! We have him on the blue buffalo red meat puppy, since day 1 (well...fully by like day 4, but you know...) We took him to the vet and they said he was too skinny, but after he started filling out, he was fine. Scrawny teenage boy, just like Amy said! Now he's at a good weight...just enourmous. 50 lbs at 6 months, and almost as tall as me! (Granted...I'm a shorty)

As long as you're not having issues on the Purina, I don't see why you can't keep feeding it. I don't use it myself because it sits so badly in one of our dogs tummy's, but we had a poodle growing up that was on their beneful brand, and she never had any issues on it (different breed but that chica was a tank...one saw her put away a spiral ham bigger than she was).

He'll get there!

Yeah I probably should monitor how many times she poops a little closer. It is already time to pull out my winter jacket so will admit to being a bad puppy mom and not always going out with them to make sure they potty. I know when I pick it up everything is nice and firm though.
And yeah I was thinking going regular instead of large breed after this bag. Before we got her that was petco's recommendation and I know they are a borderline breed so went with large breed just because.
And yeah I was worried about creating a picky eater with adding things to it which is why I was debating trying to just find a more calorically dense kibble to mix in. Have really been researching the grain free ones and will probably go that way as a adult for sure but right now i ca get this for WAY cheaper than anything else of similar quality through work.

On a random side note our trainer at puppy class says we listen great for our age and breed! Wondering how long that will last

Feeding guidelines on food bags are for what your puppy's adult weight should be not what they currently weigh. This puppy is underweight. At this age she should be easily eating 2.5-3 cups per day, spread out over at least 3 meals.

I was reading the guidelines for up until 4 months old and for puppies reaching 50 lbs as an adult and it told me the 2/3 to 1 1/4 cups. Even if I look at 50-75# adult weight it only increases to maybe 1 2/3 cup for the food she is on.
That being said I am going to bump her up to probably the 2 1/2 cups a day for now and looking at the calories in the large breed at 417 and the same brand but regular puppy food has 468 calories per cup maybe even just making that switch would help to not need to feed as much

Heather, I couldn't find the Kcal when looking at the 2 puppy foods of Pro Plan. I did take a look at Taste of the wild since that was what I fed, and it is indeed less calories, but the difference is, and is very odd, the large breed puppy is very low in fat, and that helps pups grow, and high in fiber which keeps poops good. The regular pro Plan puppy has higher fat less fiber. I was like husky mom and at this age and weight I was feeding close if not 3 cups a day, spread over 3 meals, and at some point around 4 months feeding 4 cups 4 times a day, now this was a gsd puppy, but overall end weight isn't that different. 3 cups for a husky is not too much, if I was feeding a gsd puppy 4. At this point I would gradually make the increase, and if you don't try feeding 3 times a day. I would try and increase up to the 3 cups a day. Watch poops. with the large breed I like the protein amount and the fiber amount, it's the fat that i think it is lacking for a puppy. You could try adding a teaspoon of coconut oil, olive oil, or fish oil, I prefer coconut per day and see if that added fat boost helps along with the slight increase of food. Hope that helps you out more.

Heather88 wrote:

So Kiba is now just over 13 weeks old and weighs about 20# (had her at the vet on Monday). She still seems on the skinny side to me and it doesn't bother me too much since I know that's actually better for them in the long run.  My concern is the bag of food says I should feed between 2/3 to 1 1/4 cups a day for her age and expected adult size but I am feeding her 2 1/4 cups a day just to keep her where she is at.  I was feeding her less and then she really looked skinny, like seeing ribs skinny. She almost inhales her food at every meal and goes looking for more too.  Her stools are consistently firm so no issue there.  
My question is this. I know that bag food recommendations are horrible but I have never seen them recommend lower than needed, they usually recommend too much. But should I be concerned that I feed so much more and maybe try something with higher fat or protein? Or even just mix something else into her food to supplement calories so I feed less? She's on purina proplan large breed puppy right now (and yes I know what most people here think of purina but I haven always liked it and my dogs have done wonderful, if I was having tummy issues that would be different) I also have a large bag of her food right now and don't want to just waste it.
I know when she turns just right I can still see her ribs from across our entire yard through her fur. She definitely has a shorter sleek coat.

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For 13 weeks she is a very big (as in tall) puppy. It's also possible you might be off on her ideal adult weight. Honestly it's better to go by body condition and just use the bag as a guideline. If you are feeding what the bag says and your dog looks skinny which she does then up the food. If on the other hand at some point she starts looking chunky then you can decrease it.

Yeah she does seem very tall and lanky for her age. And we saw them very shortly after they were born so I do know her age pretty exact. Her mom was about 46# and dad want much bigger but he was taller and lankier too. So that's what I was using to guess at adult size.
I should try to measure her but we never seem to sit still long enough....
I have already started bumping her up some more to 2 3/4 cups so will see if that makes a difference.
And yes she gets fed 3 times a day so I was doing 3/4 morning and night with 1/2 at lunch time, now doing 1 cup atnight and 3/4 lunch time and morning with another 1/4 cup in her treat dispensing kong in her kennel during the day