Hello all!

  My name is Caylene and I recently took home a gorgeous pup named Xayah. She was rescued from an unfortunate situation at 6 weeks old! I know, far too early for a pup. . She's been super rambunctious, feisty, chewing on literally everything (good thing we have tons of toys to redirect her), being super picky about her food, and absolutely wonderful all at the same time. Kind of driving me crazy, and the lack of sleep isn't helping. We try to positively reinforce her but when she has an accident right in front of the door after just taking her out it's hard to not yell no. >.<. I take her right back outside when that happens though, and praise her lots when she goes. I joined here in hopes of finding more information about caring for a husky in a warmer climate as well as general helpful tips to get them eating more. I worry about her being too skinny! I just worry too much.

Here's a picture from when we first got her,


and here's her now at 8 weeks.


Everyone keeps telling me she's so small, but I figured it's normal for her age and all. I don't mind how big or small she turns out to be though, I think she's perfect. ^_^.

Here is a great thread for comparison on weight to age for various puppies we have had on the forum. Gives you a general idea of how different each dog truly is in their growth rate.

weight charts

She is adorable and from the pictures you have she doesn't look underweight to me. Keeping them on the light side as they grow is a good thing. It keeps pressure off growing joints so that they have the best chance of coming in tight and healthy. Huskies aren't meant to be large dogs anyway. I think some people get too used to seeing mammoth out of standard dogs in some areas that skew their idea of what huskies 'should' look like. My girl is the top end of standard at 50 pounds and many females top out still in the 30s full grown. I definitely wouldn't worry.

For the most part huskies will adapt to the warmer weather. Make sure she always has access to water and shade, walk in the cooler parts of the day (morning & evening) and keep her off hot concrete/pavement. If you have to be on hot concrete look into booties for her feet to protect them. A kiddie pool works nice to have around for some dogs if that's something she will like. My female won't use one but my male loves it.

She could not be any cuter. I just looked thru her pics in your other thread too. My boy, Kohdi, looked a lot like her in a couple of your pics in the 52 wks thread, he was super small as a puppy too, he did grow though! Lol. Welcome to the forum!

I'm in a warmer climate as well,and my two are fluffier than average and do just fine. Just keep her brushed out when she's a bit older older than she is now,  to get rid of the loose fluff, and stuff,  this will help keep her from overheating on walks and stuff. Here is a little diagram that might help explain what I mean.

This diagram shows the danger in shaving a husky, but it still helps in understanding how the undercoat needs to be regularly taken care of for the health and comfort of our huskies.

she looks so cute. welcome to the forums.

TwisterII wrote:

Thanks for the weight chart link, it makes me feel better about her weight. I figured she was okay, but it's always so annoying to hear "she's going to be SO big, are you ready for that?" or "she's SO tiny! Is she a pomsky?". I think people tend to have a skewed perception of huskies, as they are generally medium sized dogs and don't get close to how big a golden retriever or lab can get.

Artic_Wind wrote:

This was helpful! I understood the importance of brushing her regularly but it's nice to see the reasoning behind it. I'm already getting her used to the brush and brushing her daily or every other day.

RedFlashFire05 wrote:

she looks so cute. welcome to the forums.

Thank you. <3

That's a really great looking pup! I'm a new Husky dad but I have a re-homed "young adult" of sorts lol I get a few comments about her being a mix breed since she is "small"...but she is right in the middle of breed standards. I think people think Alaskan Malamutes are huskies!

Ur dog actually made me join and post. Looks very similiar to my baby. I'm okay if she stays small. Lol

huskybaby wrote:

Ur dog actually made me join and post. Looks very similiar to my baby. I'm okay if she stays small. Lol

She's growing like a weed now! Haha. I'd love to see your baby. <3