I have a few concerns about our pup. We were told she is a Siberian husky/German Shepherd mix, and that she was 8 weeks old when we brought her home. We are coming up on 3 weeks with us, and I’m concerned about a few things.

I am concerned that she was not actually 8 weeks old when we brought her home. Her ears have not yet stood up, and she seems very small compared to other puppies of her breed. When we brought her home she had virtually no corrdination and could barely manage to do anything on her own. We helped her with all tasks, and she’s got most of them down now. Her eyes were both deep blue when we brought her home and about 5 days ago one of her eyes started changing to a golden color. I know this forum is for husky owners, but I’m hoping someone can offer some advice. We adopted a 2 year old husky shepherd mix 2 years ago, but this is our first go around with a puppy.

She has another vet appointment in 3 days, and 2.5 weeks ago at her appointment she was 8 pounds. She’s gotten bigger, taller, and more coordinated, but I’m worried she may need extra care and attention if she was younger than 8 weeks when we brought her home. Pictures are from her first 48 hours with us.

I am far from an expert but I would say the pup is much younger than 8 weeks. What does your vet say?

The vet just did a basic once over when I took her in a couple weeks ago. They said all of her puppy teeth are in, and her vitals looked good. I just asked for a basic physical exam because she had received her first round of shots and dewormer before we got her. (They did this themselves.) She had worms, but he vet advised to see how she looked after the treatment she had received had some time to work.

I also didn’t see our regular vet. The pup came with a health guarantee, and in order for that to be upheld I had to have a basic exam done within 48 hours, so the last visit was a last minute type thing. The “breeder” seemed pretty reputable, but I’m realizing maybe they weren’t Hopefully the vet appointment this week will be more thorough. I didn’t realize I should have been concerned about her age at that first appointment. And I’m also an over paranoid parent. Ha

I’m also concerned that she didn’t get the nutrients from her mothers milk early on if she was removed from her litter mates too early. She took to eating puppy kibble quickly and she is growing quick. Should I be giving her some sort of supplement in addition to her food to help her grow strong? I was concerned about her ears not yet standing, which is what started me on Her health/age.

I would say younger also. I also am not an expert but have had pups in the past. Very cute pictures though. My main concern would be that the puppy didnt get enough time to learn from the litter mates and mother. A lot of puppies will get anxiety when you leave being so small since if they were still with mother they would have constant companions. Some pups i'm sure dont get this but i've known it to happen. Plus the mother and other pups help teach control on rough playing and biting. I've had a pup in the past who didnt know when to stop biting and when it was too hard we had to teach her ourselves and it wasnt easy but can be done of course. Congrats on the new puppy and wish you well on your journey thru puppyville. lol

Thank you! Your pup is adorable! It seems like she has taken to our older dog (Tipsy) as her “mom”. Tipsy is loving it, she’s the mother hen of all of our animals, and it seems like she’s teaching the pup some manners. We are really fortunate she’s teaching manners and is a constant companion for her. Poor little thing had to have been really scared leaving her mom and litter mates.

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I'm sure she was. BUT now that she has you and the caring people in her life and your older pupper to care for her she will be fine. Alot of people in this world just don't care about animals and their needs. Fortunately there are people who still do. Congrats again on your new baby.

I have a feeling she was actually 8 weeks when coming home by looking at these pictures. If not 8, then close to it. The only reason I'm probably going to be the only one saying this is because of the eyes looking normal. My pups eyes looked goofy up until around 7-8 weeks because the pupils were larger and lopsided and they were all still developing and doing natural newborn things. My pups eyes went from a deep blue to lighter blue over her first 2-3 weeks with us as well, its just natural for them to still be developing at that age. With the ears not standing up, not all pups ears stand up right away and with having GSD in her, that would make them a little floppier at a younger age. The only thing that would be a little off is how small her ears are still, but she is a female and they tend to be smaller anyways. Also, SHES ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE!! Enjoy her and I hope I helped a little maybe! I'm going to attach pictures of my pup at 4, 5, 6 and 8 weeks so you can see the eye thing I'm talking about too. I also just realized I don't have 7 week photos

OMG! Fauna is beautiful! Now that you mention the eye thing I agree with you too. It's been so long since i've been around a young husky pup I didnt think of it.

Thank you! She was one of 5 girls and the breeder themed them as the sleeping beauty litter so my little one was labeled Fauna haha. We ended up naming her Tetra though The eye thing is more noticeable for me because I used to get a little giggle every time one of the pups was cross eyed or looked goofy because of the pupils in the pictures the breeder had posted weekly on facebook.

Weight wise, she was at what my two were at, at 8 weeks (my female Mishka) and 9 weeks (my male Kohdi) both were in the 7-8 pound weight range.

Yep, Lachlan was 10lbs when we got him at @ 7.5 weeks but he was the biggest of the litter.  The rest were ~8lbs.  His eyes started off blue but one turned greenish-brown and the other half blue.  If you suspect he left the litter early just try to give him extra love and attention for a while.  (disclaimer, I'm a newbie dog/husky owner, but we're managing.)

Vet estimated her to be 10 weeks. Everything looks good! She’s 16 pounds now and a little spitfire. Thank you to everyone for your help!

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Very good to hear she's doing great.