Hello!
My names Kaci, and I have a handsome 6 month old named Meeko (you know, like the little mischievous up-to-no-good raccoon on Pocahontas). Mr Meek is my first husky and the one and only thing I've been wanting and begging for for over 10 years. But, I worry about him a lot. I did get him from a breeder, and was told that parents nor any puppies from previous litters had any health issues. But hes only 6 months old and will be getting his hip xrays tomorrow for possible hip dysplasia. He is also a very VERY lazy dog. I was always told and was expecting a very hyper, high energy pup, and he has been the complete opposite. He never stands up for more than 2-3 minutes without laying down. He has no interest in running and playing. He sleeps A LOT. He just seems very tired and run down all the time, and I'm not sure if that's completely out of the norm for a husky pup or not... also, he breathes incredibly fast and pants constantly. I've noticed this from the day we brought him home. Youd think this boy just finished the Iditarod with how he breathes and pants, even in his sleep! I've talked to our vet and she keeps saying "well we will keep an eye on it", but seeing it and thinking about it all the time is driving me mad! Has anyone else ever experienced this with their fur babies when they were this young? Or have any advice/suggestions? I'm open to anything!
Thank you in advance!!

Let your vet examine him, ask for blood work to be done. That doesn't sound right to me but, I'm no vet. I know I'd be having every test possible done until I had answers if any of my pups acted like that but, mine are wolf hybrids so, if they didn't want to run with the rest of my pack, there would definitely be something wrong with them.

Some are definitely lazier than others. My big white male isn't much of a mover or a shaker, but most pups are. Is Meeko an outside dog? It has been a horribly hot year so far and that will slow them down considerably. How long has your vet been saying to just keep an eye on it? Has he been tested for heartworms? He's not that old so I wouldn't expect heartworms to be the cause but 6 months is when the adults would start showing on a panel. I would also want to rule out any tick borne diseases. Around here we have already started seeing a lot of tick diseases that we don't normally see. Is he eating good? Does he skip meals or refuse food ever? What makes you think HD? Just that he doesn't want to stand for long periods or does he walk funny? Does he lay down after 2-3 minutes of walking or just 2-3 minutes of standing? If the lethargy has been going on more than a week I would request the vet do some blood work and tests and if I get another lets just monitor then I would get a new vet.

Leo isn't very active husky ether. he's happy with a nice walk and some playtime in the backyard and helping out with the gophers hahaha. he is very mellow and even more of a lounger then normal during the summer months.

Thank you all for your replies! Meeko's energy level hasn't declined any since first bringing him home. It's been consistent, just consistently very low. He is not an outside dog. At most he might spend an hour outside at a time. We do live in a rural area and I have found one tick on him earlier this spring. The vet has been saying to keep an eye on it since our first visit with her at 10 weeks old. She says maybe it's because hes a growing pup or he is just going to be a lazier dog, but at home it seems abnormal to me. Our 15 year old dog has more energy than he does most of the time. I believe when he goes in to get fixed and get his hip xrays tomorrow that they're going to test for heartworms then. He does skip meals. He is never excited about food. There are days he will eat 5 cups of food in a day and acting like he is starving, and some times he will go 2 days with barely eating a bite. We suspect HD because even though he is a large size dog now, he doesnt jump, he rarely runs, and when you go to help him up on the bed let's say and you go to give him a boost, he cries and tries to bite you. He is very touchy about anyone going near his hips/back legs. So were doing the xray just to make sure. The vet does not see any signs of HD with him walking or his range of motion in his back legs. He does lay down after a maximum of 4 minutes of either standing or even sitting. I can count on one hand since bringing him home at 8 weeks old how many times he has actually been playful and active.

I would ask the vet to make sure you get some spine x-rays, it could be a spine issue vs HD.

Poor baby. It does seem like something is wrong. Either not growing right or has been injured at some point. The ups and downs in his food interest could coincide with pain potentially. Let us know what the vet sees. Very curious.

Thank you. I will let you know of any updates. I'm very worried. He's my baby. He's the one thing that I've wanted for such a long time and I finally got him and I'm concerned that he isn't a healthy pup and/or there is something more serious going on. Especially since he has acted this way since the day he came home. It's not that he has worsened any, there just hasn't been any improvement either.

We have 2 other dogs (not huskies) that we have had since puppies, one is 5 years old and the other is 3, and from puppies until now they have 10x more energy than my poor Meek has ever had.

Hope the Xrays and check up go well today. Good luck. Have you been in contact with the breeder any and voiced your concerns to them? Good quality breeders try to keep track of their pups and should have interest in if something is going on. They would also know if any of the other pups in the litter show this nature or have been diagnosed with something that could cause it.

Okay, so good news! No hip dysplasia! His hips are great and the vet who was convinced he had HD said his xrays look perfect! His spine xrays were all normal as well. In regards to the low energy/lethargy, she wants me to try switching his food to see if this makes a difference. I transitioned him over a 4 week period to Orijen Large Puppy formula when we brought him home and he has been on it since. I like it because of the hard to find high protein and protein being from meat rather than vegetables. I was wondering if any had any suggestions or experiences with other foods? We've fed our dogs either orijen or acana for years now and our other fur babies have no problems with it, but the vet wants to make sure he's not getting too much of something or not enough of something that could be effecting his energy levels before doing the very, very expensive blood tests.

I'd go with a good meat and rice formula food. Rice provides carbs which provide energy Not every dog does well grain free but, you don't want corn, rice and/or oatmeal are more digestible and, provide nutrition and carbs for your dog.

The alternative would be to go with a homemade diet, but if you don't want to feed raw, you'll probably need to add supplements to any cooked diet.

How is the rest of him? Does he have dandruff or itch? Does he get a smell about him sometimes?

Without knowing what the vet is searching for it's hard to play musical foods. Orijen and Acana are about as good as you can go in kibble. And you are feeding a lentil food which cuts out most of the problem ingredients that huskies tend to have when it comes to food. Zignature is a really good food but pricey. I personally would try to find something that is similar in ingredients to what you are currently feeding and just try to get something without chicken. There is something about chicken that some dogs do have issues with. Chicken is also high in omega 6 so the only thing I could think of that could possibly be low would be omega 3. How are his poops? Does he have mushy days? Does he ever get some weird spots around his mouth? If your dog is missing something nutritionally like zinc it will really need to be found through the testing. Since you feed a great food, if your dog isn't getting something nutritionally it is more likely to be because something is medically causing your dog to not absorb this in his food in which case no matter what food you go to the problem won't be solved.

Deboned chicken, deboned turkey, yellowtail flounder, whole eggs, whole atlantic mackerel, chicken liver, turkey liver, chicken heart, turkey heart, whole atlantic herring, dehydrated chicken, dehydrated turkey, dehydrated mackerel, dehydrated chicken liver, dehydrated turkey liver, whole green peas, whole navy beans, red lentils, chicken necks, chicken kidney, pinto beans, chickpeas, green lentils, natural chicken flavor, lentil fiber, herring oil, ground chicken bone, chicken cartilage, chicken fat, turkey cartilage, dried kelp, freeze-dried chicken liver, freeze-dried turkey liver, whole pumpkin, whole butternut squash, kale, spinach, mustard greens, collard greens, turnip greens, whole carrots, apples, pears, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, zinc proteinate, mixed tocopherols (preservative), chicory root, turmeric, sarsaparilla root, althea root, rosehips, juniper berries, dried lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried bifidobacterium animalis fermentation product, dried lactobacillus casei fermentation product.

Sorry I know that is a lot, but that's the ingredient list for the Orijen puppy large. The way the vet explained it to me is that her concern is with the amount of meat and lack of carbs, that he is getting high protein which is great, but he isnt getting enough carbs to generate the energy he needs resulting in what looks like lethargy. She also mentioned that the meat in his food is all white meat and there isnt any red meat.

He does itch, but I havent seen actual dandruff. His poops are good and regular but sometimes very loose. I've never notice any smells about him or noticed any spots around his mouth.

That was my concern with Orijen as well when I looked at it. Yes, that's good for the humans, slows the puppy down but, not so good for the puppy. Honestly, for a reasonably priced, grain free but not carb free kibble, I like Pure Balance - Yes the Wal Mart Stuff. The Wilds and Free formula is good for large breed puppies and adults of any breed. That's what I use for my supplemental kibble with the raw diet.

Tapioca is the starch (carbs) in that one, a bit controversial but, this one is processed properly so, I'm not worried about it. No gluten or lecithin in it either, and that's good. Yes it's just carbs and a bit of B vitamins but, it's combined with meat so, the lack of protein in tapioca isn't a problem to me - it's energy for the dog and, dogs do need some carbs.

Did she do a thyroid panel? BLood tests (wondering about his red cells/hemoglobin) Have you or she gently palpated all his joints - any pain, wincing, pulling back? It really seems strange to me that a 6 month old pup only stands for a few minutes at a time. How's his weight? Anything else like coat quality? I'd also wonder about addison's (too little cortisol) With his fast breathing all the time, ask about his eisinophils (asthma, other allergic diseases of the lungs)

If your vet is coming up short, I might get a second opinion at a vet school. Even my 9 yr old foster sounds like he has more energy than your pup.

One last question - any chance he was bonded with a litter mate or other dog and is not tolerating the separation?

The vet has done the thyroid panel, CMP and a CBC. Everything has come back normal so far. She wanted me to try a different type of food protein and increasing his carbs before testing his cortisol and a few other things that I honestly cannot remember at the moment. She wants me to try switching food first because the next set of blood tests she wants to do are very expensive blood tests so she doesnt want to do unnecessary blood work and to spend that amount of money if it could be result of the food not being right for him.

The vet has palpated all of his joints and he cries when you mess with his hips, which is why she was concerned for HD along with him not standing or even sitting for longer than just a couple minutes. His weight is slightly low. He weighed in at 44lbs yesterday, but he is very very slender. But he also isnt a huge fan of food. He isnt like our other dogs who tackle you for their food bowls. He will wake away from his meal sometimes. He certainly isnt underweight though. His coat quality is great! At first I thought he was like depressed because he came from a house with his 7 siblings that he had to play with 24/7, to our house where we do have other dogs, but they dont always want to play with him all the time. My boyfriend and I dont live together, so he only has the 2 other dogs on the weekends and through the week it's just him. So I've questioned if it's a boredom issue, but it's not like he is lacking toys or room to run (5 fenced in acres) and then I have a 5 year old daughter who tries to play with him to but he just isnt one to play with humans, he only wants to play with other dogs. And I dont know how or what to do or if that can even be changed.

And he's my first husky, so the fast breathing and panting a lot, for a while at least, I just kind of shrugged of to him being really hot.

How much water does he drink?

As for play, they can be fussy critters, it might take a bit of creativity to find the toy and game that trips his trigger.

My Halo only wanted to play with a rubber tug toy when it came to playing with humans, now he will accept a rope or a rubber tug. Knight never wanted to play with humans and toys, the human was his toy as far a he was concerned. Now he's a cuddle bug, just wants pets, not play. Silver loved and still does love any game that involves him running and climbing. Kaila loved her rope bones and playing fetch with her Kong or ball.

All of mine do have rabbit bottles (glass ones with stainless steel licker tips) in their crates, it's hot and humid here and, they all drink a few ounces overnight. During the day, they have free access to water at all times, inside and outside.

I also have them in oversize crated that allow for a sleeping blanket and a potty pad - not one of them has ever needed to use the potty pad but, it's there if they ever need it overnight - better that than a dehydrated or even thirsty dog in this heat. Even with air conditioning, the house doesn't get below 75, even at night and, that's warm for a husky or any dog with a husky type coat.

Now heat of the day, mine laze about and are inactive but, early morning and late evening, when it's cooler, they are wound by the pound balls of energy. Morning races around their pen and, evening races through the house are the routine here. Summer bed time is midnight, to allow them to burn off some energy before bed. At 11:30, I stop the racing through the house and play and, do 10 minutes of training or revisiting well known commands with each one before telling them to kennel up and, giving them their bed time activity items in their crates.

I've found huskies and husky crosses like a fairly firm schedule, at least the mornings and evenings need to be the same or, as close as possible to the same every day. Morning is free run outside while I watch them and, have my coffee, evening is them romping indoors, tagging me for pets randomly for an hour, then a bit of training, then bed.

If you're going to allow the indoor romp, make sure the house is ready for it, they are fast and, just one can seem like a stampeding herd doing laps in your house that might decide to tackle the human. I have four of them doing it every evening. LOL. Gives to child's game "dog pile" a whole new meaning

I've been following this thread but have no advice since I'm perplexed by it all. The thing that bothers me the most is "crying" when the hips are messed with and crying when you help him on the bed. Is it crying as if in pain or is it more that, for lack of a better word, whine, that huskies do when you do something that they don't necessarily like? It's hard to describe but it's kinda a yippy sounding whine/cry. Like "don't touch me!"

My guys are not you playing dogs. Even when they were young, maybe 45 seconds with a squeaky toy. Archer is a bit more playful...he loves a good game of tug.

As for the breathing, my big red boy often breathes fast and pants. Take your pick...he's a wooly and he's hour or he has a touch of asthma/allergies bit doesn't seem to.integer too much with his life.

I wonder - are though sure he can see?

Like Jimmy it concerns me a bit about the whining.

What about totw puppy...but not the high prairie as it is high protein, too.

Amy, maybe you can describe it better than me, if you know where I'm going with this...my thoughts are since it is her first Husky, if she might be misinterpreting the cry/whine thing when having the hips messed with or being helped onto the bed. A cry from something being painful is one thing, but I'd think the vet would be very concerned about it to the point of re-examining the X-rays or whatever instead of suggesting something like a food change. There is another thing Huskies do basically when they are being a little bratty. Like when you touch them certain places or have them do something they don't necessarily want to do, ugh, that's not the right way of putting it...ok, so like, say you want the Husky on the bed, and you start to help him up, he gets this little brattyness to him, like "don't touch me,! I can do it without you!" It's like a yippy, snappy "talk", somewhat like a cry out. Like I know when Kohdi had his poop incident a couple weeks ago, not to be gross but his fur back there was a little messy and needed to be cleaned and he was going to be a brat about it and did this thing like "don't touch me" it's not an aggressive growl or bark, it's more a, I dont know, brat thing they can do at times, where they cry out but it's not pain, it's more displeasure. My thinking is if it's something like that, the "cry" isn't concerning and changes the direction of advice she can use.

Her's a good example of that argumentative crying Huskies do - not out of aggression, pain, anxiety or anything, just because they want to have it their way instead of yours. If that's what yours does, he's arguing with you, saying "I don't want it that way or, I don't want to do that."

Kenzi is a brat about her rear being messed with as well. She will grunt growl over it. She has arthritis but it doesn't hurt for her to be messed with. She came from a household that had kids though we are pretty sure, that more than likely pulled her tail so now every time someone goes near her rear she fears they are going to pull her tail.

Orijen is a rich food that dogs who aren't working can sometimes have a hard time with. Usually it leads to not solid poops though. I personally would drop back to Acana or Victor or Totw and look for something that doesn't have chicken in it. I would cut chicken completely out.

I can't say anything over the pup and the crying, it could be inexperience with the breed, but dang most puppies want to play or run. I might would look for a second opinion, just a basic look over and bring in results from the first vet, maybe the first vet missed something. I will ask if the pup is up to date on worming and more specifically have you seen anything that resembles tape worm? It will look like a piece of rice. I was baffled for several months when my girl was around the same age, lack of appetite and didn't want to play much, I figured it was because of our Texas heat, and then one day I seen a worm on her tail. She had a bad case of tape worm, probably one of the most difficult worms to test for and see. Did the vet do a fecal? to rule out worms?

To the food..........huskies do not derive energy thru carbs, they get their energy from fats. Orijen is indeed too rich for many husky pups, saying that poops are sometimes loose tells me that perhaps Orijen is just too rich for your pup. I would try like Jenn said Acana puppy, Victor puppy or the pacific stream Taste of the Wild Puppy and see how that goes.

glad to hear its not hip dysplasia.
Leo would not like his feet couched. some he was okay with it sometimes he didn't want any one to touch them. after a long time trying to figure out what was wrong with him. due to a slip on the tile floor we did the hip xray by a local vet and we were told that he had lose hips at the time he was under 2 years old. so after digging around to find another vet for a second opinion. we at last new that he had growing pains which lasted until he was 3 years old. and came back for a recheck and there was still pain. so off to a muscle specialist we went and found out that he has a groin muscle strain and he also told us that his hips look good. we have yet to get the test done for that. due to him getting stick in February and need to save up that amount of funds again.

he was also eating orijen tundra for about 6 months before he got sick. i switched him to a home made diet after that, add a multi vitamin, fish oil with vitamin e, and kelp boost.  i would defiantly try a different food.