We just came back from the Banfield Pet Hospital at Petsmart.

The vet clearly loves her job and she was a super sweet lady. But she kept saying, "the huskies, being a large breed dog" need....this that and the other thing. She kept stressing how the puppies needed to be on a "large breed" puppy food.

???

I've always read that huskies were considered a medium-sized dog in the Dog Fancy world.

The pups are currently eating Taste of The Wild puppy food, which they seem to love and it has great ingredients.

I don't get it. ?

Please, try and find a new vet! Banfield is one of the worst veterinary chains out there! They are notorious for overvaccinating and overcharging. Every customer we have here that uses them is vaccinated for like 297908 different things (often double) than what they really "need."

Siberians are a medium breed dog. They are not large breed. Large breed "siberians" are either fat, horribly bred, or Malamutes.

Totally agree with Kristina! Banfield is horrible!

I had an " experience" with seeing the vet at our banfield running a register. That with some other shady things made me to where I will not go back there.

Kristina's right, sibes are a medium breed, NOT a large breed and they certainly do not need to be on a large breed food. I would also echo staying far away from Banfield. I wouldn't fault the vet for not knowing the breed as well as we do, they can't know everything about every breed...but Banfield's in general don't usually come with positive stories. Unless of course you talk to the many clueless people out their who just believe everything Banfield staff tell them.

Raven eats Diamond large breed puppy food. Its what the breeder recommended and our vet commented that its commonly used by breeders because its cheap. She suggested we switch to a premium food so she would eat less and poop less but didn't comment on it being large breed.

I read the feeding guidlines in the AKC New Puppy Handbook its says

"Large-breed puppies will weigh more than 50 pounds when full grown. It takes these big guys about 18 to 24 months to reach their adult size. If they grow too quickly, they can develop problems with their joints and bones. Reduced-calorie foods with less calcium help support the proper rate of growth in large-breed dogs.

It then goes on to say that small breed dogs are those that are under 20 lbs and need higher calorie foods.

Vet says she'll have a better idea at her 4 month checkup but it Raven is estimated to be about 50 pounds as an adult. So the large breed slower growth food seems the proper way to go.

I fed Kale a large breed puppy food because I knew he'd be over 50 Ibs, he's almost 60. Switched him over to all life stages when he was 8-9 months.

paleobones wrote:

I read the feeding guidlines in the AKC New Puppy Handbook its says

"Large-breed puppies will weigh more than 50 pounds when full grown. It takes these big guys about 18 to 24 months to reach their adult size. If they grow too quickly, they can develop problems with their joints and bones. Reduced-calorie foods with less calcium help support the proper rate of growth in large-breed dogs.

It then goes on to say that small breed dogs are those that are under 20 lbs and need higher calorie foods.

Vet says she'll have a better idea at her 4 month checkup but it Raven is estimated to be about 50 pounds as an adult. So the large breed slower growth food seems the proper way to go.

Did you also read that the AKC info on sibes lists them as a medium breed regardless of the fact that weight standards range from 35-55 lbs? There's no harm in feeding sibes a large breed food, it's just not necessary that's all. No way would I consider a 55 lb sibe to be large, by the same token I don't consider 20 lbs to be small. Guidelines are just that, a guide, not an ultimatum requiring large breed food if you expect a 52 lb adult dog. . Also, sibes don't take that long to reach adult size, typically they're done by around 12 months, give or take. Yes, they do have a tendency to continue filling out until 2-3 yrs of age, but their growth and structure top out by the 1 yr mark making large breed formulas unnecessary.

What I find funny is that with most people I bump into they think Sibes are the same size a Malamutes and comment that my boy is so small (even though he is at the upper end of the standard). Maybe the vet was making that kind of confusion, maybe not seeing enough Sibes and thinking they will get as big as Mals.

I would surely not put them on a large breed diet, first for not being a large breed and second because it could potentially cause growth and health issues. I would stick with what you are feeding them and find a new vet.

heres a good example for ya. the dog im petting is timberwolf/malamute and dog on the far right is a 7 month old bull mastiff. the husky in the middle is a year and a half old. huskies are deffinatly a medium breed dog. I feed mine blue buffalo puppy food and i think she looks and acts healthy and has a great coat. "just my 2 cents, im not an expert"

Oh yeah Zaria "husky in middle" weighs about 47 lbs. Sadie "left" around 33 lbs. Jackson "wolf" around 140 lbs or so

Holy moly that's a big dog!!!!

If I'm not mistaken, giant Malamute males can reach up to 140 lbs....I think. (I think someone posted here that they met a giant Malamute male at about 140 lbs).

huskies81 wrote:

Oh yeah Zaria "husky in middle" weighs about 47 lbs. Sadie "left" around 33 lbs. Jackson "wolf" around 140 lbs or so

WOW! Adam, that is a big dog! Pretty though! Did you meet him at a dog park?


Well, it might sound ridiculous, but I had a few reasons for trying Banfield. One, they had good reviews for a few people I talked to in Destin, they liked a few of the vets. Two, the last time we were they, they noticed we had puppies and the lady gave us two "first visit free" coupons, so at least I knew I could "try" them out for myself. Three, their shots were actually cheaper than anywhere else in our area, and I had not yet found another vet I was "sold" on. Oh and also, we travel a lot...the particular areas we frequent heavily all have Banfields in the city. Once the pups are in the system as "patients" we can go to any Banfield. So, I wanted them in there "just in case"!

That all being said....I don't plan to use them as our regular vet. I'm still researching them in my area, and there just isn't that stellar of a selection. I am hoping to find one quite familiar with huskies if I get lucky.

Thank you all for the advice! I knew SIbes were medium breed dogs and had the hardest time not correcting the vet! I know not all vets are familiar with every single breed of dog, but if I was a vet, I sure would try my darndest to be! At least with the top 50 dogs!

I got a chuckle out of this picture. Look who the "mascot" dog is on the Banfield flyer.

I accidentally bought large breed food and used it for a few days before getting the other food. Stormy didn't seem to have a problem with it and I then donated it (30 lb bag) to the local Greyhound rescue. Stormy hit 55 lbs at 8 months. He isn't a giant height wise and he isn't overweight but I was concerned since my girls were that big full grown.

Is feeding large breed puppy food terrible? I bought a huge bag of Blue Buffalo Large Breed puppy food for my 9 week old ! I was already set on buying Blue because of the natural ingredients, but the Petsmart employee encouraged me to buy the large breed because it contained more protein. Is that completely wrong?! -___-

No matter what vet you go to (and we've had a good experience at the Banfield here, but I do read bad reviews for the other locations), make sure that YOU - as the dog owner - know everything there is to know about your breed. Your vet, no matter who they are, can't know everything about all breeds. I always educate myself on possible causes for symptoms and look up husky-specfic reasons prior to going to the vet. And always refuse their "prescription" food.

g0tmus1c wrote:

Is feeding large breed puppy food terrible? I bought a huge bag of Blue Buffalo Large Breed puppy food for my 9 week old ! I was already set on buying Blue because of the natural ingredients, but the Petsmart employee encouraged me to buy the large breed because it contained more protein. Is that completely wrong?! -___-

No, it's not terrible and it's not going to harm your dog. As I've said before, large breed formulas are not bad, they're just not necessary.

I know they're medium breed dogs.

The article only refered to large breeds versus small breeds and their nutritional needs.

Since Raven is already over 20 lbs, and is estimated to be about 50 lbs as an adult feeding a large breed puppy food makes more sense to me then feeding her a general puppy food, that may have too much of one thing and not enough of another, or one for small breed dogs.

Both the breeder and my vet recommended large breed puppy food.

Large breed puppy foods have less calories and lower proteins to ensure slower more regulated growth. Since the Siberian is a medium breed, it's not necessary and a regular high quality puppy food is fine.

paleobones wrote:

Since Raven is already over 20 lbs, and is estimated to be about 50 lbs as an adult feeding a large breed puppy food makes more sense to me then feeding her a general puppy food, that may have too much of one thing and not enough of another, or one for small breed dogs.

Both the breeder and my vet recommended large breed puppy food.

I respect your decision and I'm not here to try to change your mind or argue with the "experts" (your breeder and vet). But perhaps you can give me an education on why that makes more sense so that I can better understand your point of view since it sounds like you've been doing your research on what is best to feed and why. I like to play devil's advocate so don't feel I'm calling you out. But can you sell me on why a medium breed individual whose expected adult weight is estimated to be 50-55 lbs should be on a large breed puppy formula?

I was surprised when Raven was sent home with large breed puppy food. I asked lots of questions and read what I could find. I will be the first to admit that I dont know a lot about dogs. But I do know about bones, human bones in particular.

When I read the AKC article about larger puppies needing a longer grow period over small dogs to ensure proper bone and joint development something clicked. People reach ther adult height at around 18 yrs of age but internally growth is still occuring, including bone growth. The last bone to fuse in the human body is the clavicle (collar bone) at around 25 yrs. A full seven years after maximum height was reached.

So what does this have to do with dogs right? lol I just figured by what my vet and you guys also stated on the forums and what I've read that the sibes may reach their adult size height wise around 12 mths but will continue to fill out into the next year and are completely grown by 2yrs.I took what I knew of human bones and applied it to dogs. Meaning that during that filling out period their bones finish growing, ossifying.

Maybe I'm crazy but thats my reasoning for feeding her what I do. And I mean no offense to you but I dont know you at all. When it comes to the health and welfare of my Raven I am going to take the advice of vets and breeders and the AKC over a unknown person on a internet forum. I love this forum though, and I think its a wonderful place to find support and answers.

paleobones wrote:

Raven eats Diamond large breed puppy food. Its what the breeder recommended and our vet commented that its commonly used by breeders because its cheap. She suggested we switch to a premium food so she would eat less and poop less but didn't comment on it being large breed.

I read the feeding guidlines in the AKC New Puppy Handbook its says

"Large-breed puppies will weigh more than 50 pounds when full grown. It takes these big guys about 18 to 24 months to reach their adult size. If they grow too quickly, they can develop problems with their joints and bones. Reduced-calorie foods with less calcium help support the proper rate of growth in large-breed dogs.

It then goes on to say that small breed dogs are those that are under 20 lbs and need higher calorie foods.

Vet says she'll have a better idea at her 4 month checkup but it Raven is estimated to be about 50 pounds as an adult. So the large breed slower growth food seems the proper way to go.

According to this, your breeder advised large breed food - your vet did not and just advised using a premium food. Huskies don't take 18 to 24 months to reach adult size - they take 12 months and as previously advised, don't need the lower calorie food to slow down their growth - therefore according to the handbook, you also don't need large breed food.

Quoted from AKC's website:
'The Siberian Husky is a medium-sized working dog...'

I don't know of one vet or reputable breeder that says Siberian Huskies are a large breed dog....
There are some Siberians that exceed AKC standards making them the size of a large breed - like my Storm - but as a breed standard, they are medium size. I still don't feed Storm a large breed dog food. My female is also at the top end of AKC standards for a female and she also doesn't get fed a large breed dog food. As long as they are fed a good quality dog food and they are getting the nutrition they need is basically what matters.

So even if Raven reaches full height in the first year, and will probably fill out for another year after that, and if Raven still only tops out at 50-55 lbs, that would still be medium size breed.

I never said Sibes were large breed dogs. My vet never said they were a large breed dog. The breeder never said they were large breed dogs.

I said they recommended large breed puppy food for Raven.