Hi guys,

I am new to this site, but I adopted a husky mix (she is 3/4 husky and 1/4 lab) who was the runt of the litter. When I got her at 8 weeks she was 3.5lbs, and now at almost 10 weeks, she is almost 4lbs. She has an enormous appetite but the vet told me to feed her only 1/4cup 3 times a day since her stomach is so tiny. She is very playful and healthy, but I am concerned about how tiny she is!!! Does anyone know if being the runt will cause her to be very small as an adult?

Thanks.
-Becca

Oh, and here is a picture of her:

My little girl was the runt of the litter and now at 3 years of age she weighs in at 40 lbs which is on the lower end of the spectrum, but she's healthy. I can't remember how much she weighed when we brought her home, but I'm sure it was more than 3.5 lbs. 1/4 c 3x a day does sound low for a growing puppy...what are you feeding her? She's adorable, by the way! Are you sure she was a full 8 weeks when you adopted her?

Here are mine the day we brought them home at 8 weeks (Dakota is the one on the bottom):


Me holding her:


I'm not sure any of this is helpful for you, but unless she starts showing signs of being unhealthy, I'd give her time. They grow really fast.

Being a runt of a litter doesn't mean the dog will be the smallest when all grown up. Where did you get her from (shelter, rescue, breeder)? Does she have all her puppy teeth? She looks awful small for a 10 week old. I'd feed small amounts 3 to 4 times a day for the same reason your vet gave you. She's very cute! Congrats on your new puppy!

Are you sure of her age?

Raven was 10 lbs at 8 weeks. She cute but really tiny.

Thanks for the quick feedback! I got her from a lady I found online, I only paid $50 as she is technically a mutt, but I got to see her mother (gorgeous, huge purebred husky) and dad (all black half husky, half lab). As for her age, i had suspicions that she was much younger, but i was told she was born the week before december and her siblings were double her size, and that she was simply the runt. I've been feeding her dry beneful puppy food. Also, those puppy pics at 8 weeks make Sky (thats her name) look like a toy lol....

A more nutritional food might help as well. According to dogfoodadvisor.com (which our nutritional experts here recommended) has Beneful at the lowest rating. If you possibly can, try switching her over to higher rated food. Sky is going to be a very beautiful girl.

Oh gosh! I had no idea. That's just what she was on when I got her and I was afraid to switch. I will definitely look into transitioning to a better formula.

rforsyth wrote:

Thanks for the quick feedback! I got her from a lady I found online, I only paid $50 as she is technically a mutt, but I got to see her mother (gorgeous, huge purebred husky) and dad (all black half husky, half lab). As for her age, i had suspicions that she was much younger, but i was told she was born the week before december and her siblings were double her size, and that she was simply the runt. I've been feeding her dry beneful puppy food. Also, those puppy pics at 8 weeks make Sky (thats her name) look like a toy lol....

I wouldn't be surprised if they lied about her age. I was told (online) that Kale was 8 weeks old, but in all actuality was 5 weeks. I knew he was young when we went to look at him, but I wasn't going to say anything and "insult" them because I wanted him lol and yes, feeding a higher quality puppy food may help. She's gonna be a cutie!

How did you find out her age?? That makes me nervous since she's gotten her first shot and heartworm med.

rforsyth wrote:

How did you find out her age?? That makes me nervous since she's gotten her first shot and heartworm med.

I took him to my Vet. Because he was taken from him mother so early and we were suspecting that he didn't nurse very long (or at all) my vet gave him his first dist/parvo shot. Puppies that nurse from their mother till 4-5 weeks are given natural immunities that are passed through the milk. We were pretty sure that he didn't get much of that so we vaccinated early. Don't be worried; if she isn't acting sick, is active and eating, she'll be just fine. Your vet would not have vaccinated if she was too young

Okay good, and the vaccine schedule I got is supposed to start at 6 weeks anyway so I guess if she is actually a few weeks younger she's still on track. I wish I could know though! Haha. I really hope she gets as big as her momma She had to be 70 lbs at least.

Two more questions:
When I first got her, her ears were floppy like a lab's, but they still have the husky markings. The owner told me it was possible for them to stand up, but that it is different for every puppy. Yesterday one of her ears started standing up on its own (ONLY one haha), and now today it's up like half the time. Do you think it's possible she will have the typical husky erect ears? I really hope so!
Secondly, when does eye color become permanent? In general she has pretty dark eyes, but sometimes they are like a dark blue, and other times they are like a dark brown.

Thanks guys!

Here is a picture of her one floppy ear, haha, so cute:


Anddd here is a picture from the first week I got her (she was pouting at the time):

Ohhh she is so cute..I really think judging by the second pic of her that she was more in the 4- 5 week range when you got her.. She is beautiful though.. Also with a mixed breed it's hard to say whether her ears will be erect or not..

Quinncujo wrote:

Ohhh she is so cute..I really think judging by the second pic of her that she was more in the 4- 5 week range when you got her.. She is beautiful though.. Also with a mixed breed it's hard to say whether her ears will be erect or not..

Why thank you I can't wait to see what she looks like as an adult! Looking back at pictures taken just 2 weeks ago, I am like gosh she was ridiculously small when I got her, and people STILL say she's tiny!

I met one family who were told their puppy was 10 weeks old and judging from how tiny it was and how it acted, I would say it looked more like 5 weeks! Some breeders lie to get rid of the puppies faster.

If her ears are trying to stand up, they probably will eventually. I've seen a few husky pups where only one ear stood up (like Elara's brother), but now they both stand up just fine.

SaraB wrote:

I met one family who were told their puppy was 10 weeks old and judging from how tiny it was and how it acted, I would say it looked more like 5 weeks! Some breeders lie to get rid of the puppies faster.

If her ears are trying to stand up, they probably will eventually. I've seen a few husky pups where only one ear stood up (like Elara's brother), but now they both stand up just fine.

hehe, my boyfriend wants just one to stay up, that way we can tell people "the left half is husky, the right half is lab!" LOL

Atka was the runt of his litter and weighed in at 6lbs at 8 weeks. They said he was born on Sep 19 so I'm fairly sure he was 8 weeks when I got him but he looked abour 6 weeks old. He's growing fast but is still below average.

This was Atka the day we brought him home.

Thanks everyone for your feedback! I am almost certain now that the seller lied to me; Sky is probably just now 7 weeks old, and even then she is underweight. But I am happy that she is healthy and playful, so time will tell how quickly she grows!

She's beautiful!!

Thanks! Little miss Sky is now 8lbs! Growing so fast, and her next vet appt is tomorrow morning, so I am going to have her check her teeth and give another age estimate. Here is an updated picture

So precious! Xiah was 6.4 lbs when we brought her home at 5 weeks, and she was not the runt, so I would say that is probably about how old your baby was Looks as if her eyes will be brown to me too! Xiah has green, the breeder swears they will turn yellow because moms were green and hazel then turned yellow as a pup.

Woah that's pretty cool!! Yup, she def has brown eyes haha