I've been wondering lately if my Kiba might be getting a little chubby in her old age (nearly ... she doesn't look particularly overweight to me, but as a vet student, I try to be scientific and palpate her ribs. Feeling her ribs is very difficult because she's so fluffy! I can't tell if the ribs are hard to feel due to her being fat or because of excessive amounts of fluff! She's big for a female husky, always has been... I think at last weigh-in she weighed around 63 lbs, possibly as much as 65. I've heard of males topping out at 60 lbs, but never girls...

What do you folks think? How do you tell if it's fat or fluff?

If she has a waistline, a nice belly tuck, does not have difficulty getting up from rest, and is very active, I'm sure her weight is fine. It would be helpful if you presented some pics and pointed out the areas that you are concerned about on her. Can't tell much from your profile picture, but I do see she has a waistline.

Really hard to tell without a picture...

my female only weighs 48lbs..

hypers987 wrote:

...she has a waistline, a nice belly tuck.....It would be helpful if you presented some pics........Can't tell much from your profile picture....

good points...also, how tall is she? you'll need to measure height without the fluff.

you should EASILY feel her ribs, visually see a belly tuck and waistline even through her fur.

my female stands about 22.5 inches tall is 52 lbs (she at top end of breed standard in height and weight)....my male stands about 26 inches tall is 78 lbs (but he is outside breed standard for males)

it would help if measure her height and send us a side view picture and a top view picture.

Ribs should be easy to feel even on a very fluffy dog. In addition to the other questions, how old is she and has she stayed relatively the same weight throughout adulthood or has she fluctuated?

What has your vet said about her weight and body condition?

Our girl is all fluff but I can get in there and feel her ribs no issue with the extra fur. My guess is she might be putting on weight if your asking this question. What are you feeding her and how much a day does she eat including treats?
We do have a "weigh in" topic you can look at to see where all our sibes are regarding weight

jbealer wrote:

We do have a "weigh in" topic you can look at to see where all our sibes are regarding weight

Here's a link to the topic Jenn mentioned in case you have trouble finding it:
Weigh in...

Bella is 52 and 21-21 1/2 at the shoulder just within the standard =/. She has a nice tuck but she needs to be under 50.

She's on a diet now!

Niraya wrote:

Bella is 52 and 21-21 1/2 at the shoulder just within the standard =/. She has a nice tuck but she needs to be under 50.

She's on a diet now!

When Mya was 50/52lbs she was at her perfect weight. This was when she was about a year -2 years old. I think it all depends on the dog honestly. Mya got up to 75lbs after we spayed her! Luckily I learned a lot about doggie nutrition on here and within the last year she"s down to 55lbs. She looks great, but I would like her to lose another 3lbs. I can feel her ribs easily and she has her tuck back

MelissaI wrote:

Niraya wrote:

Bella is 52 and 21-21 1/2 at the shoulder just within the standard =/. She has a nice tuck but she needs to be under 50.

She's on a diet now!

When Mya was 50/52lbs she was at her perfect weight. This was when she was about a year -2 years old. I think it all depends on the dog honestly. Mya got up to 75lbs after we spayed her! Luckily I learned a lot about doggie nutrition on here and within the last year she"s down to 55lbs. She looks great, but I would like her to lose another 3lbs. I can feel her ribs easily and she has her tuck back

Bella actually looks really good. You wouldn't be able to guess that she is 52 pounds by looking at her. I'll try and get some pictures later today.

But she'll be 10 months old today. I'd like to trim her down to about 45-48 max.

Anubis is about 30kg at the moment, sorry don´t now how much lbs that is. I think it is a bit too much, I want to go down about 3kg or so.
I´m testing on the right amound of food right now because I don´t want to buy diet food.

Dennis, that works out to 66 lbs (2.2 lbs/kg). Depending on his frame size, that may not be too bad. Can you easily feel his ribs? If not then yeah he probably needs to lose a lb or 2.

We weighed Ghost last night, 41.2 lbs and she'll be 8 months tomorrow. She's had a little bit of a growth spurt lately, she now comes up to above my knee.

He is about 58 to 60 cm tall, not sure. Yes I can feel his ribs. Maybe I´m thinking too much again, because he is so calm now I thought with a bit less wieght he might be a bit mor e energetic.
He is a big Husky, alot of people have asked me if he is a Malamute.

Given his height I'd say that's probably a good weight, especially since you can feel his ribs. That puts him on the very upper end of breed standard (22.8-23.6" tall). It might just be that he's mellowing out a little bit, or he could have a couple extra lbs on there. Someone with a little more experience might be able to give you more information, but he seems about right to me. As you said, he's a big boy

Weighed in at the vet this morning:

Adobo - 52.2lbs
Biko - 54.8lbs.

Now I'm confused because Biko looks like he is 10 lbs. heavier then Adobo. He's taller and bulkier I guess maybe his bulk is lingering puppy fat or maybe Adobo has a lot more muscle.

I feel like Delilah is underweight! She is 1 1/2 and only ways 37lbs!

Hi my girl laska is 14 and 5months she is 22kg close to 50 pound. But she has always been a small girl. Our vet has recommended that 22 kg is good weight

You cant see laska's ribs clearly with all her fur but when she goes for a swim at the beach and her fur gets wet her shape is more visable.

Laska has never really been a big eater. All I know according to my vet my husky should be between 21 and 24 kg.

Top view.


Side number 1.


Side number 2.

Pardon the dirty floor.

I also think it's ridiculous that she only does a stand-stay the lead we use for handling. >:[
Yay for her thinking she's working!

Hi there,
She is a beautiful girl.
From your photos, she looks a bit thin but I am no expert. I just go with what my vet recommends to keep my huskies weight range in.

If you look at my dog Laska, you would probably think she is fat with all that fur bushing her out. But I can feel my dogs ribs easily under that mass of fur.

Thanks!

Like i said - she weighs a little bit more than what I'd like. I'd like to drop her down to 45-48 pounds ideally. From her 52ish that she is at now. I determine Bella's weight according to the breed standard for Siberians.

"Height: Dogs, 21 to 23 1/2 inches at the withers. Bitches, 20 to 22 inches at the withers.
Weight: Dogs, 45 to 60 pounds. Bitches, 35 to 50 pounds. Weight is in proportion to height. The measurements mentioned above represent the extreme height and weight limits with no preference given to either extreme. Any appearance of excessive bone or weight should be penalized. In profile, the length of the body from the point of the shoulder to the rear point of the croup is slightly longer than the height of the body from the ground to the top of the withers. "

Bella is at the top end of the standard - at about 21 1/2 inches. She should be near the 50 pound mark. She also looks skinny because she didn't blow her coat this year (she's young - only 10 months today) so she doesn't have the classic Siberian Husky look to her yet - she doesn't look as filled out. Bella has a little bit more padding on her ribs than I'd like also.

And I think Laska is absolutely beautiful I love her coat colors!

Bella's hourglass shape in pic #1 has a bit of a bulge so yeah I'd agree with you that she could lose just a few pounds.

Laska looks like a lighter version of my Biko. Here I thought he had to weigh as at least 60+ pounds he was only 54. He has that poofy fleece type coat on him. Makes me feel like I'm snuggled up against a big puppy when he'll stay still.

Here4thePics wrote:

Bella's hourglass shape in pic #1 has a bit of a bulge so yeah I'd agree with you that she could lose just a few pounds.

Laska looks like a lighter version of my Biko. Here I thought he had to weigh as at least 60+ pounds he was only 54. He has that poofy fleece type coat on him. Makes me feel like I'm snuggled up against a big puppy when he'll stay still.

Yeah Just a few pounds. Everyone thinks she looks really good - BUT I KNOW BETTER!...and it bugs me -_-

Hey guys,

Thanks for the input. I've noticed that Kiba has a very visible waistline, and her belly line is less pronounced, but it's there, so I don't think she's all that overweight. I can feel her ribs if I come back to front, and if I squish down her fluff, they're there. I think I was being paranoid when I posted this originally.

Anyway, she's been getting tons of exercise since I've been home for winter break, so that should be good no matter what.

Freya is 5 months and 40.5 lb. Bit worried that she might be over weight.

Coquito is 9 months and weighs 52 lbs. Ginger is 21 months and weighs 39lbs.