Husky Puppy – Feeding Guide

Feeding your husky puppy can be a complicated process. You have so many flavors, benefits, dozens of food brands, types, textures, and recipes. Additionally, you have feeding plans, meals size, charts, and tables. The feeding process shouldn’t overwhelm you.

In this article, I wrote many things that I discovered during my experience with huskies. I researched a lot before I brought my husky puppies home and even after this.

First of all, you should know that your puppy needs age-appropriate food. Feed your puppy food that is for puppies, not food for an adult dog or food branded such as “food for all life stages”. We’ll analyze what are the feeding options and how and what to feed a Siberian husky puppy in this article.

What should I feed my husky puppy?

Can you make an abrupt change in your puppy diet?

It’s advised to feed your husky puppy the same dog food brand that he ate before. Though, I fed my huskies puppies a different dog food brand compared to what they had before. And they adapted very well to the new diet. I did my research on Siberian huskies before I brought my first puppy home. By doing so, I found a lot about the Siberian husky diet and nutrition.

In my case, with both of my huskies, food changes were done from the first day and there was no problem, even if I made an abrupt change in my puppy diet. If you just adopted a puppy and his previous owner fed him good food but you still want to change it, you can do this gradually over a week or two to prevent stomach upset and possible diarrhea.

You can change your puppy diet if you need to or if your vet recommends it. Check your puppy stool to see if there are any problems. It’s pretty easy to check that because there will be a lot of poop. In the first weeks, your husky puppy will eat, sleep, poop, socialize with you a little bit and repeat.

Gradually adapt your puppy to a new dog food

You can adapt your puppy to a new type of dog food by adding small amounts (about 10%) of new food to the previous food until you feed him 100% new food.

What should I feed my Siberian husky puppy?

For puppies, in my opinion, you have three big options: canned food, semi-moist food, or kibble. I don’t feed my puppies raw meat or dinner scraps.

Why don’t I feed them raw meat? Well, there are two main reasons: there might be bacteria in raw meat and my puppy immune system is just building up, and the unbalanced diet that may damage the health of my dogs. There are plenty of premium and tailored dog foods based on heavily researched recipes already from where I can choose. So why should I try to do what other scientists did already? All that is left for me, and for you as a dog owner, is to choose the best food option for husky puppies.

Canned food for husky puppies

Canned food for husky puppies usually contains meat such as veal, chicken, salmon, duck or lamb, and some forest fruits or vegetables. These recipes are based on what the dog’s ancestors, the wolves, eat in the wilderness. Wolves hunt the prey, hence the meat, and the fruits or the vegetables are consumed right from the bushes as a minor part of their diet.

Wolves also eat grass to purge their digestive system so don’t worry if you see your puppy chewing or nibbling on some grass.

Don’t give your husky puppy canned food that contains only meat. He needs more than just meat in order to have a balanced diet. If you have canned food for puppies that contain only meat you don’t have to worry about it. Steam some vegetables such as carrots or beans and mix them with the canned food when you’re giving it to your pup.

If you have forest fruits nearby, it can be frozen fruits, such as blueberries and raspberries, put 2 or 3 small pieces in all meat canned food. You can do this until you finished the batch. Don’t forget to cut the carrots, and even the fruits if the size is too big, in small pieces so there will be no choking hazard. After that, you can opt for other and more adequate wet food.

Feeding your husky puppy wet dog food – pros and cons

Wet dog food benefits:

• Any wet dog food is easier to digest by your husky puppy
• Canned food usually contains fewer carbs
• Wet foods smell more appealing
• The water found in the wet food makes this more hydrating – this comes in handy when your puppy doesn’t drink enough water
• Your husky puppy can eat a larger portion per meal without adding more calories

Wet dog food disadvantages

• Premium wet food for huskie puppies is pretty expensive
• Wet food must be deposited in the fridge after the can was opened

Wet dog food can spoil fast if it’s left open. You can buy 100 g pouches and serve one or two per meal. The quantity depends on the age of your pup. We’ll talk about how much you should feed a husky puppy in this blog post. Pouches are usually more expensive than dog food cans. If you want to make a better deal, you can pick 400 g cans. In the first weeks, a can will be sufficient for three or four meals. This means one-day meals or one-day meals and the next morning meal. You have to keep it in the fridge after you open it, or otherwise, it will spoil. I heat the food that was already open and kept in the fridge before I give it to my puppies. The smell is more prominent and they like it better this way.

Semi-moist food for huskies

Semi-moist dog food contains more sugar and salt than either dry or canned dog food. Those extra calories and salt are not that good for your husky puppy that is in the growing process. It is semi-moist because it contains about 60% water by weight. You have to read the package label and check if there are any artificial colors or preservatives if you want to feed your puppy semi-moist food. Check the calories too, you need to give your puppy a balanced diet.

Dry food for Siberian huskies

Dry food is the most chosen option by the dog’s owners. Why? Dry food is easy to deposit, it doesn’t spoil so fast as wet food and it’s easy to feed and portion. You can find kibble in many sizes and shapes and there a lot of options on the market.

What to look for when you’re picking dry food for your husky puppy?

The dry food for junior huskies has a high level of protein and vitamins. You might want to look for kibbles that are good for healthy cartilage and joint development and contain a balanced calcium-phosphorus ratio substance.

What is the best dry food for your Siberian husky puppy?

Choose kibbles that have meat and other components of animal origin of at least 40% with lots of fresh meat (min. 20%). The higher the percentage of meat the better the food. The dry food has also include berries, roots, vegetables, and wild plants. There should not be colorants, preservatives or flavor enhancers in the dry food for puppies.

Feeding dry food to Siberian husky

When you’re feeding your husky puppy kibbles only, you should soak kibbles in some water. It’s better to feed husky puppies moist kibbles. No matter what size or shape the chosen kibbles are.

Should I use a grain-free dry food for my puppy?

Grains can cause intolerance and allergies and are very difficult to assimilate by the dog’s stomach. If you don’t want to feed grains to your puppy then you can choose a dry food that is based on a grain-free recipe. There are a lot of dog food recipes made with potatoes. Sweet potatoes are rich in fiber and vitamins as well as iron, calcium, and beta-carotene. Potatoes are carbohydrates that are easy to digest.

From what I observed in my dogs, a grain-free diet is the best. I tried to give them dry food based on rice and chicken recipe. My husky buddy did well with it but my husky lady stomach didn’t approve the recipe. I went back to a grain-free diet after that. We will see in the future how and if she will accept it.

Wet food and dry food combination

You might find that the best option for your husky puppy is to feed him a combination of wet and dry food. When you’re combining kibbles with wet food you have to check if the combined amount doesn’t exceed your puppy’s daily recommended caloric intake.

I feed my Siberian huskies a combination of both dry food and wet food. If you want to do the same you can check the feeding table on both and do the math. Also, if you’re training your puppy and reinforce his good behavior with treats you should take the calories of the treats into consideration too. Treats are also a part of your dog’s diet. If you don’t want to add too many calories to the meals, then you can give fruits or vegetables to your puppy during training.

How much should I feed my husky puppy?

Husky puppies are very active puppies and they grow so fast in the first five months. This is the reason why they need about twice as many calories per pound than an adult Siberian husky.   

How much should you feed your puppy? You have the answer to this question on the food package. On the back of the package, you will find a growth-and-weight chart. You have to weigh your puppy weekly in order to find out how much does he weighs and compare it to the charts. After you weigh your puppy, then read the charts and adjust his food intake. By doing so, you can achieve an average rate of growth.

How to weigh a husky puppy?

I chose the simplest method for weighing my puppy. I weigh myself, then weigh myself holding the puppy. After that, I subtract the difference. That difference is my puppy’s weight.

How many times should I Feed My Husky Puppy per Day?

Siberian Husky puppies should eat three times a day from weaning to six months if your schedule allows that. Find a quiet room where you can feed your puppy without other distractions. You can feed your puppy 4 meals a day if he is under 3 months. When he reaches 3 months you can feed him 3 meals per day. After six months, you can start feeding your arctic puppy twice a day.

I usually feed my puppies at 7 am, 1 pm, and the last meal it’s at 5 pm. When I brought them home, I fed them 4 times per day in the first week with me. After that, I put them on 3 meals feeding plan. Keeping a feeding schedule will help you with potty training. Take your puppy to potty after he is done eating. When a puppy is accustomed to a schedule, he will poop on a schedule too.  

Final thoughts

I hope this article can help you with your husky puppy feeding process. Don’t forget to give your puppy plenty of water. He should have a bowl with clean water at his disposal. Especially, if you’re feeding kibbles only. There are puppies that don’t drink sufficient water. You should check how much water does your puppy drink. If he doesn’t drink sufficient, then you have to make drinking water more appealing. Encourage your puppy to drink water, change the bowl or you can even give him some water from your hand. Teach your husky puppy that water is good for him.

If you like this article, you might want to read Improve your dog’s immune system