Siberian Husky Care and Feeding

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Puppy Care

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Feeding

Purina Pro Plan Performance Chicken & Rice formulation	We use this as the primary food for puppies and dogs that need extra energy either while they're working hard, or pregnant, or nursing.
Purina Pro Plan Adult Chicken & Rice formulation	We use this as the primary food for all of the adult dogs and puppies over six months.
Red Barn Chicken & Liver	This is the dogs' primary treat. It works great when they need to take a pill, too.
Pressed Rawhide Chews	Our dogs use these to exercise their teeth and gums.
Dynamite Showdown	This supplement adds an extra glow to the dogs health and coats.

Each person's daily routine will vary. We feed our adults and puppies a quality dry food once per day. It works well for us that we use the same food that our handler uses, and that adult food is nutritionally sufficient even for our puppies. From time to time, we house our adults and puppies together and we don't want to be constantly switching their food around.

We like to feed the doggie sausage treats twice a day so that we always have some good time with every dog each day, and that they associate our presence with fun and good eats. It has the added benefit that we always treat dogs as they return to their kennel, so if they stage an unplanned escape it is very easy to lure them back with goodies. Supplements can also be added as desired to provide even better nutrition for your dogs.

Periodically, dogs have allergies to beef, lamb, ground yellow corn, or wheat. Emryld Siberians checked out Pro Plan Performance on the suggestion of two top handlers, Ellen Cottingham and Pam Lambie. The Pro Plan was the only quality dry food we could find that had everyone's recommendations behind it and that even our fussy eaters liked. We do have to say, though, that Pro Plan's Performance blend has a fairly high protein/fat analysis, so dogs that tend toward overeating or inactivity might be better off on a different blend unless you can watch them to be sure they're not overeating

Worming

Puppies - Worming of puppies is done starting at 2 weeks, and repeated every 2 weeks until 7 weeks of age using Nemex 2. We give the puppies their first dose of Heartgard at approximately 6 weeks of age.

Adults - All of our older dogs are kept on heartworm preventative. This preventative kills the most common types of worms. We are currently using Heartgard®, and we do fecal exams for worm infestations as needed. Panacur is used on an annual basis to rout out whipworm infestations as well.

Vaccinations

Puppies - We begin puppy shots at 6 1/2 weeks, and repeat at 10 and 14 weeks. At 16 weeks puppies receive their first rabies vaccinations.

Adults - We keep our adults up to date on all vaccinations. Rabies shots are done by our veterinarian. All other vaccination shots are given by us.

Kennels

Our kennels are of the highest quality welded wire for maximum safety of our dogs. All kennels are covered for shade. They are maintained at a high level of cleanliness. They are attended to at least twice daily, and our dogs are taken out for exercise in groups at various intervals throughout the day. Fresh water is provided in drinking dishes, and also in splashing dishes made available for the dogs to put their paws in so that they can keep cool. Siberians like to cool down by splashing, and this helps accommodate them.

Microchips

We recommend the use of AVID microchips on all Siberians. If your breeder did not implant a chip before you picked up your puppy, head out to your vet and get one implanted now. Siberians are skillful escape artists, so it is only a matter of time before yours escapes. Having that microchip in place helps you make positive identification of your Siberian. We've seen stolen dogs returned immediately when new posters went up that added a sentence indicating that the dog has a microchip.

Dew Claw Removal

Many mushing and show kennels remove dew claws from their puppies when they are anywhere from 1 to 6 days of age. It is not a requirement, but it does make the front legs of the Siberian's foot more attractive. For mushing, it is a requirement because the dew claw can get caught on the booties that the dogs wear to protect their feet.

This page was last updated on 2 February, 2008