DOG FOOD FOR HUSKY PUPPY - MEDIUM OR LARGE BREED FORMULA?

Question
QUESTION: I have a 3 month old Siberian Husky puppy weighing more or less 20 pounds.
She has been fed with Eagle Pack Small & Medium Breed Formula since I got
her about a month ago. My problem is, I emailed Eagle Pack's nutritionist
asking what the best kind of Eagle Pack variant would be for a husky pup and
he suggested I feed her Holistic Select Chicken Meal & Rice. According to him,
I could feed this to my dog from puppyhood to adulthood. If Holistic Select
Chicken Meal & Rice isn't available, he suggested I feed with Large & Giant
Puppy Formula versus Small & Medium Breed Puppy Formula. My concern
though is, aren't huskies supposed to be medium breed dogs, and therefore
be fed with medium breed puppy formula? I'm just scared that my puppy's
bones may grow too quickly on the medium puppy formula since it contains
higher protein, fat, and kcal/cup as compared to the large breed formula.. My  
puppy is about to finish her bag of medium puppy formula so I want to know
what kind of dog food I should buy next...please help!

ANSWER: Each dog is different, but as a whole, Sibes, who are high energy and really are endurance athletes, do well on a higher fat and protein diet than similarly sized dogs.  As for bone growth problems, well bred Sibes often are protected from this problem as structurally, they are a quite sound breed.  In fact, looking into the AKC, they are one of the lowest with incidences of Canine Hip Dysplasia (CHD), especially if you look at medium sized dogs and up (small dogs don't suffer from CHD as chronically as larger breed dogs do, and it's a steady curve of incidences overall).  I actually feed my two adult pups "Performance" Puppy mix, and it's designed for small breed, active dogs.  The higher fat and protein is helpful for their coats, their energy level and their overall digestive system.

I would have no problem continuing the small/med breed, and if you want to try the Holistic, that works too.  As a whole, dog food manufacturers are going off averages of all breeds for recommendations for their food.  A dog that will end up being 50 lbs. or so could be in a "large breed" category, but most likely, Eagle Pack doesn't understand the difference in specific nutritional requirements for a Siberian versus another breed.  I would recommend keeping an eye out for foods that have around 30% protein, 20% fat.  That seems to work very well for most Sibes I know (my kibble is 28% and 18%, but close enough - it doesn't have to be exact, but gives you a good point).  As always, keep an eye on your dog's weight, growth, activity level and stools to keep the best eye on how the food is doing with the dog.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for the detailed explanation.. Eagle Pack Small & Medium Breed Puppy
Formula actually has 28% Protein/17% Fat (439 kcal/cup) so should that be okay
in case I can't find a better dog food to replace it? And do you recommend I
keep her on that food even through adulthood?


Answer
I think that would be fine for your pup, especially if she enjoys it.  As for keeping it through adulthood, I see little problem with that.  To give you an idea, my dogs both have been on the same food for the last five years, just portion sizes changed.  A dog usually requires steadily more food until about 6-8 months of age, then it steadily decreases to level out at somewhere around 12-18 months.  (Wide variance, depends almost entirely on the individual dog).  My male dog (current weight - 55 lbs) ate 4-5 cups of food a day when he was about 7 months old, and is now down to 1-1.5 cups/day.  I got him at that level around 16 months of age, and while I do supplement with treats, he is a nice, lean, muscular and healthy dog.

Hope that helps some!