What's the best way to build healthy muscle for my Siberian Husky?

A proper diet and plenty of exercise are needed to build a strong body. There are many high quality diets available. Some brands include Royal Canin, Canidae, Acan and Orijen. Exercise Jerry daily and monitor his weight to prevent obesity. He can run and play for at least 30-60 minutes daily.

OK, yeah, early arthritis is likely just an educated guess, but a good one for German Shepherds, because they do tend to get arthritis more commonly. It could be a soft tissue injury or something else causing the limp. A 2/9 BCS is rather surprising. Usually a shelter would not adopt them out at that low of condition. It's best to have a vet confirm the BCS, because we do this all the time. I've known many German Shepherds that are naturally around a 3-4 and do great. The scientific evidence shows u that skinny dogs live longer and are healthier, so if she is otherwise healthy and getting good nutrition, then I would not worry too much. She should have food that is labeled for adult maintenance at this time. If you want to get some muscle on her, then it's going to get her exercise everyday. Start by walking her for 30 minutes a day. If she does that OK (not limping or sluggish afterwards) over a week's time, then start to do a 1 hour walk. If she's handling that well over a week or two, then you can start slowly adding in running and agility. For agility, you will need to find a course and probably a trainer. For running, you can either run with her or find a way to make her run - like chasing a ball or playing at the dog park. Again, start slow - like 15 minutes, then work your way up to 1-3 hours a day. It all really depends on how much time you have. However, these dogs were born to work/exercise, so the more you do, the better it is for her physically and mentally (bored German Shepherds tend to cause a lot of trouble). If you find that she is not gaining muscle with the exercise and is still very thin, then you can try getting a dog food labeled for athletes. This has a considerable amount more calories and is usually only given to working dogs (military, police, sled dogs).

You should feed a good quality brandname puppy food for medium sized dogs. This will have enough protein to make appropriate muscle in your puppy. If you get too much muscle at his age his bones may not be strong enough for it. So it is better to let him grow slowly. Give him lots of exercise appropriate for his age. If you think he still does not have enough muscle at the age of 1 1/2 years you should take him to a vet for a general exam and assessment. If all is well then you can feed the adult version of the food you are feeding or go to a veterinary nutritionist and have a healthy ration calculated for what you want. Do not overfeed protein at this age as it will be detrimental to his bone development and may compromise kidney function. His muscle mass will vary while he is growing, he will have more one day and less another until the body is fully grown.

Thanks for your question, and let me say that Tyson is a handsome guy. Unfortunately, strength training/muscle building typically requires some type of resistance, which (ask any veterinarian who is certified in physical therapy!) can be difficult to get dogs to participate in. We often use machines like treadmills that are build into tanks in which water can be added, so that we can add resistance to a relatively normal activity like walking on a treadmill. If you can find a place for Tyson to swim once the weather warms up, water provides great natural resistance. I'd also suggest (and I know that this isn't what you asked, but I'm hoping this will be helpful) you look at exactly what and how much you're feeding him to ensure that he's not getting too much. I'd say from the pictures he's in pretty good shape, but maybe just needs to firm up a bit and lose perhaps 2 - 3 pounds.

Swimming is a great exercise for dogs. It's low impact, and awesome for building muscles. It would be great for a dog like Oscar whose breed is prone to back problems. I would see if there is a place around you where you can take him swimming. Walking is good as well. I hope this helps!

There are a couple things that could be happening. The diet you are feeding my not be balanced. Diets that are not balanced can create thin pets. Just so you know, balancing diets is not easy. I recommend to feed a commercial diet like Royal Canin German Shepherd Puppy. It will have the correct amount of protein, vitamins and minerals. He could have parasites stealing nutrients. He could be a naturally thin dogs who is not receiving enough exercise to build muscle (or doesn't have the proper nutrients to build muscle). I recommend to start by having Rocky examined by the veterinarian. Know exactly what you are feeding him and discuss this with your veterinarian. If you want to continue making his diet, depending on your vet's education and interests, they may be able to help you balance a diet or they may refer you to a veterinary nutritionist (which is generally the best option). I hope this helps.

A 10 minute was twice a day is really encouraged. However, once their body acclimates to that you could easily work them up to an hour walk it more a day. If you want to run them I would start at a 5 or 10 min run several times a week and work yourself up by 5 minute increments weekly. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.