My husky wont eat!!!

Question
Dear Marcus

I've got a Siberian husky, Maya, who is about 5 months old. She worries me because she eats so little. Sometimes she doesnt eat at all! Is this normal?

We give her rice and chicken livers or chicken with the rice, and she always ate it until now. She won't eat any dog food. She wants everything we eat! What should i do? What do you recommend feeding a husky?

Regards

Charlotte  

Answer
Charlotte,

First, to alleviate your concerns - chances are your dog is completely fine.  If her activity level is normal (which for a Siberian should be in the realm of "crazy" and at 5 months, you should have plenty of experience there), and her stools are normal there is nothing to worry about.  If you have noticed a significant drop in activity or other problems - I'll give you some advice on encouraging your dog to eat at the end of this.

Now, for why this all sounds completely normal to me.  First off, Siberian Huskies are light weight, compact dogs.  Bitches should weigh in around 35-50 pounds, and while each dog develops differently, at 5 months old, you should have a dog that is probably about half their adult weight.  Dogs grow quickly, and if you keep an eye on their weight, that's another sign that things are going ok.  The dog should be slowly be picking up weight every week, although much like humans, they will go in spurts as well.

Second, Sibes are bred to have highly efficient metabolisms - they need to for all the energy they expend running and pulling in the snow.  What this means is that they often need significantly less food than other dogs.  Also, because their metabolisms are so effective, a lot of dogs stop eating because they simply aren't hungry.  Sibes are notorious for self-regulation of their diet.  Many owners will comment that their dog will not eat anything for a two or three days, and then eat voraciously on day four - as if they had never seen food.

I feed both of my dogs a super-premium puppy food.  Even though they are both adults (3 and 3 1/2), the extra fat and protein is good for them.  They each receive 1 measuring cup of food per day - 1/2 cup in the morning, 1/2 cup in the evening.  And yes, I did mean 1 standard kitchen measuring cup.  It's not a lot of food at all.  In fact, a 33 lbs. bag lasts about 6 weeks for both dogs.  Of course they get random treats throughout the day as well, but it's not that much.  The breeder I got the dogs from feeds her dogs (which are some of the top bred Siberians in the country) 1 cup of super-premium kibble per day with a tablespoon of raw meat.  So not much at all.  A friend of ours who has a Chihuahua who weighs in at 4.5 lbs actually eats more kibble per day . . .

As far as what to feed your dog, I find that's a lot of personal preference.  I use Pro-Pac, which is actually made in Kentucky (where I live) and has limited distribution.  Usually, any premium foods are a good starting point.  Additionally, looking for foods that have high fat/protein contents (20-30% for both is usually a good starting point) is helpful for Siberian metabolisms.  Look for meats being in the first ingredients, and the actual meat being better than a meat "meal" (i.e., chicken as opposed to "chicken meal).  

Now, if you have a truly picky dog, here's some suggestions on encouraging it to eat.  First, constantly switching foods usually on encourages the picky trend.  Dogs will eat to survive, so if they realize that the kibble they have is all they're going to get, then they will eat it.  Keep that in mind, and while finding a dog food that is healthy and they seem to enjoy is important . . . but just don't give up on one brand too easily.

To encourage dogs to eat, usually adding something to the kibble is a good idea.  Chicken broth or grated cheese (finely grated) have been good suggestions that really seem to work.  It needs to be something that the dog likes that is difficult to separate from the kibble :p  It's kind of a dirty trick really . . . but grated parmesan works wonders.

Hope this helps, and feel free to write back if you have additional questions.