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Siberian Huskies => Siberian Husky Discussions => : irinad83 August 12, 2005, 11:31:33 AM
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Hello everyone! Well first off-congrats-we all made it-its FRIDAY!!!!
So ok, i need some help! My husky is 9 months old now and he is such a stubborn guy!
I've never had a husky-so this is all new to me. I've read all of the books, and I seach online, but I like to get advice from people that actually have been there!
So...he has a eating problem-he wont eat! I have to mix hamburger into his food periodically just so he'll have some-i know huskies are fussy, but sometimes he wont eat for days! Is that normal? He doesnt seem to sick or anything, but I dont know.
He never got his Kennel cough shot (my vet said that they just "forgot"-needless to say-I go to a different place now), so he cought a cold a while back, and I was waiting for him to completely get over it so I could take him to the vet and get his shot, but now he has little sniffles again-he's not coughing, and he doesnt have anything coming out of his nose, so I dont know whats going on.
And last time I went to the vet I asked if it was normal for male dogs to have some puss-like discharge in their uhmmm "boy" area, and he said its very normal, but i've never had a male dog before, so I'm just a worried mom.
I dont have a problem taking him to the vet, I just hate spending $50.00 that can go for better use (such as toys and fun treats :) )
Any advice would be appreciated :)
thank you guys!!!!
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It seems to me he doesn't have an eating problem and that he's just a picky eater.
My Fwirly will wait to eat till we are finished, just to make sure there isn't something better to eat than what she's getting. Never mind that she has expensive dog food and mine is much cheaper quality, lol.
Question : is he not eating dog food for days or really nothing for days? No cookies, snacks of some sort, table scraps... Some dogs scrounge for their food and thus can afford to be picky when it comes to their own food. To me the best way to test if he truly not wants to eat is try something else like a bit of meat or cheese or anything. I bet he'll eat that. The other possibility is that he simply doesn't like the dog food you have. Maybe get a sample of a different kind of dog food and see what he does with that.
My dogs don't get a kennel cough shot as I don't board them. They'll sneeze sometimes when they are sniffing a piece of fluff or when the cotton wood is doing it's thing as they sniff the seeds . Could be as innocent as that.
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Well I guess I shouldnt say he doesnt eat at all-he does eat his treats, and he ate a whole bowl of food with hamburger meat mixed in it last night :) so thats good i guess.
I think I might try that BARF thing, I'm not completely sure where to get it though, its just such a challenge for me with him-i've always had great danes, and they would never be so fussy with their food! Live and learn lol-he's a crazy character :)
And I took him to a different vet and they told me that the discharge was ok-and I just asked someone at work and they said thats normal-thats a relief :) I just worry all the time-he's like my kid!
My poor kids (once i have'em) wont be able to go out of the house with out 24/7 supervision lol, they will hate me!
Thank you so much for your guys' help and avice, i really appreciate it!!
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Seems Grace had that problem once. She had a stomach bateria.  If i hadn't taken her to the vet it would have taken up to 2 weeks to go away on it's own.
Dogs will eat their treats even when they're sick. It's the good for them stuff they avoid. I won't tell you how I know that ... just call your vet and ask if you should make an appointment or if they think it's nothing serious.
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I do that. I wonder if the "kids" are ok. What are they doing? I'm nuts
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I do that. I wonder if the "kids" are ok. What are they doing? I'm nuts
You're not nuts Lins, you're just a good doggy mommy. Its normal to worry about them ... they're our furbabies!!!
Yup! My little stinkers! :) Only thing is we can't call the sitter and ask if they're ok.
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Haha thats funny-cuz I when I go the store or anywhere and leave Koa at home-I worry the whole time! Ok - I'm not crazy lol - there are other people like me :)(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/Irinad83/littlyboo.jpg)
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Yup! My little stinkers! :) Only thing is we can't call the sitter and ask if they're ok.
We have a new pet sitting service in town ... they will even come to your house and walk your dogs at lunch. I thought about how bad I would feel for those people if they took care of my pets. I would be on the phone with them fifty times a day, "Did the dog eat okay?" "Did the cat have any hairballs" "Are they playing with their toys?" LOL
I've heard of doggie daycare...but expensive. I'd love to do it.
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have any of you ever been convinced there was something wrong with your pup and made an emergency appointment at the vets, only to sit there looking stupid with a dog who's just fine and decided to start acting normal in the waiting room?????????
Now THAT's embarrassing ...
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have any of you ever been convinced there was something wrong with your pup and made an emergency appointment at the vets, only to sit there looking stupid with a dog who's just fine and decided to start acting normal in the waiting room?????????
Now THAT's embarrassing ...
I did ... when I first brought home my dog Lexi. I was convinced that she had stomach cancer b/c she was restless, has belly problems, and was very swollen. Guess what??? She had gas.
DOH!!!!!!
Then they look at you like...why am I at the Vet mommy? I'm fine. And they give you this look like ... the car car ride was GREAT!
The vet looks at you like...you could have called first you obsessive pycho dog mommy.
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we take our guy to day care-and its only $15.00 a day (includes night if we go out of town), and he loves it there-and i'm <almost> stress free when he stays there :)
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we take our guy to day care-and its only $15.00 a day (includes night if we go out of town), and he loves it there-and i'm <almost> stress free when he stays there :)
That's not bad!
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Yeah, I get an exasperated sigh from the vets when I call about my "emergencies". Normally this is followed by an eye roll once I get to the vet's office.
Eye rolls should be unallowed. Or the dog should get a free wet willy for each eye roll.
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Is it very hot where you live? My old husky girl Porscha would hardly eat a thing all summer long in Georgia. She would lose about 10 pounds every year, then gain it all back once it cooled off in October/November. It was just one of those things. All my dogs now have voracious appetites and I love it- I remember trying to get Porscha to eat and I would sit there with her at every meal time and hand feed her kibble to try to encourage her! Ever since then I love the sound of dogs eating. :)
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It is really warm here now-gets to about 90+ most days, and he does play alot-still wakes us up every morning with a loud bark/yupping kind of sound by jumping on our (usually my) stomaches-I think he likes the reaction he gets out of me-the sound I make trying to gasp for air lol :)
well I feel sorta stupid-but much better now, sounds like he's just going through the heat/being a husky/teenager stage lol
Thanks guys!
I'm gonna try not to give him so many treats-I feel bad, so I give him treats when he's not eating-he can manipulate me - now that i think about it-he is smarter than me!
Yeah I didnt think it was kennel cough-he had that, and I remember the coughing, poor boy!
Ok now that I feel better, i might be able to get some work done!
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have any of you ever been convinced there was something wrong with your pup and made an emergency appointment at the vets, only to sit there looking stupid with a dog who's just fine and decided to start acting normal in the waiting room?????????
Now THAT's embarrassing ...
First off Samson is a picky eater too & I always worry he isn't eating enough...I try to go by by his apperance...If you can feel your dogs ribs under a thin layer fo fat he should be o.k....I am also thinking about switching kibbles...He just doesn't seem crazy about what he's on now...I took Sammy to the vet a few months back because I had convinced myself he was anemic...He seemed tired alot & I thought his gums were pale...so, I had them do blood work & check him over & it turns out he was just a normal Pyr pup...lol!...That's the 2nd time my vet has told me I should think about relaxing a little...The 1st time she told me was when I took my cat, Henry in becuase he was coughing...I was sure he had asthma...Turns out it was probably a hairball. :-\
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Keiko is only half husky, but takes after that half in behavior and looks. B/c of Gunther, she now eats regularily, and has gained 5 lbs b/c of it. I much preferred her when she was a sporadic eater. She, too, would go a day or two without eating and it never concerned me, since she always would eat again.
As for the discharge, yes that is normal, although gross.
I always give my guys bordatella simply b/c we frequent the dog park alot, and it's always better safe than sorry, since kennel cough can take awhile to get over. If your dog has continuous sniffles, I would have the vet take a look at him.
You must have a really good doggie day care. The ones around here are pretty expensive, and the cost does definitely NOT include overnight visits. Since I do pet sitting and dog walking, I dont' have to worry about that for myself, thank goodness. And I do get the worried parents, checking in on the pets to make sure they're still alive......... ...lol. ::) I don't mind, it comes with the job, and it means the owners care alot about their furry family.
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Hi there,
I am having the same problem with my husky/lab mix. He won't eat for days at a time!!! And he is so picky! Someone told me it is a Husky thing, but I worry about him! I am sure he would eat a bowl full of hamburger, but is that ok to give to him? I mean is human food as healthy as dog food? I don't want him to expect human food and stop eating his dog food completely! Just don't know what the answer is!
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1st off - your babies are very beatuiful
I think the not eating thing is fine. As long as he is acting his normal self. Is he drinking water ok? Dogs can not eat for days sometimes... I feed BARF and I love it... I fast my dogs for a dy and a half to help purge their system of the bones etc that they are eating... I just give them broth, yogurt etc on those days.. nothing really solid. My vet and I talked and she said that in the wild they don't eat every day.. and their systems are made that way. She said we completely over feed our dogs. Also pups you are suppose to grow slow. Everyone loves fat puppies but it really isn't good for their joint development.
If you are interested in BARF then there are a few great books
Dr Ian Billinghurst has 2 books. "Give your Dog a Bone" and "Grow you Pup with Bones"
Those are my favorite
Pitcairn has a homeopathic book that has a lot on nutrition.
Volhard also is has a boof on BARF
There are also a few meassge boards that deal with nothing but BARF and they are very helpfull
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hmm...strange, my husky eats like 5 times a day, no kidding! What he's picky about though is treats and any human food I may try to give him. Like, what dog sticks his nose up to *that*? :-\ I finally bought some treats that he likes - pedigree bone marrow treats, he loves those.
My parents' chow however is alot like how you're describing. I rarely see her eat - and when I do, she's extremely slow about it and constantly looking over her shoulder for my German Shepherd - who's the dominant of the two. Naga, on the other hand, eats and eats and eats, even when she's not hungry, simply because she doesn't want the chow to have any...grrrrrr, dogs lol. Anybody know how to break a dog from that? They're not young, they're both going on 11 years now, and it's been that way since they were pups.
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Ok, so I went shopping for new food-because he's a butt lol(oh and yes he is drinking good-its hot now, so he's drinking ALOT!)
I went to the Organic store we have here and bought some food, as soon as I brought it in the house he went crazy-sniffing it-trying to open the bag etc, he even did tricks to get it! I know its new food and thats why he's probably doing it, but hey worth a try-this is the last time I'm trying new food! I swear :)
He is so funny though-I mixed the new food with the old so he wouldnt get a tummy ache, and I went upstairs just for maybe 2 minutes, when I came back down the bowl was up-side down all the food on the floor, and Koa was separating the new food from the old-he would spit out the old food if he got any in his mouth-and he didnt do it quietly-he would make a scene! Huffing and Puffin everytime he would get a piece of old food near him! Arrrrg!
Well for now he's happy and full...
We are thinking about getting a 2nd husky-maybe that will help-encourage him to eat more, cuz he eats when other dogs around him are eating
Well thank you guys sooo much for your help-sure took the worries away!
Oh and he might go to see his friends at the sitters :) - another thing that our sitter does thats awesome-she sends us pictures through out the day of the kids playing :) how cool is that!
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Huskies are VERY smart, to the point where they can be manipulative. They can even train their owners to put all kinds of goodies in their food in order to get them to eat. Be careful though, Huskies are finicky eaters, but they can have sensitive stomachs. Also, once they figure out that if they hold off on eating you'll tempt them with all kinds of treats, they'll just keep up the routine. Also, Huskies are pretty "fuel efficient" - if they're not getting much excersize, they may not be very hungry.
Granted, I'm no longer a fan of commercial dog foods. My Husky can't digest grains and he can't handle beef, so now he gets raw chicken, and we found a holistic vet who will help us find out what other foods he can handle. But the raw diet is a really good way to go, and once you find a good supplier that sells in bulk, it's usually cheaper than feeding premium dog kibble.
Check out this link about the Husky's appetite and eating habits: http://www.siberescue.com/Breed_Info/BDiet.html
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Yeah...most Huskies have something that they don't like and turn their noses up at. When my dog still got commercial food and treats, he was extremely picky about treats. Someone from the rescue we work with gave us a box of Trader Joe's All Natural Peanut Butter Treats, which he LOVED. Well, we don't live near a Trader Joe's, but we live near a Whole Foods Market. Silly me, I figured that the all natural peanut butter treats from this store would be just as good. Indy did not agree. He sniffed the treat, then turned his face away, and looked at me as if to say "This is not the same treat, I am not fooled. This is not up to my standards." then walked away.
I gave them to my boss, whose Lab will eat anything.
In August we took a dog out of shelter and took him to the vet before taking him to his long term foster home. He was a Rottie/Husky mix. He looked mostly like a Husky, except that his head was shaped like a Rottie's and his tail wasn't very fluffy. He was really underweight and had been very neglected. The vet tech tried to get him to eat a treat, and he sniffed it and turned his nose up. I laughed and said "Yup, he's a Husky."