Just wanted to say hi.

Just found your forum while researching Husky behavior.

We have a 3.5yr old Husky named SKY. We just bought home our first baby last week and we are having issues with Sky not eating. She's done this in the past but not as bad so just doing some poking around.

She's playing, still loves walks, still drinking just doesn't want to eat her kibble. However she will happily take treats (of course)

Thoughts and ideas?

Great site btw

Welcome to the forum! Sky is beautiful. And congratulations on your newest little addition!

Did the decrease in appetite start when the new baby came home? Has the day to day routine for Sky and the amount of exercise/attention changed a lot since you brought home baby? Bringing home a new member of the family is bound to cause changes in daily life and can also be fairly stressful for some dogs (and people).

I would initially think that Sky is just stressed over all the changes taking place. It's hard enough bringing a new baby home, and changes in Sky's "normal" (such as less attention, a different schedule than Sky is used to, less exercise, etc) can compound that stress which can manifest itself in lack of appetite, behavior changes, stomach upset, and various other reactions.

As long as Sky is drinking and behaving normally, otherwise healthy and no parasites, not underweight, etc then I wouldn't be too concerned. If you are not already, I would try to keep day to day life pretty much as normal as possible like it was before baby came home. What I mean by that is try to keep her schedule as close to the pre-baby norm as you can to reduce stress. I'm not suggesting that her schedule can't be changed, that's inevitable, but I would make changes slowly as she adjusts to the new order of things. I'd highly recommend increasing play and exercise time if it has dropped off since baby came home, if at all possible. Extra exercise will help her deal with the stress and stimulate her appetite.

If she's not eating her normal food then I would cut out all treats until she's eating more of her normal food. A picky eater is created, not born that way, and a healthy dog will not starve itself. With picky eaters I would highly recommend practicing a bit of tough love. And I promise you, it's harder on you than it is on them. Dogs are smart and if they learn you will give in if they hold out they will play you for the rest of their lives. Be firm and do what is best for them in the long run. Now are you also offering a variety of food? While I do believe in being firm and that your dogs eat what is given to them, I also believe that variety is extremely important and would not expect any animal to eat one thing for their entire lives, it's not only boring but it's unhealthy too. Just a little food for thought, I know this post may have been overkill but there are a lot of factors to consider and we just don't have any background info to work off of.

No it's not overkill at all. Thanks for the response.

It started while my wife was in the hospital with the baby. She started not eating but that's normal if one of us isn't around.

Since we've been home the schedule has been garbage with all the visitors and Christmas.

Now that all the fun is over we should fall in to more of a regular schedule.

She still gets her exercise, morning walks and plays with the neighbors dog a few times a week and with me in the backyard everyday.

She's been getting lots of treats due to visitors and myself but my wife is remaining firm and I guess I better as well.

She still, drinks and plays normally we will just have to keep an eye on her weight.

Thanks

My Mira was Really Picky Until I bought Taste of The Wild She now will turn down treats for Her food

I brought home two babies when we had our first husky. One came into our home when our dog was 5 and the last baby when she was 10. No matter how hard you try, you are upsetting the dog's life. She may have her sleep interrupted, just like you will. She may have to learn to wait a few minutes longer for her potty needs or food needs to be met because there is a "baby crisis". I think I remember our dog seemed rather depressed. We would find her sleeping in small places, like under a table or somewhere, where she never slept before. I think it happened again for us once the baby became mobile. We had to re-think having the dog's crate in the middle of everything because we wanted her crate to be the dog's place of refuge away from the baby...and once the baby begins to move, he will invade that personal space. We also chose to move the dog food to prevent any food aggression. A dog will see all of these things as major life changes. I believe that once you get your routine established, she will love the baby and realize this is the "new normal".

Congrats!!!