Diesel is our 7 month old ball of energy. When we brought him home he was 10 weeks old. We opted for a grain free diet because it seemed like the healthier option. He didn't seem to care for the dry food so we started mixing canned food with his dry food. We have him on blue wilderness dry food and we have been having to change his canned food every couple weeks because he stops eating. Is he getting bored or does he not like the food? We have no idea what to do.

Are you feeding too much? How is weight, body compostition, activity level, poop consistency?

We are feeding him 2-3 cups of food a day. He's about 40lbs very energetic. He looks like he's getting enough to eat but every couple weeks he just stops eating until we give him something different.

I switch my dogs food for the same reason. I have 5 flavors of dry and 2 flavors of packaged food they like to eat. My female doesn't do well on many types of food so it is pretty much a constant rotation of what I know sits well with her tummy. All 3 of my dogs will occasionally skip meals.

My Husky is super picky with her food as well. It's not uncommon for Huskies to skip eating for a day or even two sometimes but if she goes longer than that, especially being a puppy it would become more serious. I switch my dry food up every time I buy a bag. When I feed kibble I stay with Orijen most of the time, I just rotate through the flavors. Can food is a good way to get them to eat their food, but I stay away from it because I see to many dogs get used to it and then won't eat without having the canned food added, which can become a hassle. Not to mention it's one of the most expensive types of dog food out there. I have used Grizzly Salmon Oil for years to get my Husky to eat her food, it's cheaper per day to use, is great for skin, coat, and joints, the only issue you'll run into is Salmon breath right after they eat It comes in a pump bottle, so it's really easy to put on their food. If that doesn't work you could also look into the raw diet, if you are doing kibble and canned food right now it might not be that much more expensive to do. You can buy the pre-mixed frozen raw at most pet stores now and it costs less than $5 a day to feed a 40-50lb dog.

Where do you find the salmon oil?

Most pet stores will have it.  I've seen it at both Petco and Petsmart.  However, I usually get it on Amazon now, just search for Grizzly Salmon Oil.

I got the salmon oil last night and tried it with his breakfast this morning. He ate all of it as soon as I put it down for him so hopefully he will continue to like it.

This reminds me I may have to switch up Layla's food. She's become super picky again and has lost a pound in the past month or so. I have to bully her into eating until she's finished everything. She shows no interest at mealtimes. The other day I put some chopped carrots (one of her favorite treats) into her food and she ate everything, including the kibble, until the carrots were gone.

The first time she was super picky it turned out she had Lyme disease (anorexia and disinterest in food is a symptom of Lyme in dogs), and after she went through a cycle of doxy her eating improved immensely, but now we're back to where we were ...

Glad to hear Danielle! Hopefully it will continue to work!

Liz have you tried salmon oil as well?

Haven't tried salmon oil yet, but I might. If possible I'd like a permanent or at least semi-permanent solution that will get her interested in her food again so I don't have to monitor her the entire time she's eating. Do you use salmon oil temporarily to pique their interest, or is it a Band-Aid solution that, once taken away, the dog will go back to its previous, disinterested habits?

Liz - Ami periodically starts to miss meals. One of the things that I've found, which may just be coincidenece, is that if I sit beside him and hand feed a few, he starts to eat on his own. Ditto, mixing it up with putting it in his kong. And frequently, I find I have to stay in the room or he'll stop eating and come find me.

Also - the "off feed" thing - seems to happen at the change of seasons, spring and fall. Don't know what to make of that yet.

I know it's not a permanent solution, but have you tried feeding out of a Kong Wobbler? When Bode goes through phases of not eating, I'll put his meal in the Wobbler and he eats it all while playing.

I use salmon oil primarily because of the nutrition benefits, the flavoring is more of a secondary thing. She will eat the food without the oil if she's really hungry, but I alternate between raw and kibble every other day so she stays interested in her food. With the kibble, I alternate brands between Orijen and Instinct and also rotate through the different flavors they have. This seems to keep her interested, and has also made her stomach much stronger than it used to be. She never gets the runs now when she eats new food or a new treats, where she used to get it all of the time. Also, like Amy said, hand feeding the first few kibble to get her going sometimes helps as well.

Ginger is almost 7 months old and she has decided she only wants to eat once a day. I know that sometimes huskys get bored with food. I have tried everything. I tried adding wet food she like a that for about 2-3 days. We add evoo and she liked it for about 2-3 days. She walks up sniffs and walks away. Dry, wet, or oiled she doesn't care and if I leave it out she picks at it then finishes it a little later. Any advice? She is on Wilderness Puppy dry right now with out add ins it's been about a weeks and she doesn't seem to want to eat.

This is generally a touchy topic with Husky's since they'll generally eat their way though the kitchen if given half a chance - and I have one one those; I also have one whose food is set out on the porch (where he hangs out) and he nibbles at it - off and on.
My Sasha would eat everything in sight if I'd let her (interestingly enough she doesn't eat things I put down on the coffee table, for example just her food and Avalanches if I'm not paying attention)
Avalanche is the one who gets his food on the porch and maybe eats 1 - 2 cups a day - - - maybe.
In other words, I free feed him and limit what she can get to for food. If you don't have any other pets in the house, you might try free feeding her and see how much she'll eat in a day if she's just "grazing". Some of these pups eat when they're ready and if they're not hungry at the moment, well ... ugh, it's just food.

BTW, if she'll eat her meal once a day, then there's nothing wrong with that. If you were feeding her one cup in the AM and one in the PM but she'll eat her two cups (whenever) then she's letting you know what her metabolism thinks about when to eat ...

I could be very wrong, I hope someone corrects me if I am but I was told, and I believe I read it somewhere as well, that most of the foods we feed our Huskies now days, arent to be left out for very long because they spoil...if thats the case, then free feeding wouldnt be very good for our dogs.

I wanted to add too that both Kohdi and Mishka have gone thru these little phases of not wanting to eat and like others have said, sitting down with them and hand feeding works very well.

Jimmy, I started my comment with the caveat with "This is generally a touchy topic". I feed, variously, Fromms and like most kibble it, I don't think, suffers from setting. On the other hand, if you're feeding canned or raw then the warning that it might spoil would be very appropriate.

I know what you're saying Al, I wasn't being negative at all. Most foods we buy now don't have additives or preservatives and certain brands like Blue are all "natural" and I think that's where it can *possibly* be a problem, and I'm not even sure to what degree. I was just putting it out there just in case.

I rotate my dog's food. My thought process (and just mine-I am the queen of giving my dog human thoughts ) is that I wouldn't want to eat the same thing for months on out, so I'm sure she doesn't either.

So I change it up. She eats a grain free diet, but for like 3 months I'll feed her Orijen's 6 Fish, then Great Life Grain Free Buffalo, then Merricks, etc. It keeps her from going off her food, and because canine nutrition is such an unknown, I feel like it helps me hedge my bets and get her different nutrients.

We also supplement her diet with eggs, chicken, veggies, and Dr. Harvey's Miracle Food.

I care more about my dog's nutrition than my own, apparently

MGoBlue wrote:

I know it's not a permanent solution, but have you tried feeding out of a Kong Wobbler? When Bode goes through phases of not eating, I'll put his meal in the Wobbler and he eats it all while playing.

I do the same thing! It's been a somewhat permanent solution for us; we originally started doing it to slow down Layla's eating back when she was a little puppy. She would eat all the food in her bowl in less than 10 seconds, and I worried about bloat. The Wobbler also stimulated her mind while she ate. We still use it and another treat-dispensing ball to this day. Sometimes it interests her more in eating these days, but other days I have to really coax and bully her into it.