Okay so you guys know that I've had Gaia for about a month now. She's been pretty picky eater ever since I've had her, but for the last 7 days she has totally refused to eat. I've been very consistent with making sure that all I put in front of her is the food that she is supposed to eat. I've tried to add a little bit of extra flavor like coconut oil or peanut butter to her food or yogurt. She just screams and cries at her food, Knocks around the crate or knocks it over and make a mess.
Previous owner told me you should try wet food I've put that in front of her now, and she does the same thing. I've tried boiled hamburger and chicken, she knocks it around the crate and makes a mess. And screams and cries at it. All she does is scream and cry to regardless if there's food in front of her or not. Took her to the vet, the vet said that there is absolutely nothing medically wrong with her, and maybe just homesick. I don't know what to do.

If it's homesickness/anxiety, maybe you should look into adding some medication to help her transition a bit. If you're willing to try it, Canna Companion will probably help and if nothing else it'll give her the munchies I joke, but we definitely saw that with Shadow. I also had decent luck with Prozac for Denali initially treating his anxiety, and it's incredibly cheap. Sounds like you've exhausted all of my normal "picky Husky" remedies otherwise. Good luck, I know how stressful these issues can be.

How about feeding her outside the crate? Also, I've found Ami eats better when he thinks another dog may eat his food...

Lucy, if you're saying that Gaia hasn't eaten anything in 7 days then I'd have to disagree with the vet, there is a problem. Have you had her into the vet for a weigh in, how's her weight doing? If she hasn't eaten in 7 days she should be losing weight ... if her weight's the same or close then she's getting some food from somewhere - maybe from what she scatters?

If she's eating at all and just not eating much it could be several different things - the first, of course, is that Husky's have this stupid, frustrating penchant of not eating for a few days (normally 2-4) and then things go back to normal ("normal" is there such a thing with a Husky?)

Since you said that she scatters her food, is there a way that you can put down a small portion to see if she's eating anything (like count out 10 pieces of kibble and see what's left after she scatters it)?

My common line of "No healthy dog will starve themselves setting beside a bowl of quality food.", in part hinges on the "healthy" part of the sentence and if she's not eaten anything for 7 days then I'd be really thinking about a second vet's opinion.

Also, is she acting "normal"? I'd be less concerned if she's, as the British say, "Okay in herself." than I would be if she's moping around, for example.

I wish I had some advice. Mishka has never skipped a meal in his life.

Good luck to you and even if you have to go the medicine route, at least hopefully it will help until she is eating again.

Lucy, are you feeding her different from what other owner was feeding? I find it difficult to believe she is homesick after a month of being with you. I acquired a cat who was around 3, (Many years ago), owners gave me the food they were feeding, the homesick rule applied, he didn't eat for almost a week, and hated his food. I switched foods and he was great, but this was all in the first 2 weeks I had him.

As you have mentioned to many people here, a dog wont starve themselves. I also think you are getting too worried(duh, of course you are), by changing up everything food wise. I would first off try and remain calm, feed her the food that either you started her on, or the food she previously ate with the old owner, and stick to the tough love. One or the other and stick it out. I would also have an open dialogue with the previous owner, and see what kind of routine she had, was she always crated, did she feed only in the crate, etc. Also summer is in full swing, the weather plays a big role on the appetite.

Lastly, and this is not something that I wanted to mention, but you really need to access this with a clear head.......Gaia is just a year old, and you are now the 4th home she has been in. I can't imagine how difficult that must be on a young husky. Routines, sleeping arrangements, exercise and food are probably all different. It may be time to bring in a behaviorist, and just get some outside help, someone who can help you figure out why this pretty little girl has had 3 other homes. Circumstances change, I know that is partially true on the previous owner, but she got her off of craigs list, every one seemed to have valid reasons why this girl needed to be rehomed, however, no one really thought about Gaia and how she may be reacting to so many changes in a short lifetime.

Does she always eat in the crate? A change of scenery might help. Also possibly irrelevant but I noticed that loki eats better shortly after exercise. It might help burn some nervous energy. Also I know it's super hard to control but I think they might be picking up on stress. When loki wasn't eating I stressed a lot. It seemed like when I stopped stressing he started eating more readily.

Probably a dumb question but did the vet check for worms?

I tried to letting her eat outside of the crate today, that was a fail. I just gave her a bowl of the previous food today instead of the food that I've been trying to get her to accept, that is a fail. And yes I have tried setting down a counted amount of food, she doesn't touch it. I was unaware that I am her fourth home. I'm beginning to see why she's been rehomed so many times, I'm trying not to give up on her, but the screaming and crying it has really started to anger my father in law, whom is the person that I can't piss off about the dogs. And he's at the point where I need to get rid of her if she doesn't stop. She screams and cries from about 10 o'clock at night until 6 o'clock in the morning. I take her outside several times everyday, but yet she pees and poops in her crate, not so much pooping since she stopped eating... She will drink water though. I was beginning to wonder if it is the heat because it has been really hot here, but Okami has absolutely no changes in her appetite. I don't know if I can take on her emotional problems. There's no way that I can afford a behaviorist, and there's no way that I can afford any sort of special diet like raw or wet food. According to the previous owner she's never really had any problems like this before, I guess that she is always been a picky eater, but not like this.

And yes I do firmly believe that a husky won't starve themselves, so after all of my failed attempts at getting her to eat I don't know what to do

And I can't just keep going to vet after vet trying to figure out what the hell is wrong with her

It honestly can take some time for behavioral problems like this to manifest after rehoming, especially in a dog that's been rehomed a few times. We encounter a lot of this in dogs we pull into rescue. I would strongly recommend asking your vet about Prozac, I think we were paying about $5 a month for Denali's prescription, and with some behavioral modification in conjunction with the meds it helped a lot. We were having a hell of a time with accidents in the house on top of seriously bratty (and biting) behavior.

The screaming, is it a painful scream, like she might be in some pain? I know you were having issues with her eating before BUT could it be she has some issues with her teeth or something that makes it painful for her to eat and its just coincidence that it's happened at the same time she's going through the transition to your home? When I was a kid and had a toothache, of course it was there all the time but if I was active and busy, it didn't bother me as much as when I was going to sleep or whatever. I don't know Lucy, just throwing it out there, I really hope you can get this figured out.

Yikes Lucy I am so sorry. I know it must be really stressful and you're just doing your best. I think Meredith is right, though, some medication may be in order until she gets settled in. The feeding problem seems to be a symptom of a separate issue as opposed to its own issue.

Here is some information I found on medication: https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/behavioral-medications-dogs

Here is an article on anxiety. Maybe not the most helpful, but it addresses some things to try and it is surprisingly difficult to find articles on just overall anxiety (most are about separation anxiety) : http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-anxiety-problems

Here is some information on issues that arise during rescue rehoming: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/02/03/helping-rescue-dogs-transition-to-new-homes.aspx

Now she is completely lethargic. She won't even play, her body is limp. She is going to the vet again tomorrow. Wth did I do to deserve this... I am to f-ing poor to deal with this. I know it's not her fault, but seriously. .... Not at all what I need right now.

I'm so sorry Lucy. It always seems like these things happen at the worst possible time. Please let us know what the vet finds.

Poor Gaia. She is such a sweetheart. I hope they find what is wrong whether it's something internal or depression.

I really hate to hear this! Lucy, I presume you've tried about everything in the book - will she eat anything treats, hamburger, steak, ???

There reaches a point when all the "shoulds" go out the window and you just try to get her to eat anything.

I know you've probably tried, but I have to ask ...

lillith87 wrote:

I've tried boiled hamburger and chicken, she knocks it around the crate and makes a mess. And screams and cries at it.

Al, it sounds like she's tried that. I hope the vet is able to figure out what is going on.

Yes I have tried everything. She is on her way to a 24 hour vet, my husband is taking her. My FIRST day of work is today, and my husband goes in before I do ( He goes in @ 3 and it is 1:25 right now, half an hour drive one way..... )

No one will just let us drop her off, they HAVE to have us talk with the f-ing vet and get bloodwork stuff done first.... AKSDOJAEF LKNJASDFKLO PJAWEPRJUAPWFLADMFKSKL JADKL AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I'm sorry, Lucy. It seems like things keep getting worse and worse. Hopefully with this, though, you'll be able to figure out what to do and things will start getting easier.

Rumflower wrote:

lillith87 wrote:

I've tried boiled hamburger and chicken, she knocks it around the crate and makes a mess. And screams and cries at it.

Al, it sounds like she's tried that. I hope the vet is able to figure out what is going on.

You're right, I'm sorry, I missed / forgot that.

well..... fucked is the word here.

Either $5,000++++++ (that I don't have) or Euthanasia.

Her Kidneys are severely failing.

Oh my goodness. I am so sorry this is happening Lucy.