My dog recently just turned one, and I switched him from Nature's Variety Instinct Raw Boost puppy to Orijen Six Fish, one cup in the morning and one at night. But... he won't eat it. I've tried putting raw toppers on his food, egg, peanut butter... but he won't eat it all, even if I do that. He will still leave a good majority of his food in the bowl.

He does have a mild case of kennel cough right now along with an eye issue, so he is on doxycycline and eye drops, but he has been on the medicine before and wanted to eat.

I'm very frustrated and want him to eat, especially since he is on medication right now and needs to have food in his stomach.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Orrr even suggestions for tried and true food that huskies who are picky eaters will eat?

Thanks in advance!

Well, Huskies can be picky, and are very stubborn. He may not like your new food choice and just be turning his nose up at it. However a dog typically won't starve himself. Give him food, give him time to eat, if he refuses, take the food away and keep trying. He'll eat eventually.

Did you transition the food? 3/4 cup old food with 1/4 cup new food for awhile, then half and half, then more new than old. This helps dogs get used to the change in food and flavor.

Does NV have a similar adult food that you can find? I tend to transition from puppy to adult formulas with the same company and flavor of food so that it's a milder transition.

You may need to just find another brand or flavor of food your dog will eat.

NV does have an adult version of Raw Boost. I've seen it around here. You may search for it in your area.

How much do you think he is actually eating of the 2 cups you are offering and what does his daily exercise routine look like?

Kmanweiss, we have been doing that-- taking away the food if he isn't eating it. I really wish I had just stuck with NV and just switched to an adult version; now I have an almost full bag of $96 Orijen in my kitchen. But I think honestly trying to switch him back to NV might be the best. However, he had started turning his nose up at the NV puppy food right before we started switching to Orijen, and wouldn't eat it all. So I'm not 100% convinced it's because he doesn't like the new brand of food....

Twisterll, I think he might be eating around one cup a day, if that. He gets a 30 minute walk in the morning and either a 30 minute-hour walk at night, some days we jog as well, and some days he ends up getting a walk in the middle of the day as well.

@Nicole what I've found with my three is:
Not all Huskies eat as much or as little as other Huskies.
All of them, it seems, like to take a few days off from eating.
All of them will push our buttons about food from time to time.

Avalanche, my biggest dog, eats maybe a cup a day - but he picks and chooses when. He's not quite free fed but Sky and he share a bowl and eat what they want when I put it down. I put out three cups once a day for two dogs and there's often food left over ...

Sasha, my oldest dog, gets a cup in the morning and one in the evening - and will eat anything she can find in between.

Rem might be one of those dogs who just doesn't want / need as much as other Huskies do. While one cup a day seems like too little, my two who share the one bowl don't eat much more than that.

Okay, one major caveat here - my dogs will eat what I buy them or they go hungry. It may seem harsh but I can't afford to let them pick and choose - I don't have the money to have a $96 bag of food setting around.

Pick a good quality dog food that you can afford, offer it to him and if he decides not to eat - well, as long as he's not extremely underweight, that's his problem. Obviously watch his health because not eating is often the first indicator that something is not right - but if he's in good health and decides he doesn't want to eat what you put down ... sorry 'bout that boy!

I agree with Al. At an hour to an hour and a half a day of exercise, he's really not burning that many calories and can likely sustain just fine on a cup a day. Heavy hiking days you might see him eat more. If he was eating nothing at all for days at a time then I would feel more pressed, but I think just keep at what you are doing. They can be frustrating and they will work you if you don't watch it. But as long as he is eating and not losing weight then I wouldn't worry too much. If you decide to swap back to NV before the end of this bag you may see if a local rescue would be interested in the rest of the bag of Orijen. Yeah, it is a chunk of change to swallow but at least it would be going to a good cause.

Some dogs will go off food at certain times of year also, so he might one day just suddenly start eating a normal amount. If he's unfixed (or even fixed sometimes) and a female in the area is in heat it does weird things to them that can manifest in different ways. My one male just gets nervous and stupid but some males will eat less or seem more restless and then when the female, wherever she may be, goes out of heat they go back to normal.

Okay, thank you both so much for your responses!

He does have the kennel cough and eye situation going on, so I think that might be part of the reason, as the vet said everything else about him looks great.

I'll definitely keep all of these things in mind!