Finley is now a few months over 9 years old and he has had three surgeries with the last one being over three years ago. In a 16 month span he had a ligament repaired, a tiny hole in his lung repaired and his other ligament repaired. He recovered really well from all and has been doing well. After his second ligament repair our surgeon mentioned to us that eventually he would need meds for his arthritis. About two and a half months ago that day finally came as he was limping a bit and at night time having a bit of a hard time getting up. His vet put him on Previcox and it has helped him also some Gallaprant. He has been on these meds for two and a half months now. What I have noticed is the past two to three weeks he has kind of changed his routine. Usually when I fix his breakfast in the morning he is excited and going crazy. And when I add a topper to it like boiled chicken he is even going more crazy. Recently he is not doing that anymore. He still eats his food but it is round about effort for him. He does not dive into it anymore. I have been mixing his pills into his morning food because I add a drop of non fat plain yogurt. Maybe he bit into the Gallaprant because I know they taste awful. The funny thing is that when I feed him his second meal of the day which is plain, he dives into it like he is starving. He still eats all his treats and goes nuts for those. He had to have a full blood panel done the other day to see how he was doing with the meds. She called us and said everything was normal but 2 kidney values had changed slightly and we would retest him in 3 months. She did not seem to be concerned.

We tend to worry about everything and I guess it just concerns me how even though he eats it he is not that interested in his morning food these days after years of going crazy. Something else I seem to see with him as he has become a bit needy. I know he always loved us but he was a bit independent but now he is a bit needy. When he used to come up on the couch it was a 5 minute thing and 4 minutes of him trying to fight me. Now he comes up for an hour and wants to be petted all that time.

I just thought I would ask here and see if anyone who has a lot more Husky experience than we do might have some opinions. Thanks.

I am have similar issues last week or two with Z'ev. He is on Carpeofen. I had been giving him a half dose in the morning but about a month ago, he was having a hard time lying down in the evening so I added the other half in evening. Now i notice less than enthusiastic meal times. NSAIDS are notorious for causing stomach upset and kidney issues ( i can't take them anymore, pedal edema - probably a low grade kidney issue). Anywho - I'm highly suspicious of the Carprofen as Zev is notorious for food anywhere, anytime. I've dropped his evening dose to see what happens. May be getting time for vet check, some blood work and a different med.

amymeme wrote:

I am have similar issues last week or two with Z'ev. He is on Carpeofen. I had been giving him a half dose in the morning but about a month ago, he was having a hard time lying down in the evening so I added the other half in evening. Now i notice less than enthusiastic meal times. NSAIDS are notorious for causing stomach upset and kidney issues ( i can't take them anymore, pedal edema - probably a low grade kidney issue). Anywho - I'm highly suspicious of the Carprofen as Zev is notorious for food anywhere, anytime. I've dropped his evening dose to see what happens. May be getting time for vet check, some blood work and a different med.

We actually just did a full panel and everything was normal but she said two kidney values were slightly higher and we would retest in 3 months. I'm no expert but Finley has a odd eating schedule. Eats at 7am and then he wants his 2nd meal at noon. Then with the exception of a treat or two he does not get fed again until 7am. So you would think if the med was giving him a upset stomach it would affect his noon meal being he takes his pill in the morning but at noon he dives right into it.

And then again I always read that Huskies can act really odd with food but I just have never seen that before with mine!

It could also be that by the morning the meds have worn off and he just doesn't feel as well at that meal. By the second meal the meds have kicked in and all is better. Anytime medications are involved it's pretty natural to see some changes and side effects. As long as he doesn't completely go off food and the kidney values don't get worse, or other side effects pop up like diarrhea, vomiting, or excessive peeing, then I wouldn't worry too much. Pain meds are also notorious for being hard on the stomach hence why always taken with food. The odd feeding schedule could potentially be leaving time where lingering meds are in his system without enough food carrier so his stomach maybe feeling the effects of that also in the later hours of the day. You could possibly try splitting the second meal into two smaller meals and see if that makes a difference for the first meal or not.

TwisterII wrote:

It could also be that by the morning the meds have worn off and he just doesn't feel as well at that meal. By the second meal the meds have kicked in and all is better. Anytime medications are involved it's pretty natural to see some changes and side effects. As long as he doesn't completely go off food and the kidney values don't get worse, or other side effects pop up like diarrhea, vomiting, or excessive peeing, then I wouldn't worry too much. Pain meds are also notorious for being hard on the stomach hence why always taken with food. The odd feeding schedule could potentially be leaving time where lingering meds are in his system without enough food carrier so his stomach maybe feeling the effects of that also in the later hours of the day. You could possibly try splitting the second meal into two smaller meals and see if that makes a difference for the first meal or not.

Thank you for the reply. All good advice. I am also thinking that he got smart to me putting his meds mixed with his food for the morning meal. They can be pretty smart.