So, I have been feeding Faolan raw, about 1.8lbs a day. The last 2 days and this morning he has not been eating all the meat that I give him each meal, like this morning for example I gave him a chicken leg quarter and he just nibbled a bit off the thigh and left the rest. Last night I had to pester him (pretend to be taking his food away) before he finally caved and ate anything, but again he only ate about half the food I gave him. He just turned 6 months old last month and we haven't weighed him recently but we are pretty sure he is between 40 and 50 pounds now (he had just reached 30lbs at 4 months old). Is it normal for him to start eating less around this age?

Appa would (and still does) go through phases. HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY all the time, then would start to turn away food for awhile, then HUNGRY HUNGRY. We noticed it had to do with growth spurts. When he was growing he would eat like mad, then he'd limit his intake when he wasn't growing so much.

Just keep an eye on him and whether all else seems normal (drinking, energy level) and especially keep an eye on his bowel movements to make sure he's still having them.

This breed is well known for self regulation and he may just be slowing in growth and not requiring as much and regulating his intake as needed. I wouldn't worry unless you notice other changes in behavior/health/BM's or if he stops eating entirely.

rileyflorence wrote:

Appa would (and still does) go through phases. HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY all the time, then would start to turn away food for awhile, then HUNGRY HUNGRY. We noticed it had to do with growth spurts. When he was growing he would eat like mad, then he'd limit his intake when he wasn't growing so much.

We've noticed the same with Ghost. Now that it seems that her growth has tapered off quite a bit (38-40 lbs at 7.5 months) we've tapered her food back just a little. She went through one period in the late summer where she hit a lull between spurts where she really wasn't interested in food at all. That lasted for a couple weeks, and then she resumed eating normally as her growth picked up again.

Huskyluv wrote:

This breed is well known for self regulation and he may just be slowing in growth and not requiring as much and regulating his intake as needed.

Kody's so missing this trait! He'll eat all day long if I allow him to

Alright, good, I was just worried he might have eaten something like stuffing from one of his toys that wasn't getting passed through and making his stomach feel full....he has eaten stuffing before but not more than like one small glob at a time. He is still pooping normally, energy level is as high as ever, nothing else is unusual, basically, except he isn't eating much.

Kale goes through spurts where he skips his breakfast entirely for a couple days, then he starts up again. I've always attributed it to the self-regulating, but it could be also because I fed him later than normal the night before. lol idk it's hard to tell sometimes

MelissaI wrote:

Huskyluv wrote:

This breed is well known for self regulation and he may just be slowing in growth and not requiring as much and regulating his intake as needed.

Kody's so missing this trait! He'll eat all day long if I allow him to

Just because it's common for the breed it doesn't mean their won't be individuals who don't self regulate. Also, I find that sibes in multi-dog households are less likely to self regulate out of competition for resources. I doubt Kody has ever lived as an only dog. Our Dakota used to self regulate his food intake. He regularly skipped meals or didn't finish meals once a week or more when he was an only dog. That changed entirely when we got a second dog. Ever since the second came along and he suddenly had resource competition all self regulation went out the window and he would eat till he burst if he could.

Huskyluv wrote:

Also, I find that sibes in multi-dog households are less likely to self regulate out of competition for resources. I doubt Jody has ever lived as an only dog. Our Dakota used to self regulate his food intake. He regularly skipped meals or didn't finish meals once a week or more when he was an only dog. That changed entirely when we got a second dog. Ever since the second came along and he suddenly had resource competition all self regulation went out the window and he would eat till he burst if he could.

The same thing happened when I brought Piper home. Willow was barely eating and now both of mine try to see who can finish the fastest and then they go and lick the other's bowl. Im either going to start putting a ball in their bowls to slow them both down or feed them in different rooms.

Huskyluv wrote:

MelissaI wrote:

Huskyluv wrote:

This breed is well known for self regulation and he may just be slowing in growth and not requiring as much and regulating his intake as needed.

Kody's so missing this trait! He'll eat all day long if I allow him to

Just because it's common for the breed it doesn't mean their won't be individuals who don't self regulate. Also, I find that sibes in multi-dog households are less likely to self regulate out of competition for resources. I doubt Kody has ever lived as an only dog. Our Dakota used to self regulate his food intake. He regularly skipped meals or didn't finish meals once a week or more when he was an only dog. That changed entirely when we got a second dog. Ever since the second came along and he suddenly had resource competition all self regulation went out the window and he would eat till he burst if he could.

That's so true! Mya used to self regulate and when we brought Kody home that went out the window. Even though he eats in his crate and she eats in the living room. Now she begs for her food and scarfs it down quick! Before she would just lay there and stare at her bowl.

hypers987 wrote:

Kale goes through spurts where he skips his breakfast entirely for a couple days, then he starts up again. I've always attributed it to the self-regulating, but it could be also because I fed him later than normal the night before. lol idk it's hard to tell sometimes

Ghost is just like this! We feed him twice a day, but sometimes for several days in a row he won't eat breakfast. We started feeding him a bit less at night, and now he is more likely to eat breakfast, but there are still some days he won't touch it.

Siku went through a period like that. I forget exactly when, but it was when she was less than a year old. It lasted a few months. She just wouldn't ever finish her kibble, but now she eats normal.

Adobo was a constant meal skipper before we got Biko. Then started eating every meal fearing Biko would if she didn't. Now she realizes he won't touch her dish, she has gone back to eating when she is only hungry.
She weighed in at 50.1 lbs back in October but probably only eats an average of 1.5 cups of food (TOTW) a day.

The last few days Drake hasn't been enthusiastic about his dry food. Here is what we usually feed him.
1 c. TOTW Pacific Stream at 5am, with a spoonful of pumpkin
1 c. TOTW at 11:30, sometimes I'll add a scrambled egg or some tuna (since he is underweight)
1 c. TOTW at 5:30pm.

In addition to his meals, he gets snacks and treats throughout the day, usually to prompt him to approach us. His usual snacks are baby carrots, cheese, Zuke's, and sometimes plain cooked pasta, like penne. He seems to really like it.

Usually he would gobble up all of his food in like a minute, but the last few days I've noticed that he's been eating the "people" food (pumpkin, egg, etc) and not eating the kibble right away. He's also started spitting the kibble out in the middle of the floor. Usually, if he realizes I'm not going to give him people food or give in to his begging, he'll go back to his bowl and eat his kibble. Today he didn't eat the kibble I gave him for breakfast, and because I was at school today didn't get home to feed him lunch until 1pm. He still hasn't touched the kibble.

It's hard for me to gauge if anything is wrong with his behavior since he's usually pretty quiet and aloof. He does seem to be pooping regularly, although sometimes he has to push a little harder than other times.

Another thing I noticed today is a streak of white/silvery stuff in his poop. I know this sounds gross, but what it looked like to me is..err...bodily discharge by men. LOL.
Is that something to be worried about?? Other than that it looked normal.

how old is Drake and are you trying to put weight on him? 3 cups a day (TOTW) + snacks is a lot of food for him. most of us with adult sibs that feed TOTW only feed 1.5-2cup a DAY total. Jack will only eat a cup a day in the summer sometimes. i would cut back on Drakes "snacks" and let him know its dry kibble or nothing and see what he does, also set a time limit for him to eat, say leave the food for 15m or so and if not touched take it away till his next feeding time, structure works with huskies and they learn fast that if they don't eat they have to wait.

Oh, wow! The back of the bag said for his weight range 2 1/2 to 3 1/4 cups a day! That's why I was feeding that much. The rescue thought 18-24 months, but the foster thinks he is younger than that based on his behavior while living with them. They think he's closer to 12-24 months.

When the rescue first took him in, he weighed 47 pounds. At the vet last Friday he weighed in at 52 pounds. He is a large (tall) husky and even the vet said that he was underweight and needed to fill out.

I hate to rule out snacks because that is how we get him to approach us, lay next to us, jump on the couch, etc. Do you think this is ruining his meals? It hasn't even been an issue until the last few days, but I can definitely cut back on the kibble portions if that's what you recommend! Like I said, I was only feeding that amount based on the label!

They think he is closer to 12-18 months old, not 12-24.

Well the bag labels always over quote portions. since he is still under 2yrs him looking under weight makes sense as huskies are always "leaner" then most breeds and he will for-sure fill out after 2. he is putting on weight so that is good but the lack of eating could just be him regulating himself (huskies do that) or you are feeding to many treats. can you still use treats for training but get ones that are super small or use fresh veggies or fruit? try feeding him just twice a day am/pm about 1 cup each meal and see if he starts eating again, make sure you remove any food he does not eat and just feed it during his next meal.

Raven eats way too quickly. One maybe 2 minutes and she is done. She would eat until she burst, no skipping meals here.

Be wary of what the vets are advising weight-wise. They are supposed to be a slender breed. Do his hips, spine, or ribs show? You should be able to easily palate them with some pressure but normal petting and observation you shouldn't. I know its a little difficult with him being so shy... I wouldn't cut back on the treats... Just don't give more than he works for. Meaning... If he's off his food (which is very common with Sibes) don't beef up the treats and "sympathy feed."

You can most certainly cut back the food and he doesn't need 3 meals a day. From the pics I've seen on Facebook (esp the most recent one of him lying down) he looks totally normal weight wise. Since he's more comfortable around you it seems, I'd start removing the food after half an hour or so if he hasn't touched it. If you're around during lunch time and he didn't eat breakfast I'd offer that food again and see if he's interested. If not, try for dinner. It's really normal for them.

arooroomom wrote:

Be wary of what the vets are advising weight-wise. They are supposed to be a slender breed. Do his hips, spine, or ribs show? You should be able to easily palate them with some pressure but normal petting and observation you shouldn't. I know its a little difficult with him being so shy... I wouldn't cut back on the treats... Just don't give more than he works for. Meaning... If he's off his food (which is very common with Sibes) don't beef up the treats and "sympathy feed."

You can most certainly cut back the food and he doesn't need 3 meals a day. From the pics I've seen on Facebook (esp the most recent one of him lying down) he looks totally normal weight wise. Since he's more comfortable around you it seems, I'd start removing the food after half an hour or so if he hasn't touched it. If you're around during lunch time and he didn't eat breakfast I'd offer that food again and see if he's interested. If not, try for dinner. It's really normal for them.

From what I can tell, none of his bones are showing. He is definitely slender, and isn't as filled out as some of the other huskies I've seen, particularly his playmate, Apollo. But he doesn't look unhealthy, at least to me. But I was just thinking he was too thin since the foster and the vet told me.

As far as the food goes, he didn't eat breakfast (except for the pumpkin) or his lunch kibble, so I put the bowl up and didn't give it to him again except at dinner time and he ate the entire thing. Since he's used to 3 meals a day (since we get up so early), should I just do 1/2 c. each meal? And then snacks/treats throughout the day?

if you do 1/2 cup 3x's a day thats just 1.5cups i would still try to get at least 2 cups in a day. are you adding the pumpkin for tummy/poop issues? i ask because the wet pumpkin sitting on the kibble all day sounds like it would make a mush by dinner. how about serving the pumpkin on the side? we all know our sibs are smart and one of the first things we all learn is to not let them teach US. so by offering the "extra" on the food you are giving into him and saying see i gave you something tasty on top so eat your food, you don't want that, you want him to eat the food as is with out having to flavor it up to get him to eat, he will learn to eat it as is. if you cant see the bones on him he is a good weight, he will fill out when he gets older, 2yrs+. Jack did the same thing, he was sooooo skinny then one day i was like hey your filling out and im still feeding you the same amount! try to keep the snacks/treats for your training, ours ONLY get snacks if we are leaving the house or mid day if we don't go anywhere. i have found keeping a "schedule" pattern with S&J makes life easy. we walk and feed around the same time every day and they know they only get a bone/treat when we leave the house. it keeps the begging down, Sierra will still go into her cage to "trick" us into thinking its time for food and we just laugh at her. these guys are smart!

Well, I initially added the pumpkin because he was having stomach issues the first week we had him. But the more I researched the pumpkin I read that it was a good digestive regulator, whether the poop needed to be firmed up or softened. And he really likes it so I just give him one spoonful a day and his bowels seem pretty regular. The first 3 weeks we had him it was never an issue, he would eat whatever we put into his bowl so it wasn't like we were tricking him. And the past couple of days, the pumpkin wouldn't be sitting on the kibble all day, he would eat the pumpkin (that I scooped on top) and leave the kibble underneath.

This morning he ate pumpkin and all of the kibble, so hopefully by feeding him less he'll go back to eating normally. If the suggested portion is 2 cups, I'll just give him 2/3 cup three times a day if it's okay to continue feeding him 3x.

I know that treats should be for training only, but he's not at the point where we can do structured training. So for now, I'll give him treats if he'll jump on the couch with me, or if he comes up to me and lays at my feet, etc. Any positive behavior I'll reward with a treat or a snack (i.e. cheese). And when I am cooking dinner I'll usually give him a few morsels of whatever it is I'm cooking with.

But I'm glad everyone seems to think his weight is okay. I'll stop worrying about it and just make sure he's eating properly!

the "treating" you are doing is rewarding for good behavior or desired behavior, like spending time with you, thats fine if he is running to the "treat" door and begging thats not cool in my book but each his own, my husbands family dogs are like that and it drives me crazy! if you are fine with feeding him 3x's a day thats fine, most of us do 2x's a day or just once a day, its what ever works for you and him it might become an issue if you ever need to leave town and have someone watch Drake and that person/kennel might not be able to do the 3x's a day but worry about that when the time comes.

No begging at the treat door, but when we sit down with our dinner, let me tell you! At least he's not obnoxious, no whining, barking, etc. He just tries to stick his nose in our plates.

That's a good point about the pet sitting, maybe I'll try to switch to 2x a day soon.