hi husky owners! I am a new husky momma. I adopted Bandit from a friend who could no longer have him. He is 4 years old. He is perfect in every way , my kids adore him and he seems to feel the same way about them.But they did leave the door open twice and he took us for a lovely LONG run but we got him back. however I have some concerns , The old owners said he refused to eat dog food so they were giving him cat food (dry and wet mixed) I heard its not healthy so i have been trying to get him to eat dog food but he refuses to eat it . i have tried putting chicken broth and the juice from a tuna can in his food but im not fooling him . he will eat a bite or 2 then done. I figured he will eat it when he gets hungry enough but after 5 days I got so worried i gave him chicken breast. he will take treats and loves to eat ice and any table scraps we give him but wont touch the dog food.. what do i do?????? he acts happy and has loads of energy so I dont think its effecting him . is he just that stubborn???? any suggestions on what to do or other brands to try that are healthy for him would be great. thanks!!!

Welcome to the forum to both you and your new addition Bandit.

Quote :

The old owners said he refused to eat dog food so they were giving him cat food (dry and wet mixed) I heard its not healthy so i have been trying to get him to eat dog food but he refuses to eat it .

The reason Dogs tend to like cat food more is the protein content in it. It is generally very high compared to dog food, even after passed (Which is why cat excrement is like candy). Can I ask what food you are currently "trying" to feed bandit?

There are some higher protein foods out there that he might be better on.


You can also check out the RAW food threads, starting with:

Considering a raw diet?


It sounds like bandit will eat it and it is one of if not the most healthy alternatives for feeding. It can even be one of the most cost effective provided you do the leg work and join the right circles. It may be something you can look into

Either way best of luck and I'm sure the foodies will be along to offer any advice they can

~Chris~

wow ive never herd of that, thanks for the info i will try it , i want to do what is most healthy for him. can they get sick from raw chicken like humans do? this is my first time owning a dog so im not educated on being a dog owner , but im doing a lot of research so i can provide him with the best i can. any tips help ! thanks ill read that link

In short no it shouldn't at all.


For a full length explanation of why check out this link about Bacterial myths of raw feeding:



Rawfed - Bacteria Myths

~Chris~

thanks so much!!! im going to do it!!!! oh and i bought pedigree dog food for large dogs. didnt know what else to get

Kale an I welcome you from California

If raw isn't feasible, this site might be helpful. Most of us feed a 4-5 star food.

www.dogfoodadvisor.com

When I was younger our family dog was the same way. We fed him cat food because that was all he would eat. Everything seemed fine for about six years and then our dog became very ill. The vet diagnosed him with Pancreatitis. The vet told us that it was caused by the cat food we were feeding him. Needless to say, the vet did everything he could but our dog ultimately died. The vet went on to warn us that an all cat food diet for a dog could lead to this and other gastrointestinal problems as well as obesity. We no longer allow our dogs to eat cat food at all if we can help it.

That said, I think Chris's point about a raw diet is a great idea. Truth be told, its probably better for your dog than even dried dog food anyway.

Oh no I hope there's no damage to him due to the cat food.. another question we have a cat he's outside/inside. Bandit has been very gentle with anything smaller then himself especially the cat. But I have read that they can't be trusted around small animals. Does anyone have any insight on this?

i have read the same things about huskies with the small animal problems, it always says they could be nice to the ones they are raised with and live with but strays beware so i am curious as to the expierences of others. I went to that dog food sight and looked up the beniful puppy food i feed my beagle that i was gonna feed my husky koda, it had a 2 star rating but i guess thats what you can expect for choosing one of the cheapest dog foods at walmart. so im gonna switch to Red Paw, i first herd of it when i was looking up the iditarod and stumbled upon Lance Mackeys website and one of his sponsors is Red Paw and that is what he feeds his dogs, it got a 4.5 star rating. I think my dogs deserve the best i can give.

Lucian refused to eat his food to start with when I got him. I would suggest a better dog food, and maybe mixing in some warm water with his food. He gobbles it up now. I feed Lucian Earthborn holistic. It's a better food, and the price isn't too bad if you are on a budget.
Huskies do have a high prey drive, so leaving him alone with a cat is taking a chance. Lucian will chase my one cat when she runs. I think he just wants to play with her, but I'm not taking any chances when he's bigger. He'll either be kept in the basement or double gated in my kitchen when I'm not home.

There's an excellent thread here about dog food.

As far as small animals, huskies have very strong prey drive.
You cannot trust them around cats. Or rabbits, gerbils, hamsters.
All the cat has to do is run and it's all over, even cats that the dog has lived with.

I also have an indoor/outdoor cat and Saphire does really well with her. Granted, when I am not home Saphire is crated and when they are out together they are always supervised and the cat always has an escape route.

Some of the things we do to help prevent problems.

1. The cat always has an escape route. At our house the basement is the cat's domain. This is where her litterbox is set up, I keep toys down there for her, she has lots of climbing areas set up, etc. I have a baby gate at the top of the stairs that is set high enough that the cat can easily slip under it to get away from the dog. We also have a couple cat trees upstairs so the cat can climb those to get away from the dog. Long story short version, the cat should never be able to be trapped.

2. Establish the cat as being higher up in your pack. I know a lot of people believe the pack mentality for training is outdated, and it is in a lot of ways, but at the end of the day dogs are still pack animals and every pack has a heirarchy. So by doing things like always feeding the cat before Saphire, paying attention to the cat before Saphire and making Saphire stay back, letting the cat out the door before Saphire, etc., it is teaching Saphire that the cat is higher up in the pack than she is.

3. Teach the "Leave It" command. This is one of the first commands Saphire learned and is the one I use the most frequently. I never let Saphire chase small animals and when she looks like she is going to I tell her to "leave it" and make her stop. So far this has worked well for us.

4. Don't take unnecessary risks. This is probably the most important. I do not give Saphire the opportunity to fail where the cat is concerned. When they are in the room together the are supervised. End of discussion.

Thanks for all the good tips,I'm learning so much on here . The cat doesn't even like him so he normally will sit somewhere high and bandit will lady on the floor wherever He is, he was raised with 4 other cats so I think that's why he's so good with our cat but I don't take the chance. Bandit goes in his crate when we leave the house and Tyson (the cat) likes to spend his days outdoors and come in at night so they have never been left alone. Just something that worries me. I'll make sure I keep a very close eye on them.