I have an 11 month old husky named Nijaa who has always been a picky eater..she is currently on Wilderness blue buffalo>>we've tried many different dog foods and she doesn't seem to mind this one...doesn't eat as much as she should but more than she was with the other brands. The past couple of days I've noticed a big difference in her appearance (skinny) and I'm not sure if it's because she is blowing her coat or if she is losing weight..She has lost a lot of her under coat...Nijaa is my first husky so I'm wondering if anyone has ever had this happen to them. I was thinking about mixing her dog food with tuna or salmon for awhile to help her put on a little bit of weight. Do you think this is okay? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Huskies in general are lean-looking dogs and at 11 months, your Nijaa hasn't finished growing. She'll grow until she's about 2. If you're concerned about her weight, have you ruled out anything health-wise? Blowing out her coat can make her look a little thinner, I know it makes my girl look thinner.

A healthy dog will not starve themselves. Adding items to her food will just encourage her to be a picky eater. You're better off staying consistent with the food and feeding. Constantly changing her food can also encourage picky eating. She'll stop eating something in the hopes of getting something better. By switching her foods, your catering to her whim.

How many treats does she get? If it's a lot she may be getting full on those and not hungry for food.

Can you see her ribs or backbone? If not, she's probably fine. Is she drinking normally? Pooping/peeing normally? These are all things to take into consideration as well.

If you are still really concerned, a call to the vet is free.

Thank you for responding. We weighed her this morning and she is 40 pounds. I guess she looks thin because she is blowing her coat. I'm going to stick to just the kibbles and cut back on the treats. Thanks again

I will post a picture of her as soon learn how to..lol

There's a sticky on the main page of the forum on how to post photos. You need a photo hosting site like PHotobucket but once you get that, it's pretty easy.

Welcome to the forum!

My 14 year old girl is 35lbs. The most she ever weighed was 55lbs but even at 35lbs she looks good but man she has a lot of fur.

Wow 14 years old! That's incredible... My Nijaa has been blowing her coat like crazy..it makes such a big difference in her appearance.

Blowing Coat prolly has a little to do with it. I have 2 huskies now, they finish their entire meals because one would probably polish of the other's when they're not looking. BUT, when I only had 1 dog, Sky, she'd very seldomly eat a whole meal. She maintained her weight, about 48lbs, and even though she looked skinny, she was very healthy.

I'd start to worry if the lack of eating becomes coupled with other things like lethargy, apathy, unusual stools, etc.

I also only give treats and train AFTER I've fed meals, as to not spoil their appetite.

You can do what i do with my husky, i buy her chicken breast which is pretty inexpensive, boil it cut it up into pieces and cook some regular white rice with boiled carrots and sometimes yams, mix it all together and serve. She loves it and its a great and healthy way for your husky to gain some weight. Now if youre going to do this, make sure its consistent because one your husky gets hooked on it thats all shell want to eat, but its a good alternative. Your husky will also like their occasional treats and what nots lol hope this helped

I have boiled chicken and mixed it in her food in the past..she does love this but I've heard mixed reviews on this too. Most people I talk to tell me to just feed the kibble otherwise I'm creating a picky eater...I've cut out her treats in hopes that she'll eat her food as opposed to just sniffing and maybe snacking a couple of times a day. I just don't know how long is appropriate for a husky not to eat. My Nijaa is very healthy but she has no problem going 2 days with out eating. It's at that point I mix her food with something I know she'll eat. It's just an on going cycle...

We are going on day 3 and NIjaa has still not touched her food...I've tried everything to get her to eat besides mixing it..At what point do you give in?? I haven"t given her any treats either.. I'm new to this forum and I'm pretty sure i posted this on the wrong board. I've tried calling my vet but of course they are closed today. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

My dogs have never skipped a meal, whether it was high end, grain-free kibble, or their current raw diet. They have never been picky. They will let me know when they like one thing more than another, but they've never decided to not eat for a day. So that's weird IMO. Can you try to switch to full raw? I know most dogs love raw over kibble, and it makes sense. There's ways to feed raw cheaper or equal to whatever price per lb that you pay for kibble. My dogs don't like kibble anymore, but they literally jump up and down and "pogo" on their hind legs when it's raw feeding time. I've never seen them happier. But they are a spoiled bunch. My wife says our dogs eat better than we do. Haha!