So my two year old siberian has been fed 'human food' all his life ( don't even get me started on that, i hate it, bah ) but two weeks ago i bought kibble for him to eat as it is healthier and cheaper, the thing is, when i bought it he would eat 4 cups a day EASY, then he started not eating it all, i added gravy, he ate more, but now not even with gravy he eats it. Yesterday he didn't eat anything, i let his bowl overnight only to find that now that it is as i left it. How can i solve this ? I tried hand feeding him, he doesnt eat all that is on my hand.. I dont know what to do!

He has plenty exercise a day, so i know he needs to eat more. Help!

First thing i'd do is a vet check, just to rule out any health issues that can cause this.
secondly huskies are known to be very problematic with food. this is known.

what kibble do you give him ?

Since your husky never ate kibble, from experience, it takes time to figure out which brand he will like. so here are my recommendations :

- First keep him on only 2 feedings a day. he should stay that way.

- Try to find the kibble that he likes most and yet good for his health, coat and stools. it is likely that a richer kibble tastes better. go for 4-5 stars brands found here: http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/dry/

- Do not over feed. start with the bag feeding chart and take it from there. Overfeeding can cause your husky to get "bored" with his food, plus it's not good for his health.

When you say he ate human food all his life, what exactly do you mean? Were you feeding a proper homecooked diet? If so, then I would consider that healthier than most kibble diets. Which begs the question, why the sudden desire to switch him to kibble?

Do you know how much your dog is currently eating per day? Are you feeding other treats or human food that might enable him to hold out? Have you ruled out any health problems with the vet?

Sibes are well known for self regulation, eating what they need and skipping meals, it's totally normal.

Is your sibe a healthy weight? Is he otherwise normal? Drinking normally and of a normal activity level? Are his bowel movements normal, formed and regular?

If all is well then you may need to show a little tough love. No food/treats besides his kibble meals. I would stick to scheduled feeding rather than free feeding. Twice a day put his food down for 20 minutes then pick it back up whether he's eaten or not. A healthy dog will not starve itself and this usually teaches them pretty quickly to eat what they are given, when it is offered. I have trained even the most finicky dogs to eat what I offer, when I offer it, with gusto. This method has never failed me.

Thanks both!
He was eating 3 cups a day (until the day before yesterday) For two weeks.
As for 'human food' its scraps, he would have our leftovers but he would eat twice a day as well and would be full.
I wanted to change to kibble because there are not allways leftovers and i want him to eat everyday.

As soon as i posted this i gave him some chiken that was left from yesterday and he ate them , looks like i should start putting half a cup of kibble into the leftovers and slowly adding more until he eats it. Would that work?

I wouldn't coddle him like that. In the end you may end up making him more picky by allowing him to expect and hold out for what he wants, which you are obviously giving to him if he withholds for a while.

Mishka&Me wrote:

Thanks both!
He was eating 3 cups a day (until the day before yesterday) For two weeks.
As for 'human food' its scraps, he would have our leftovers but he would eat twice a day as well and would be full.
I wanted to change to kibble because there are not allways leftovers and i want him to eat everyday.

As soon as i posted this i gave him some chiken that was left from yesterday and he ate them , looks like i should start putting half a cup of kibble into the leftovers and slowly adding more until he eats it. Would that work?

uhhh...yeah

Not sure what kind of kibble your feeding but you should def try something grain free. Huskies are stubborn...but they won't starve themselves. You just have to be a little more stubborn. If that's all he gets he'll eventually eat.

Yup don't cater to him, it'll make it worse. He will eat when he's hungry. Huskies are the only breed that actually control their own matabolism so he's fine. My oldest Embry is just like this. He's only eaten maybe 2 cups of food in the last 5 days, he does this every year and he's fine. I used to switch his dog food or add gravy or wet food when he was a puppy but it just made it worse.

I agree with everyone about the stubbornness!

Huskies are like kids!! They only want to eat certian foods...like kids only want to eat snacks.
I usually tell my kids if your hungry then eat food, eventually they will because they do get hungry, and just the same for a husky.

we had the same problem with our's she started leaving a couple of bits of kibble and it got progressively worse until she would sniff it and walk away without touching it. She would it a approx half of it by the end of the day and started to loose a bit of weight.

We stopped all treats and gave some pieces of kibble as treats, she was given 45 - 60 mins to eat and her bowl was removed until the next feed, previously the odd time we would of gave her the skin from the fish we ate or the fat from a piece steak but this was also stopped. She now enjoys her kibble again, but we do partially feed raw and she regained the weight she lost.

What kibble are you feeding? 4 cups seems a little bit excessive for a 2 year old unless very active. you could also soften the kibble with some hot water.

So tough love it is !
As for warm water ive tried it, but if he doesnt eat it gets hard and then i think it gets worse.
Tomorrow ill put the kibble alone and leave it for 30mins the remove it and then hand it over lunch time. Ill update then. Thaanks!

Also, today i was playing with him, and as he didnt eat it i let the cats get a few bites ( they love it, i know a bit doesnt hurt), as soon as the food got into the cat's bowl he ate it.. Like what the hell? Smart thing i got here!