I have a 2 yr old female husky x malamute who currently weighs about 19.8kg. She was diagnosed last year through MRI as having a disc bulge in her lower lumbo sacral spine which the specialist said is akin to a human with a bad back.

She's generally a picky eater (I have a post in feeding about this!) but lately as she's hurt her back again and we've since been informed that she might have a a sciatica nerve impingement that she may not eat due to this.

How do we tell if she's not eating due to just being a picky brat vs being in pain? Are there any specific indicators to look for as we're at a loss. She's my third husky and I've never had such a hard time getting one to eat.

I have an extremely picky eater, I feel your pain on that side of it. We have to constantly rotate her food to keep her eating. Will she eat anything at all?

Is she on pain meds? Do they make a difference? Maybe see if there is something else they can try to help manage her pain better, there are LOTS of options. Really the only way to tell if its pain is to relieve the pain to a sufficient degree that she'll eat again...

Hmm fair point. The week she was on meds she actually was eating a bit again so I might pick up some more for her and try that and see if she eats, only thing to do really! Although I imagine her eating is only going to get worse if she requires surgery