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 Why are huskies so darn picky?!

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Lunatic Fringe
Newborn
Newborn
Lunatic Fringe

Female Join date : 2013-06-29
Location : NC

Why are huskies so darn picky?! Empty
PostSubject: Why are huskies so darn picky?!   Why are huskies so darn picky?! EmptySat Jun 29, 2013 5:27 pm

Hi all, I have read some of the previous threads and found some helpful advice but might get some more detailed info by spelling out my whole feeding situation here..
When we first brought Luna home as a puppy the breeder was feeding her Purina. I switched her over to BBW puppy pretty quickly but she always had a problem eating. This led to us getting into the dreaded hand-feeding routine. She did have a lot of problems for the first couple of months with roundworms, so this may have led to her tummy being even more upset, and thus, more picky. After we FINALLY got the roundworms all cleared up I got strict on the hand feeding and got into a set feeding routine twice a day: Put the bowl down, give her about 30 minutes or so to eat, and then take it away. Sometimes I would try for a second time, then just wait and try again at the next feeding time. I now have her switched over to adult food (since she is over a year old now), and I mix her dry kibble with a variety of wet foods so she won't get so bored. I feed her BBW adult duck recipe, and BB wet foods and some Wellness wet foods as well. She still routinely skips meals, sometimes 2 or 3 in a row. It is always difficult to get her to eat.
I would really like to be able to feed her a raw diet but every time I look into it, it seems so complicated, expensive and more than I want to take on. I want to feed her a high quality food, and have gotten a few ideas about some different brands to try out from reading some other threads. If anyone has any other advice about what I can do about Luna's pickiness, or if there's something else here I could be doing better with her feeding, I would really appreciate your input!
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cinnamonbits
Adult
Adult
cinnamonbits

Female Join date : 2012-11-03
Location : San Antonio, TX

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PostSubject: Re: Why are huskies so darn picky?!   Why are huskies so darn picky?! EmptySat Jun 29, 2013 6:13 pm

It actually sounds normal....sometimes huskies will skip a meal or two. That's perfectly fine. I just leave Karli's food until she eats it, she never has an issue. If she is maintaining a good weight and doesn't look starved, she's probably not.
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Bella_Jasper
Teenager
Teenager
Bella_Jasper

Female Join date : 2013-02-08
Location : Bolingbrook, IL

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PostSubject: Re: Why are huskies so darn picky?!   Why are huskies so darn picky?! EmptySat Jun 29, 2013 6:20 pm

My two do this also, they have gone a day or two without eating then they'll eat some. They actually refused to eat for a few days when it started getting hot and now are only eating 3/4 of what they were before and have lost weight but arent losing more so I dont worry bout it to much. They seem to know when they need to eat and when they are ok going without.
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Demon&Dakota
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Demon&Dakota

Female Join date : 2011-08-04
Location : Aurora, CO

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PostSubject: Re: Why are huskies so darn picky?!   Why are huskies so darn picky?! EmptySat Jun 29, 2013 10:01 pm

Roxy is correct in that huskies are really good at self-regulating their food intake. However, by switching things up for Luna by adding in wet food is creating a picky eater. She's learning that if she doesn't eat you'll give her something extra special to entice her. She's training you. Smile 

Stick to the straight kibble for now on a schedule. If she doesn't eat within 10 minutes or so, pick it up and wait until the next scheduled feeding time. A healthy dog won't starve itself, so she'll eat if she's hungry. This will also teach her that if she doesn't eat, it's a long time to wait for the next feeding.

Good luck!
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Super Nova
Teenager
Teenager
Super Nova

Male Join date : 2013-01-17
Location : Northern Virginia

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PostSubject: Re: Why are huskies so darn picky?!   Why are huskies so darn picky?! EmptySun Jun 30, 2013 6:17 am

How old is your husky?  How much are you feeding her?  

We also have a very picky husky he will whine and cry because he is soo hungry but won't eat but 2 bits. Kibble trick #1: But the kibble in the bowl, pour 1/2 cup boiling water (30 secs in the microwave works)  on top on of kibble, mix well. Let it sit until it gets to room temperature then feed it to her.  
Kibble trick #2 Overnight: But kibble in Tupperware then pour 1/2 cup cold water on top, mix well. Cover and put in Fridge. Either A: Make a night for Breakfast the next day or B: Make in morning to feed at night. Needs at least a good 5 hours of chilling.

I will say this, we feed Nova TOTW Salmon Puppy so it does smell like rotting fish but he loves it.
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lillith87
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Senior
lillith87

Female Join date : 2013-05-26
Location : Michigan

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PostSubject: Re: Why are huskies so darn picky?!   Why are huskies so darn picky?! EmptySun Jun 30, 2013 8:27 am

When Okami was still around 2 months old around when I first got her, the vet wanted her to take the pills for parasites.... I tried to give them to her normal, and she would spit them back out.... So scratching my head I put them in her food. They were the only things left in the bowl... (I dipped them in peanut butter and that is ultimately what got her to eat them)

But after I did that, she was showing signs of not wanting to eat her food, and this happened over the course of 3-5ish days.  Which I believe she was thinking there was more of the yucky kibble in there. But nevertheless, she was being picky.

So I stopped giving treats, and I only put out food when she was supposed to eat, I would let it sit for an hour. She wouldn't budge, and she only showed signs of wanting it when I took it away.... ,"Mom I could still smell it!"

So in the end, the no treat deal worked, since she is a strong "gimme TREATS" kinda gal.

Also Okami ever since around that time, wants to see me getting her food, because I asserted my dominance over her about feeding time. She will NOT eat anything until I say, "Okay." or ,"Take it."

I have a step by step training method to achieve this, it is actually a method that you teach without words to the dog at all until the end of the process which is what you want your dog to react to to take the food.
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Lunatic Fringe
Newborn
Newborn
Lunatic Fringe

Female Join date : 2013-06-29
Location : NC

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PostSubject: Re: Why are huskies so darn picky?!   Why are huskies so darn picky?! EmptySun Jun 30, 2013 10:45 am

Thanks so much for the help, everyone. It is good to know that this can be a normal thing for huskies. I had read that their metabolisms do tend to be different, since they are bred to run for such long distances so they have to use their energy differently.
She is maintaining a healthy weight and is not starving. Luna is almost 16 months old, and she weighs about 46 lbs. She does not look skinny, but not overweight either. I feed her about 1 and a third cups dry kibble with a couple of tblsp. of wet food every time, and I also add the warm water to help soften the kibble. I leave her with it for 20 to 30 minutes or so then sometimes she decides to eat it if I'm standing there watching her. If she doesn't eat most of her food, then I hold off on giving her after dinner rawhide. (Which I'm probably going to stop giving her anyway since I've noticed she tends to get diarrhea from it sometimes.)
I am thinking about trying the TOTW foods, but Luna actually does not like fish! I've also looked for Orijen, but haven't had any luck finding it in my area.
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redraidersrule
Newborn
Newborn


Male Join date : 2013-04-18
Location : Houston, TX

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PostSubject: Re: Why are huskies so darn picky?!   Why are huskies so darn picky?! EmptyTue Jul 02, 2013 11:55 am

I guess Im a lucky one. My puppies will literally eat anything, especially the male.
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madisonmenece
Puppy
Puppy
madisonmenece

Male Join date : 2012-08-27

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PostSubject: Re: Why are huskies so darn picky?!   Why are huskies so darn picky?! EmptyTue Jul 02, 2013 12:22 pm

I know how you feel, Arya has us driven up the walls with her eating habits and she was so good until 7 months old.

no table scraps and as mentioned let her go hungry she will eat once she knows she is loosing the battle.

Logan our malamute eats anything and everything
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norbreedslove
Senior
Senior


Female Join date : 2012-02-24
Location : Denver Colorado

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PostSubject: Re: Why are huskies so darn picky?!   Why are huskies so darn picky?! EmptyTue Jul 02, 2013 4:59 pm

My malamute is not picky anymore from the age 1 to 2 years she would be so picky. I had I do raw mixed with kibble because of it. Now she eats everything again lol.
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Hughie
Adult
Adult
Hughie

Join date : 2013-04-17
Location : South East Wisconsin!

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PostSubject: Re: Why are huskies so darn picky?!   Why are huskies so darn picky?! EmptyTue Jul 02, 2013 5:34 pm

I don't know folks, Maya eats so fast I have to check to make sure that she really did eat. I just can't believe she could eat that fast. Most of the time she gets dry kibble but on a "special" day (what ever day we decide that is) she will get a splash of goat milk this causes doggie dancing and singing. I am not a nutritionist but we do feed many animals and most of them will go on/off feed if they are being fed to much food. Good luck!
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Lunatic Fringe
Newborn
Newborn
Lunatic Fringe

Female Join date : 2013-06-29
Location : NC

Why are huskies so darn picky?! Empty
PostSubject: Re: Why are huskies so darn picky?!   Why are huskies so darn picky?! EmptyTue Jul 02, 2013 8:11 pm

I really like the idea of a raw diet, maybe I should head on over to read the raw diet threads. Perhaps it will seem less intimidating if I can read more about it..
I am a little worried I am feeding too much, I've also been having problems getting my other dog to lose weight but he also has some thyroid issues going on. I've gotten some conflicting messages over how much to feed. The dog food bag says one thing, the vet tells me not to feed very much, the breeder told me not to starve them.. I feel like I'm kind of caught in the middle, trying to make sure my dogs don't constantly feel hungry all the time but aren't overweight with health problems either. There seems to be a lot of confusing info out there.
By the way, I love your profile picture, Hughie! I wish we had enough snow here in NC to do that!
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husky_drea
Newborn
Newborn
husky_drea

Female Join date : 2013-06-30
Location : SoCal

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PostSubject: Re: Why are huskies so darn picky?!   Why are huskies so darn picky?! EmptyWed Jul 03, 2013 1:24 pm

We started Kona on a raw diet as soon as we brought her home, it's helped clear up her demodex mange and she has the best coat I've ever seen on a husky and she's our first non-picky eater. We started with Primal frozen raw but are in the process of switching over to the prey model as it seems cheaper, we spend about $35 a week on Primal, and just as easy as the preformulated raw. Our older rescue, 2 or 3 years, took a while to take to the raw and is still quite picky and has started skipping meals with the heat of the summer, but he's at a good weight so we just watch him and make sure he's eating atleast every 36hrs. He only usually skips one meal out of the 2 a day. After seeing the benefits of raw I'll never go back to kibble. The forum on here is a great help too! Good luck!
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