ErikMorningstar Posted March 27, 2011 Report Share Posted March 27, 2011 Hi my name is Erik and I am a new Husky owner. I have always loved the breed and had researched getting one a few years ago and while brushing up today I found this sight. I went to the animal shelter yesterday with a friend of mine to have his Black Lab neutered and while I was there I decided to look around a bit. As soon as I walked in I saw her scared as could be, apparently she had been surrendered the day prior. She is a 9 month old red and White with blue eyes, absolutely beautiful! Seeing that I have just purchased a new home, well one thing led to another and I just had to give this girl a home. I named her Jenna and so far we are getting along famously. So far the only problem im having is getting her to eat. I bought some canned food and a bag of Ol' Roy from walmart (only place open when I brought her home) and she will eat the soft food no problem, but the hard food she wants nothing to do with. The last dog I had was ten years ago which was a black lab that I raised from a pup I have never taken in a rescue and am worried about getting her to eat. Any tips would be greatly appreciated! Here's Jenna! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeatherZeman Posted March 27, 2011 Report Share Posted March 27, 2011 Aww she's a beauty! Props to you for saving a life! As for eating, well she'll eat when she's hungry! I recommend placing the dry food out for only 20 minutes at a time, 2-3 times a day (adjust the amount to the package direction). After the 20 mins, pick up the food and don't put it down again until it's next feeding time. That way she'll learn that she needs to eat when the food is there, and when she's hungry, she'll eat! Had to do the same thing with my pup. You can also add some appetizing enhancements if you're really worried, such as a little bit of shredded cheese or dog gravy or even water works for some to make it softer. Just be careful, don't want to create a picky eater! Huskies are notoriously picky eaters, so start good eating habits right away! Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sutsibe Posted March 27, 2011 Report Share Posted March 27, 2011 Welcome, Erik and Jenna - she's gorgeous! Congratulations and kudos for rescuing her! Siberians are a breed that would have developed on a diet heavy on meat/fish products, with very little of their food coming from vegetation (think "The Arctic", heavily covered in a layer of snow! O'l Roy starts out with the first ingredient being corn, which has little or no nutritional value to it for a dog, the second is meat and bone meal (what kind of meat, what kind of bone?). The next ingredient is soybean meal - another filler. If you buy a more expensive dog food, which has mostly meat products in the first five ingredients, you'll find she'll need literally a fraction of the food, will be much healthier, and will poop and equally smaller fraction! Many also feed raw diet - raw chicken or another meat, plus a certain amount of "offal" liver, kidney, and so on. Scroll down to the section "Well Husky Clinic", and browse the "Food and Diet" section. You'll find a lot more information on feeding, various types of foods, and feeding raw diets, if that is something that interests you - it can be quite easy, and not terribly expensive for a single dog (some say they can feed raw for less, but I have a good-sized pack, and haven't found it as easy with the number of dogs I have). If you have further questions, feel free to post them - we love questions almost as much as we love pictures of peoples' dogs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikMorningstar Posted March 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2011 Thanks for the info, Very Helpful! when she decides to be a bit more photogenic ill be sure to post more pics up. I ll be sure to read up some more in the other section for further info! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxy1 Posted March 27, 2011 Report Share Posted March 27, 2011 Hi Erik and Welcome to the forum- Nice job rescuing and congrats on the new pup - Jenna's beautiful- Can't add to the advice already given- other to reinforce the fact that you must not let him tell you what he wants to eat and when. Once you decide on a food, pick the schedule, and pick it up after 20 min or so. If you want to give her 30 for a few days, thats OK too, but shorten the time after that. As Gigi said, there are quality dry foods out there and a lot of info in the feeding threads. You can go to - dogfoodanalysis.com to get an idea on dif foods and qualities. Good luck and again - Welcome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosemary Posted March 27, 2011 Report Share Posted March 27, 2011 Wow Eric, how lucky are you - she is gorgeous, absolutely love her colour Congratulations on your new addition. It may take a while to find a food that agrees with her - huskies have very sensitive tummies and a lot of the commercial foods give them runny poos. Like Gigi says, find a food with the right ingredients and she will be fine. Good luck with her and let us know how you are doing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lil Miss Bump Posted March 27, 2011 Report Share Posted March 27, 2011 wow she is beautiful! Nice one on rescuing her :-) can't add anything to what gigi (sutsibe) has written already xxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikMorningstar Posted March 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2011 So far no luck on food, she is drinking plenty and is very energetic so I'm not too worried yet. I did get her to eat some tilapia left overs from dinner, but that's about it so far. Maybe she will have a better appetite tomorrow. Thanks for the comments I'm really glad I was able to rescue her from the shelter. She was so skittish on the drive home, but has def come out of her shell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted March 27, 2011 Report Share Posted March 27, 2011 Hi and welcome to the pack She's gorgeous!!! Looking forward to hearing how you both get on xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BingBlaze n Skyla Posted March 27, 2011 Report Share Posted March 27, 2011 welcome to the pack - shes stunning - well done on rescuing her have u tried soaking the food in warm water (letting it cool before giving it her) not sure if this has already been suggested but worth a shot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tikaani&Aiyana Posted March 27, 2011 Report Share Posted March 27, 2011 Awwww she is stunnning! Nice one for rescuing her, more pics please! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arooroomom Posted March 27, 2011 Report Share Posted March 27, 2011 Congrats on your new baby, she is a pretty girl I'd suggest not giving her anything from the table as Huskies are very intelligent and very manipulative and if they get the feeling that you'll easily cave into them they'll hold out for "the good stuff" every time. I know it's hard to not see them eat, but believe me... they won't starve themselves. I'd also suggest trying a better food. Her coat looks like it needs a little help from the pictures. Often it's from poor diet. If you can afford/find foods such as Wellness, Merrick, Taste of the Wild, Orijen... it would probably help her coat out a bit and they all have fish based formulas. You can also purchase Omega-3 rich fish oils and supplement that to her diet. I believe the dosage is 100mg EPA/DHA per 10lbs daily. Hope to see you around and give a shout if you need help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BladesBird Posted March 27, 2011 Report Share Posted March 27, 2011 Welcome to the forum She's gorg, nice one for rescuing her Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sid&BellaNTX Posted March 27, 2011 Report Share Posted March 27, 2011 Welcome Erik and Jenna! Beautiful pup! Lots of good advice given. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AttilaVikingsDemon Posted March 27, 2011 Report Share Posted March 27, 2011 Thats so great that you rescued her-welcome to the pack-she's very beautiful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuskyCouture Posted March 27, 2011 Report Share Posted March 27, 2011 Welcome to the pack! Congrats on your girl, she's gorgeous Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loriam Posted March 27, 2011 Report Share Posted March 27, 2011 she reminds me of Jenna from Balto, lol. Congrats! My Athena was really shy and it took a while to get her to eat also. After she settles in a bit more, she'll be more likely to eat. Definitely get her a good quality kibble or consider the raw food diet. Also: Aww she's a beauty! Props to you for saving a life! As for eating, well she'll eat when she's hungry! I recommend placing the dry food out for only 20 minutes at a time, 2-3 times a day (adjust the amount to the package direction). After the 20 mins, pick up the food and don't put it down again until it's next feeding time. That way she'll learn that she needs to eat when the food is there, and when she's hungry, she'll eat! Had to do the same thing with my pup. You can also add some appetizing enhancements if you're really worried, such as a little bit of shredded cheese or dog gravy or even water works for some to make it softer. Just be careful, don't want to create a picky eater! Huskies are notoriously picky eaters, so start good eating habits right away! Good luck! This! When we put the food bowl down, Athena would take a few nibbles and then go off to do something else. So when she left the bowl, we took it away. She sooned learned that meal times were scheduled and she couldn't eat whenever she wanted. It took a while for her to get it of course, but now she eats all her food every meal. It's fantastic! She's not very picky but sometimes in the past when we've switched the kibble on her, she wasn't very fond of the new stuff. Just be patient with her. She'll come around Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikMorningstar Posted March 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 she reminds me of Jenna from Balto, lol. Congrats! Thats exactly where I got it from lol as for an update on Jenna, so far she is doing great and is starting to eat better! Apparently she is in heat though (just my luck) could this be adding to some of her behavioral issues or her lack of appetite? Im fairly sure she was fed from the table by her previous owners as well, she will just sit there and stare waiting to see if we will cave lol. As always any tips or info is greatly appreciated! thanks! Oh hopefully I can find my camera soon and take some better picks the above picks really don't do her justice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elenamarie Posted March 28, 2011 Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 Hi Erik! Welcome to the fora and the Redhead Club! I would definitely get her off the Ol Roy. Given the stresses she's endured and the nature of the breed, a high-quality diet is essential to help her get back to tops and stay there. I feed--believe it or not--Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lover's Soul. It's a VERY good feed and my pup is doing very well on it. The additional cost of the food up front is far less in both dollars and impact on your Jenna, in both vet bills, etc. that occur when the dog is fed a poor diet and her general attitude. Good luck with her and if you have any questions, ask! Everyone here is happy to offer help and suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elenamarie Posted March 28, 2011 Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 Thats exactly where I got it from lol as for an update on Jenna, so far she is doing great and is starting to eat better! Apparently she is in heat though (just my luck) could this be adding to some of her behavioral issues or her lack of appetite? Im fairly sure she was fed from the table by her previous owners as well, she will just sit there and stare waiting to see if we will cave lol. As always any tips or info is greatly appreciated! thanks! Oh hopefully I can find my camera soon and take some better picks the above picks really don't do her justice. She wasn't spayed by the shelter? Have they offered to spay her when she's out of heat? One thing I've learned about Sibes: if you let them do something once, they're going to try to do it forever. If you give in and let her eat from the table you're going to fight that battle for a very long time. Don't give in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikMorningstar Posted March 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 She wasn't spayed by the shelter? Have they offered to spay her when she's out of heat? One thing I've learned about Sibes: if you let them do something once, they're going to try to do it forever. If you give in and let her eat from the table you're going to fight that battle for a very long time. Don't give in! nah wasn't spayed yet, I will have to give them a call and ask them about it. I have never fed any dog from the table and never will she will learn that its not going to happen. thanks again all! Finally got her to pose for a pic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Removed #5 Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 Hey Erik, yeh, she's a cutie. My sibe, Misty, has the advantage that she can hunt for her food, so when she comes in and looks at the food bowl and turns her nose up then I figure she's gotten a rabbit while she was out on her run. Contrary to most here, I free feed - food is down all the time - and once they realize they can eat when they get hungry, they don't scarf it all down - they eat enough to be happy and truck on. The picture behind the dragon in my avatar is a shot from my back door. Don't ask me why, she likes the old half barrel .... //al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taiya Blue and Miko too Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 Welcome Erik and Jenna She's deffo a stunner! Was only over in sunny AZ at a ranch in Tucson the other week - lurverly part of the states you live Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paranormal Wolf Posted June 25, 2011 Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 Hello there and welcome to the pack. Beautiful husky you got there and congrats on rescuing her. It's not uncommon for dogs not to eat the first day or so in a new place. I'm sure she'll settle in and start eating soon. Follow the advice the others have posted, lot of good tips there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sid&BellaNTX Posted June 25, 2011 Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 Hey Erik, yeh, she's a cutie. My sibe, Misty, has the advantage that she can hunt for her food, so when she comes in and looks at the food bowl and turns her nose up then I figure she's gotten a rabbit while she was out on her run. Contrary to most here, I free feed - food is down all the time - and once they realize they can eat when they get hungry, they don't scarf it all down - they eat enough to be happy and truck on. The picture behind the dragon in my avatar is a shot from my back door. Don't ask me why, she likes the old half barrel .... //al Must be nice to live so close to Big Bend National Park!:cool: Have wanted to visit there but haven't ever made it down there. My dog I had growing up always slept in an old wheelbarrow that my parents had out in the yard...funny dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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