Help -- Desperate For Some Advice

[adewolfe]

Hi -- I have an 11 month old 1/2 husky + 1/4 border collie and 1/4 lab mix. He weighs ~45-50 lbs and is neutered. He is a very picky eater and I have tried every premium dog food out there... science diet, performatrin ultra, viand, fromm, acana, etc. I have tried all different protein sources, limited ingredient, grain free, etc. I have also resorted to using a tsp or two of canned food (Merrick, Kirkland, Tripe, etc) to make the dry food more novel. My problem is that he will maybe eat the food for 2 days and then he refuses to eat any of the food. Naturally I am worried because he gets about 3 hours of exercise a day (dog park, bike and walk) and he is still growing. I give 1 small treat a day after our walk and that is it -- i'm taking the tough love approach. He is perfectly healthy -- was just at the vet for a checkup.
Any advice would be very much appreciated.
Thanks!

[Removed #5]

Most dogs, and Husky's in particular, seem to know how far they can push their owner's and just what things they can do that will really "ring their owners bells".  Obviously your little one has found that if he's picky about what he eats that you're going to go out of your way to give him "the good stuff" and if he fusses about this then maybe there's better stuff - if he just hassles you enough.

 

Your comment that the vet says he's in good health and he's getting plenty of exercise is the lead in to my comment - one you used yourself - it's time for the tough love treatment.  Pick a food, put it down and if he doesn't eat it, pick it back up and save it for his next regularly scheduled meal.  He's bright, it won't take him long to figure out that his training you has just stopped working, then he'll eat like a normal dog (or like a Husky which isn't the same thing - at all!)  The tough love means he gets nothing until he decides to act right, no treats, no special garnishes, nothing but his normal food!

 

One of my favourite lines when it comes to dogs who decide they're not going to eat is that no otherwise healthy dog is going to starve themselves while sitting by a bowl of dog food.  They may try to make you think they will, but perseverance is a great tool.  You can outlast your dog!

[mydiamond]

Hi there I agree with Al. I also have a picky eater over here and that's the trick that made my husky eats like a normal dog. However, please remember that huskies do not eat as much as other breeds. Unless he inherits the Labrador trait, then he doesn't need as much food. Diamond only eats 1 bowl of dry dog food every day plus several additional treats. If he gets any more, he won't eat because he's just too full!   good luck on training and keep us updated

[Stranger]

again another to agree with Al, a dog wont starve itself

 

with my boys they get fed at 5 every day. food goes down, if they walk away from it, and dont go back within 5 - 10 mins it comes up.

Kaiden doesnt always finish his so to prevent his brother from eating it i take it up once Parker has finished his...kaiden never normally walks away from food if he is hungry

Parker has refused to eat on numerous occassions, i take the food up before Kaiden eats it cause he will...if Parker doesnt eat it i take it up and he has nothing till 5 the next day.

 

On a rare occassion he'll sit in front of me about an hour later begging for it, so i put it down, but only some times...

 

Your the boss, its your house, your rules, your routine....he has to learn to fit in

[Sarah]

Totally agree with the above x try it but not for a day or two give it a week minimum

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[LittleLuka]

stick with your guns. don't give in and give him anything else.

 

btw it is common for them to skip meals as well. Sometimes Luka just isn't hungry.

[Andy]

Darwin about 50% of the time will walk away from his morning meal after just a sniff.

So it gets put up out of the way until the evening meal.

[RedJasper]

I agree with the above as well.  Rusty is the same way.  It is stressful for sure.  It is difficult to think your pup maybe going hungary I always worry about it.  Give it time and stick to your guns.  Good luck.  We are here if you need to vent.

[Liz Jones]

Got to agree with all the above I found that at around 10 to 12 months they go from eating everything as a pup to slowing down. Our girls have one meal a day at times they go through periods of having two but they let me know if they get too much then they just refuse to eat its not the food it's just they don't want anymore

I agree stick with one food and remove if not eaten then put it down again later they won't starve

[Elyse]

I agree with Al. 

Mine wouldn't eat any dry food, no matter what kind I gave him. He would only eat it if I put some kind of garnishing on it (wet dog food, gravy, etc).
After doing this for a year, I had enough. I put him on Taste of the Wild, and to my surprise, he ate it all - no additions required. 

[Emma]

Healthy dogs don't starve themselves and as you've read before huskies are notoriously fussy! I agree with Andy, Bear will often turn her nose up at breakfast time, so I put it out of reach and put it back down at dinner time. Eventually she'll eat it!

[Candie]

I guess I am gonna have to do this with Aurora. She will not eat unless I sit on the floor and feed it to her one piece at a time. :/

[SiberianShepherd]

Sky is a very picky eater. We tried literally 10 different brands but one she still seemed to like best. We have her on Blue Buffalo, we tend to switch up the flavors(duck,salmon,chicken) so she doesn't get bored. But she still sometimes wont eat it at all. We also give her cooked chicken breast(the ones that come in a big bag) cooked in a tad bit of seasoning salt for flavor. Sky seems to love it. I am different then most on here, I leave food out all day so she can graze along with the puppy(which she does but mostly only when the puppy wants food she'll go eat at the same time)