Hello From The New Guy

[w0LfNiNja]

hello!

 

My name is w0LfNiNja aka Curtis. My family and I recently adopted a 2 1/2 year old husky. The previous owner told me she was a rescue from Indy, IN. She was found with her mother, father, and 1 or 2 other pups. They were told she is most likely full blooded husky since it looked like the mother and father were. The previous owner had a friend watching her for about the last 6 months and decided it was too much for them. I asked the previous owner what food they fed it and she didn't know. All she really knew was that they fed her 1 1/2 cup of food in the morning and in the evening. 

 

So this is the problem. i've had her, Dakota, for 3 days now. I went to my local pet store and bought 2 different dry dog foods. She doesn't want to eat either of them so far. I read online I could feed her cook chicken or other meats, so I have been boiling chicken breasts the past few days for her to eat so she has something in her belly. when i take her out to the restroom, she pees almost everytime. She has pooped a few times and it has been very runny. I was told she was house broken very well and would let us know when she had to go outside. When we are awake, she does a decent job of that. Between about midnight and 7am thou, I've woke to a few pee spots and runny poop spots in different rooms in the house. Kota isn't crate trained, I was told she has never used a crate and was great in the house alone. I have never owned a husky before. I have owned other dogs in the past thou. I have always used a crate myself, but I do like the idea of Kota being able to run around the house freely. 

 

Do you think her not eating is because of the home change? I do have 4 kids, ages 8 to 15, who have been loving on her a lot. I'm not sure what else to do really. Cooking up chicken every night is gonna kill my budget.

[Jay]

Welcome to the forum!  I am also in Indiana, up in the northwest region.  

 

I can tell you that huskies have VERY sensitive stomachs!  The slightest food change, or stress, or even the wrong treat can cause mine to get the runs.  I would go with a grain free food, and if you check out www.dogfoodadvisor.com you can find one. I feed mine Taste of the Wild - Pacific Stream.  They do really well on that.  Also, the eat much less than other breeds, so besides having grains, the biggest culprit of runny poo is over feeding.  Mine get 2 cups total per day, 1 in the morning, 1 at night.   1 1/2 cups is not a huge amount, so it could be just the change in food and environment.  

 

Also, I would probably suggest crate training.  It is  a long process if the dog has never been trained, but it can be done.  It all depends on if you trust her, and if you have an area that can't get tore up, since they can be pretty destructive if they get bored.  I rescued Kodiak and the first week or so he did mark a few times, so you might have to start potty training over like she is a puppy.  

 

Anyway, if you have anymore questions we are happy to help!  And she is beautiful btw!

[w0LfNiNja]

I live in NW IN as well, Valpo. I did buy Diamond pet foods Lamb meal and rice formula for adult dogs. The guy working at the pet store suggested it and said it might be easier on her tummy since we didn't know what food she was on prior. Then my wife got Purina ONE smartblend chicken and rice formula to try. Tonight I got 1 cup of the diamond and put it in her bowl and she just stared at me like i was dumb. lol. I ended up cooking a chicken breast and cutting it up into really pieces and gave her that instead, which she ate right away. =( i don't want to NOT feed her, but i do want her to start eating the dry pet food. The guy at the pet store did say I could exchange the diamond food if needed for something else as long as i had over half the bag.

[Jay]

Cool I am in Crown Point! I also give mine chicken breast cut up as well as treats. I would probably find a food that's grain free and stick to that. If she is hungry she will eat it

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[w0LfNiNja]

i have read about the taste of the wild and read about food by blue buffalo. i might buy the smallest bags of those to try as well. 

 

speaking of treats... i did buy a 8" smoked ham bone that had a little meat on it from the pet store that Kota loved and destroyed in 1 night. lol. other than that, any small pocket treats yours like? i guess i need some to start training her on different things.

[Jay]

Mine like the Nutro crunchy treats and the bill jac treats. They respond to those pretty well and they are small. You can also use baby carrots too. Also if you email taste of the wild they will usually send you free sample bags of their food and they will send samples of each flavor too so you figure out which one she likes

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[Removed #5]

I'm surprised at Jay, he normally tosses this comment in somewhere - Huskies are great at training their owners, now why should I eat that stuff when I can hold out for chicken??  (( Okay, Jay wouldn't have phrased it that way but I really expected him to say something along those lines! ))

 

One thing you'll find out is that Husky's are smart - and they will find ways of manipulating you if you let them - you just have to be smarter (( Uh, you are smarter than your Husky, right ))

 

One of my lines is that no healthy dog, Husky or otherwise, is going to starve to death laying beside a bowl of dog food.  They're smart enough to figure out that "If I don't eat this I ain't gonna get nothin' else".  You might remember the phrase "tough love", well this is one of those times - tough it out.  He will eventually eat what you put down.

 

Edit:  He might have been house trained in his past home, but house training normally breaks when dogs move from one place to another; it'll probably come back when he realizes this is home.

Edited April 7, 2014 by Al Jones

[w0LfNiNja]

lol, that is funny about the training.

 

the tough love was my first thought really. i've done that in the past with a different dog. it is my soon to be ex-wife who keeps giving in and won't let that happen. she was the one who read it was ok to feed them cooked chicken and it was the first thing she did after Kota wouldn't touch her food the first day... so if i can convince my soon to be X to leave it be, it might work.

 

i did email the taste of the wild about samples, thx for the tip on that.

[robke]

to

[Clare70]

Hello and welcome to the forum, your pooch is beautiful!

 

One thing i'll say that hasn't been mentioned yet, is that you shouldn't chop and change her food and this in itself can cause a runny tummy.  Also I think mixing wet and dry food is not a good idea.  

 

I would choose a dry food you can afford and seems most suitable, then give her small amounts to begin with.  If she doesn't eat it remove it and try again in a few hours or later in the day.  As Al said she won't starve herself, so once she gets hungry she will eat it, also by giving her a little amount, this should help with the runny tummy. Once you've got her eating your chosen brand of food and her poop is under control then you can increase the amounts but make sure you do this gradually as this can upset her tummy again.

 

I'd also avoid large treats, ie chicken breasts and bones as this will give the the impression you are a push over and she'll hold out for one of those.

 

A change in enviroment and owner is enough to give them the trots, so be patient and I'm sure things will settle down

[olmoggy]

valpo and crown point what a small world. my mom and stepdad live off route 6 valpo,and most all my family lives in crown point go bull dogs. i went to chesterton high. welcome to the forum great lookin dog. me the wife and our 2 are in tx. but we make it back to nw ind once a year

I dont always put a signature, but when I do it goes here

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

Welcome to the pack, she's a gorgeous girl

[mydiamond]

Looks like you've already received a ton of great advice from our other member here, so I'd just say: WELCOME  

[BlueWolf]

[Andy]

[Jay]

LOL @ Al. Yes I made that mistake by mixing chicken in Nikko's food to get him to eat it. He started expecting it and when it wasn't there he wouldn't eat. But like others said they won't starve themselves!

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[Jay]

valpo and crown point what a small world. my mom and stepdad live off route 6 valpo,and most all my family lives in crown point go bull dogs. i went to chesterton high. welcome to the forum great lookin dog. me the wife and our 2 are in tx. but we make it back to nw ind once a year

I dont always put a signature, but when I do it goes here

Wow what a coincidence! There is another member on here from the area as well although I haven't seen here around lately.

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[kchesney8]

Welcome!  I might also suggest putting some salmon oil on her kibble.  Not only is it great for her coat and health but she will probably love the smell and dive right in.  You might even find her licking the bowl.  LOL  My dogs love anything fishy.  They get a can a boneless, skinless sardines in oil once a week.  Their fav meal of the week.  

[w0LfNiNja]

Welcome!  I might also suggest putting some salmon oil on her kibble.  Not only is it great for her coat and health but she will probably love the smell and dive right in.  You might even find her licking the bowl.  LOL  My dogs love anything fishy.  They get a can a boneless, skinless sardines in oil once a week.  Their fav meal of the week.  

@kchesney8

she started eating a little bit yesterday, finally. i'm guessing i can get the salmon oil at the pet store? how much is needed to put on the food or just go by the instructions?

 

@ EVERYONE

i keep reading on here how some of you give your huskies set amounts of foods, such as 3/4 in morning and 1 cup at night or just 1 cup of food per day and so on and so on and so on.

 

any suggestions on feeding amounts for a 2 1/2 yr old female? should i leave the food out all day or should i put it down in the morning, wait so many minutes and toss it... then repeat at night?

 

looks like i will have to start crate training with her for when she is alone in the house as well. so this will be interesting i think.

[Removed #5]

Very touchy topic!

I think you'll find that most of us give our dogs a set amount of food at set times during the day.  My Sasha (who is a Sibe), for example, gets 3/4 of a cup in the morning (app 8AM) and another 3/4 of a cup at 7PM. 

Avalanche, who is an Alaskan gets free fed; I'm guessing about 3 cups every couple of days.  Maybe a bit more, maybe a bit less. He nibbles when he gets hungry and ignores it the rest of the time.

 

The reason this tends to be contentious is that a lot of Husky's will eat anything and everything that gets put down for them (Sasha) and anything else that I let her have.  (She is good, though, about checking with me before she skarfs up something) 

Free feeding a dog who eats everything in sight, of course, result in an obese dog in a big hurry - and believe me, once it's on there, it's hell to get it back off - alternatively, as we all know, that letting them eat too much tends to result in sloppy poops.

 

The general recommendation is probably to feed a good quality of food, put it down once / twice / thrice a day (whatever your feeding schedule is) give them 10 minutes (more or less?) to eat it and then pick it up.  add enough to make a full serving for the next meal and give it to them again.

 

I've tended to free feed most of my dogs in the past, but that's something I cannot do with Sasha, we're trying to get her down from about 70 pounds, which is too much on her frame.  Oddly, she's laying about 3 feet from Avalanches bowl of food and knows that it's not her's ...

 

A lot of inane chatter in there, but did I answer your question??

[kchesney8]

Here is the kind that I give my dogs.  It has the serving amounts on the side.  I just follow that.  The dogs will lick their bowl after every meal.

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002AB9FS/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[w0LfNiNja]

Here is the kind that I give my dogs.  It has the serving amounts on the side.  I just follow that.  The dogs will lick their bowl after every meal.

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002AB9FS/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

awesome, i will try that. i went out today about bought some training treats that were salmon flavored and she loved them. 

 

@Al thx for the info. you anwsered my next question as well. i was gonna ask when you pick up the food do you throw it away and give fresh food each time. let me ask this instead, how long is too long to let the food she doesn't eat sit out? (even if i pick it up and set it aside till next feeding)

[Removed #5]

@Al thx for the info. you anwsered my next question as well. i was gonna ask when you pick up the food do you throw it away and give fresh food each time. let me ask this instead, how long is too long to let the food she doesn't eat sit out? (even if i pick it up and set it aside till next feeding)

 

If it's dry food that's in a bag - how long do you let the bag set there?? << okay, teasing >> Seriously, if she isn't really sloppy (drooling all over it) then I don't think there'd be any problem either putting it back in the bag or just leaving it more or less indefinitely just adding to the bowl as she eats it.  If she consistently leaves food then I'd be thinking about just cutting it back to what she does eat. 

I think we all realize that the normal recommendations on the side of the bag are 1/4 to 1/3 more than most Husky's need. If the bag says a cup per meal then I'd start with, let's say, 3/4 of a cup, if that all disappears and her stool stays solid, I'd increase it a bit.  Again, I think the best indicator for how much to feed is what comes out the other end since most Husky's seem to get loose and sloppy when they're fed too much.

Avalanche is free fed and he does get a little sloppy with the water bowl - but in my climate his food stays dry so I just leave it till he eats it and then refill the bowl.

[cas]

Hello and   . She is lovely.

[w0LfNiNja]

Hello and   . She is lovely.

 thank you very much!

 

she is starting to eat more finally. i've been free feeding for right now so she gets use to the dry dog food. i've been putting 3/4 cups of food in the morning( only if all the food is gone ) and 3/4 cups of food in the evening time ( only if all the food is done too ). i also need to get a crate my next check... lol. she torn my front door up slightly the other day when she was left alone for an hour or two. Also damaged a few blinds try'n to look outside for us to come home.