We just adopted a husky and she will not eat dog food what should we do?

Question

I have four different kinds of food that I have tried to give her but she won't touch any of them. The only time that she has eaten anything is when my husband gave her a hamburger. We really don't want to encourage her to eat people food because we have kids and we don't want her taking food from them. We have had her three days now. She was a stray from what the shelter knew but she is well behaved and trained to do tricks. She is a young adult. I don't know her exact age. I plan to take her to the vet asap but don't know what to do to get her to eat in the mean time. Any help would be great.

Answer 1

In my house, if one of my animals doesn't want to eat the food I offer them, it sucks to be them and they go hungry until the next meal. If you don't want to have to add something to her food for the rest of her life, your best bet is to wait her out. No healthy dog will starve themselves. It may take a while, but eventually she will eat. And trust me, it will be harder for you than it will be for her. She may have learned at her previous home that holding out and not eating earned her something better (like a hamburger). Or it may just be that even after three days she just doesn't feel comfortable enough to feel like eating.

You should still take her to the vet. Any new pet needs a new pet check-up with the vet when you get them. And your vet can also confirm that she is healthy and that her lack of appetite doesn't have some medical cause (like a broken tooth or kidney disease).

Answer 2

The Siberian is NOT one of the breeds that is closest to the wolf. 15,000 years of evolution separate ALL DOGS, including Siberian Huskies, from wolves. There are 14 dog breeds that genetic studies show as the best living representatives of the ancestors to all living dogs. These breeds are: Afghan Hound, Lhasa Apso, Shiba Inu, Akita, Pekingese, Shih Tzu, Alaskan Malamute, Saluki, Siberian Husky, Basenji, Samoyed, Tibetan Terrier, Chow Chow, and Shar Pei. The Siberian Husky has a wolf-like appearance, and because of their looks, they are frequently used to represent wolves in movies. With that said. The Siberian was bred to work hard with little food. They have a high metabolism and burn calories efficiently. They tend to eat even less in the summer months when they're burning even fewer calories. If your vet has said there's nothing wrong with your pup, and he's generally healthy, don't worry too much about it. But now is the time to start good eating habits: Feed him twice a day. Make sure you feed him a high-protein food. Look for something with meat as one of the top three ingredients. Eagle Pack, Nutro, Evo, Canidae, etc. Or go with raw feeding or home cooking. There are plenty of great websites out there with menus. Put food down for 10-20 minutes. If he doesn't eat it, pick it up. Hand feeding is an excellent way to work on training. Basically it's listen to the human because that's where the food comes from. Don't baby him. If he doesn't eat, then he goes hungry until the next feeding. He'll figure it out.

Answer 3

I had a similar problem with a dog that was only fed human food. He refused to eat dog food, like your Husky. Just be strong and don't give in. Set a bowl of dry dog food out and keep it there for for 30 minutes. If he doesn't eat it within the allotted time, take it up and wait til the next feeding time. He will eventually eat, he is just holding out for something better and unhealthy.

Answer 4

This little trick works miracles, how do I know because I've encouraged my clients to do it when they have picky eaters.

1. Make sure you're feeding the dog a premium food. no by products, protein is the first ingrediant and no corn.

2. No canned food. It gets stuck in the teeth and rots them out.

3. NO people food.

4. Put some water on the food and put it in the microwave for a few seconds to heat it up a bit. It brings the aroma out making it more alluring. If you want to do a special treat use chicken or beef broth. It's all natural.

5. Feed the dog on a schedule. Put the food down for 15 minutes and if he doesn't eat pick it back up till the next feeding.

Good Luck

Answer 5

A dog will eat when it is hungry. In the meantime - mix up a very small piece of chicken in her food - mix it up very, very good so that she smells it. At the next feeding do the same thing only add less chicken and keep adding less until she is only eating her dog food. Ask your Vet what would be the best type of dog food to give her. Once she starts eating her dog food don't make the mistake of giving her people food or you will have the same problem again. Good Luck.

Answer 6

yo shouldn't keep changing food. Pick one food and give it to her twice a day leave it down for about 30 minutes each time if wshe doesn't eat tehn feed her at the next feeding.
YOu don't know how she was raised. Your husband gave her a hamburger and that's like candy to her. what do you think your kids would eat first.
Most dogs wont starve themselves she should get hungry enough to eat.
YOu might want to callteh shelter you got her from and find out what she was eating there and see if they can give you any other info about her.
Most of teh time it just takes time
Good Luck

Answer 7

I like the idea of putting down food for just a set period of time, and then taking it up. They will learn to eat when it's offered.

Try using moist or canned dog food, and mixing it with the dry food. You could also chop up a hamburger, and mix that with the dry food. She will end up getting some dry food with the rest, and will get the idea.

Good luck, and congratulations on adopting from the shelter. You may have saved her life by doing so.

Answer 8

She is most likely a picky eater. Dogs WON'T starve themselves to death even if it seems like it at times....their survival instinct is too strong. DON'T give in and start giving her people or wet/canned food unless you plan on doing this for a very very.....very long time afterwards.

Instead, set down her food and give her 20 min. to eat, if she doesn't remove the food till next feeding time. She will eventually get the idea. Don't go trying to change foods on her all the time either as this will upset her digestive tract and also make her finicky.

Answer 9

Smart dog. Commercial dog food is overprocessed and does not contain all of the nutrients your dog needs. Further, it is unsafe because much of it is contaminated, which is the cause for this latest dog food recall. You can feed your dog a homemade diet based on meat, some carbs, and veggies. This is healthier than commercial dog food. I have a blog at http://www.homemadehealthypetfood.com that will provide you with more information.

Answer 10

Have you tried to mix in some wet can/dog food with the dry? that is generally the only way my dog will eat her food. Or cooked white rice is an inexpensive alternative to wet can and better for dogs.