dog won't eat . .?

Question

I have a 1 year old siberian husky that won't eat. I'm looking for serious responses only. I have consulted a veterinarian and she has no solutions as to how to get him to eat. We've been having this problem since February of this year. In the past month, I have switched his food often to begin the search for a food that he will eat, but in the past while we had this problem I did not switch his food. I have tried mixing gravies in with the kibble, mixing soft food in with the kibble and he refuses to eat any of it. I have tried a raw diet, he absolutely loved it for 4 days and then just stopped eating. He does eat canned food, but I do not give it to him regularly as he will just eat it for 4 days and decide he's done with it. I'm at a loss for getting him to eat. I do not give him table scraps, his food and only his food. He searches high and low for anything to eat but his food and never finds anything. Finally after a couple of days he will eat some kibble, but not much.

He did love the raw diet and won't eat it anymore. He went 4 days without eating. He looks at it and will take it and bury it around the house but won't eat it.

He is healthy otherwise. We have seen 3 vets for this issue.

Dakota is mostly a house dog. He is contained in the yard and does not get food outside the house. He is about 25" tall and as of last night weighs 41 lbs. You can feel all his ribs, but they are not sticking out, his hip bones are very noticeable and his stomach looks sunken in during these periods when he doesn't eat. I have been asked if he is a rescue and the vet said besides being so skinny, he is healthy. He's active, but not overly active and not lethargic. He is always monitored outside and does not get the squirrels in the backyard. He will occasionally eat a bug, but that's about it. I offer him food twice a day for about 15 minutes. The vet said we need to find a food he likes and get him eating to put some weight on him and possibly get a behaviorist involved. I can find a food he likes, but he only eats it for 4 days and will just not eat anymore no matter how many days after I offer it to him after those 4 days.

mixing anything with the kibble doesn't work. He has been checked for worms several times, bloodwork checked twice and wormed. All is good healthwise as far as we know at this point unless he has an undetected disease but all three vets at this point believe its behavioral.

Answer 1

If he is HEALTHY I wouldn't worry about it.

Arctic dogs are incredibly fuel efficient... they had to be as food was often in short supply. Over multiple generations this became written into their genetics as the less fuel efficient dogs died and did not procreate.

I had a 48 lb Samoyed who lived on 2/3 of a cup of food a day.

Quit worrying about it .. he'll eat when he's hungry. Right now, he has you all wrapped around his little paw. Personally, I'd set his food down, give him 10 minutes to eat and then pick it up and offer it to him again the next day. I'd use another premium brand of kibble as treats and I'd make him WORK for them. (keep track of how much he is eating as treats by measuring a half cup at a time into a bowl on the counter.. I train my dogs pretty extensively and they each get about a cup of kibble for treats).

If he becomes overly thin, I'd worry about it.... but if he's generally healthy.. remind yourself he is a dog and you are the leader... he eats when you say or he just doesn't eat. Stop cajoling him... this really is a northern breed issue.

Edit: I feed my dogs primarily raw.. have for 15 years.. And YES they do fast. Sometimes because *I* want them to, and sometimes because they just aren't interested.

Edit X2- Switch around his food every time you feed him. He's old enough to feed once a day... Don't let him eat until he is full.. take the food away before he is done eating. Food is a resource... YOU have to make it valuable to him. This is a game some northern breed dogs play... right now, your dog is winning.

EditX3- Sample feeding schedule.. this is how I feed my dogs...

Day 1- Turkey necks
Day 2- Ground meat (contains organ meats) I add bean sprouts and eggs with shells
Day 3- Chicken thighs
Day 4- Pork neck bones
Day 5- Fasting day... dogs get only kibble treats they work for
Day 6- Saturday- feed in morning (weekdays I feed at night and I RARELY feed at a specific time.. they eat when I get around to feeding them) Chicken carcasses...with organ meats (my dogs are not fond of organ meats... so, I feed them these while they are danged hungry and before they get the carcass.)
Day 7- ground meat etc..

At some point during the week I may do a "leftover night" where I clean out my fridge and add it all to their ground meat. I also really love to do a treasure hunt on my patio and hide whole eggs for the dogs.. its a riot watching the various crack and eat methods.

Answer 2

I don't know about dog nutrition, but I do know about cat nutrition and your cat will not be healthy on dog food. It doesn't contain taurine which is essential to a cat. Aslo I'm sure it's full of grain, which is basically carbohydrates and your cat can develop diabetes and become fat. You need to be strict for their own sake and feed them high quality species appropriate diet. Feed them at the same time in different rooms. Take the food away after 30 minutes if they don't eat it and refrigerate it. Try again in a few hours. No animal will starve itself just out of being fussy about their food. The cat would be harder to adjust, but the dog will give in pretty fast. Pour some tuna juice over the cat's food, it should make it more appealing. You can try mixing it gradually, but you need to make a change or you are risking your pets' health in the long run. More about cat nutrition here:

Answer 3

Your scenario makes no sense to me... and it's lacking in information I need to know.

Please add an addendum stating your dog's height at the withers, and weight.

Also, do a body test and tell me if you can feel all his ribs, or does he have enough tissue that you do not see or feel the ribs? Does he look scrawney with all his ribs sticking out?

In addition, is he active or lethargic? How active?
Is he a house dog? Does he spend much time in a yard?
Is the yard fully fenced so he cannot get out? Or does he roam the neighborhood free???

Part of the reason for these questions is that a dog that's truly not eating, ends up looking horrible, with skin sunk in and ribs pushing out through the skin due to lack of food and starvation. My step-son's neighbor has an obese dog and can't figure out why, in spite of a diet, the dog just keeps getting more obese. What the neighbor doesn't know is that the dog is VERY sociable and when he visits all the neighbors, everyone feeds him. If your dog doesn't look emaciated, then it's likely he's either hunting his own food, or being fed by neighbors.

Do a feeding plan. Put food down once in the morning and once in the evening. Leave the food out 15min and if he doesn't eat, he doesn't get fed till next mealtime.

At the same time, restrict his activity so he CANNOT leave your yard to visit any neighbors!

I'd try the raw diet in the morning, and kibble in the evening, but don't let him free feed. You need to know exactly how much he's eating. My pyrs are 85# and 105# and I feed my male (85#) 12oz raw in the morning and 2cups kibble at night. My female is slightly overweight, so I feed her 11oz raw in the morning, and 1cup kibble in the evening. No treats at other times. No access to other "foods" like rabbit... etc.

If he's not scrawney and he's healthy then he's getting food somewhere! Check out where!

Answer 4

I had the same problems with my dogs while feeding comercial dog foods. When I started feeding the BARF diet they all eat every day like there is no tomorrow. They eat as soon and they come back in from going potty the morning. Then at night they eat again and that is all they get except when we are training them then they get treats. If you mix up ground beef with some fried liver for taste with supplements for the additional things they need she will eat. The Liver makes all the differance. But you must get meat that is free from antibiotics and Steriods. Liver also, add to that finley chopped veggies like carrots, sweet potato, yellow squash, apple and blue berries, for anti oxidents, canned pumpkin with a small amount of soy sauce and a little garlic. ( I have a juicer that helps with the veggies, I mix the pulp back to the juice). You can add whole oats or pasta to that as well for carbs. she will eat and eat like she has never eaten before. I get my supplements form Natures Farmacy.com. Ultimate and Phyto Plex. Alfalfa and Kelp powder, extra C and Calcium. Make this up every week and store in freezer till needed take out the night before and thaw in fridg. Believe me she will love it. If she doesn't like it raw at first try frying it just a little at first so she can smell it. Then less and less till she is eating raw. You can alternate with raw chicken wings legs thighs and backs. A husky might be able to eat an whole leg or maybe half a bird at the time. You will know how large the serving needs to be.You can even feed her deer meat and ribs if you know a hunter. Now let me tell you this most people are either for the BARF diet and totally against it. You make up your own mind about it. I have seen a huge differance in my dogs in every aspect of their lives I think you will too. Besids comercial dog food is full of crap no one would feed if they only knew what was being thrown in. I hope this helps you I know I couldn't stand it when mine wouldn't eat. I would sit in the floor for the longest time begging them to eat. Best of luck. OH! yes and you must fast her one day a week. It helps them to process all the foods.

I hope you get this, If she has been checked by a vet, and they have found nothing wrong with her. You will find the right combination of food for her. I stressed about my dogs so much but just know if your that diligent with trying to find the right combo you'll find it. Best of luck and Many healthy and happy years with your beloved husky

Answer 5

Try adding a bit of chicken gravy in with his food, or if you can get turkey giblets, they slowly add less and less until you ween him off the gravy or giblets. Making sure the food is warm too sometimes helps. Even just heating up water in the microwave and adding it to the food may help. When switching food it's better if you slowly ween them from one to the other. Like mixing a half and half of the two different foods. Going straight from one to the other can confuse a dog and make him think that it's normal. I hope this helps you.

Answer 6

the main thing is to get your dog to eat. Is he eating dog treats? Mix some of his dog food with some treats. Also, if he likes the raw diet and canned food, keep him on it. Switch him back and forth if he get's tired of it.

If he stops eating all together and won't touch a bite, then bring him to a different vet and get a second opinion.

Answer 7

They eat when they get hungry. Just make sure they have a GOOD dog food there for the nutrition they need.
I recommend Canidae or Innova.
You could try adding oatmeal with some warm water, some plain white rice, raw egg, some canned pumpkin or some low sodium canned green beans to the food. All relatively good for dogs, and have a good chance at getting him to eat :)

Answer 8

I have the same problem with my border collie will go days really luvin her food then just stop for a couple days,
i asked my vet & she said that in the wild wolfs will store up on food then not eat for a few days, i know we arent talking about wolfs but it stopped me from worrying & true enough she started eating within a couple of days.
So dont worry as long as she is bright & alert & alright in herself.
Make sure she has plenty of fresh water,
hope ive helped:)

Answer 9

Do you take him for a nice long brisk walk before you feed him?

He may be bored, and unfulfilled and that is causing his unrest.

My suggestion is to take him for a walk, no less than an hour and make sure you are walking fast. Maybe let him chase a ball around in the middle of your walk.

Then, bring him home and give him some (a half portion) of his food and lots of water.

See how he does with that.

Good luck!

Answer 10

Sometimes dogs won't eat if they need deworming.If your pet hasn't been wormed lately try deworming it.I would also suggest mixing a small amount of a good canned food in with the dry food,sometimes this helps.