# husky not eating, what can I do?



## rogier (Dec 23, 2007)

My family adopted a four-year-old male husky yesterday. Sweet dog, seems to have few if any behavioral issues. But -- he hasn't touched food in almost 36 hours and I'm getting concerned. It's the same high-end dog food he's been eating for years. The previous owner, when told of the trouble, suggested frying some organic chicken in a bit of butter and adding that to the dry food. I did, no difference. He looks at the food, sniffs around it a bit, won't take it. He isn't interested in snacks, either. The only thing he took with little hesitation was a bit of warm milk foam that was left over after I drank a cup of cappuccino. But I'm not going to feed a caffeine / Starbucks habit! ;-)

I'm sure he misses his previous folks and his pack (he was raised as a sled dog with a dozen other huskies but lacks the desire to pull much), and I want to give him time to adapt to his new surroundings. Still, it's time he eats, even just a little bit. The dog is really just "on loan" for now, to see if it works out, but we love him already and it would break my kids' hearts to have to give him back. I'm afraid if I tell the previous owner that the dog's total lack of appetite persists, she'll insist that he be returned to her. We have a couple of days to get him turned around. What do we do? And how long can a husky go without food before it becomes a health issue?

All suggestions welcome. Thanks!

Rogier


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## Renoman (Mar 20, 2007)

I would just offer him his usual meal. Leave it down for no more than 30 minutes. If he doesn't eat, then pick it up and do not offer anything else until the next meal time. You could offer something like boiled chicken to try to entice him. 

He's probably confused about his new surroundings. He needs some time to adjust.


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## briteday (Feb 10, 2007)

I agree. I've had all kinds of foster dogs. They can go anywhere from a day to a week before they feel comfortable enough to eat. And a former sled dog is used to living in a pack, or at least that's how my cousin keeps his 35 dogs. So this dog may be confused about what he is allowed to do and when. I say give it time.


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## rogier (Dec 23, 2007)

Renoman said:


> I would just offer him his usual meal. Leave it down for no more than 30 minutes. If he doesn't eat, then pick it up and do not offer anything else until the next meal time. You could offer something like boiled chicken to try to entice him.
> 
> He's probably confused about his new surroundings. He needs some time to adjust.


Thanks for the reply. What's the theory behind taking the food away after 30 minutes? What will that do?

Rogier


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## Renoman (Mar 20, 2007)

The theory: you offer him the food for a certain period. He doesn't eat after prescribed time. You remove the food and do not offer anything else until the next time. He comes to understand that if he does not eat when food is offered he will get nothing else to eat until next meal time.


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## Aussiefan (Jan 21, 2007)

When i adopted my Border Collie last month he also didn't want to eat, took him almost a week before he started eating regularly, he just needed that time to get comfortable with his new home. What i did in the mean time was sprinkle a little bit of Parmesan cheese in with his dry food and also put a little water in the mix. He picked at it, and didn't eat very fast, but did eat. (wouldn't eat the straight dry at all) Then after a week i weened off the cheese/dry food mix and he has been fine since. He only weighed 30lbs (about 8 or so Lbs under weight) so i wanted to start getting food in him as soon as possible and the parmesan cheese trick worked for that. It was just a little sprinkle, but he really liked the flavor. Once he felt at home, just straight Canidae was just fine with him thankfully, LOL!


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## RBark (Sep 10, 2007)

One time Ollie was able to steal some steaks and chicken from me and ate them. He refused to eat for 3 days because he thought if he waited long enough, I'd feed him the chicken just to get him to eat.

The lack of eating behavior is rather common in Huskies from what I know.


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## OC_Spirit (Feb 6, 2007)

It is very typical for Sibes to skip meals in a row without any problems. They are a breed that need very little food to be healthy (in comparison to other breeds the same size). A change of lifestyle is also a very common thing that throw's a dog's appetite. Just dont make a big deal out of him skipping meals and he should come around when he settles in.


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