Hello! I am new here, but i wanted to get some advice for my pup. She is a nine yr old siberian husky rescue named Leela and i have had her for 3 years (I love her to death!). She has always been a little picky with her food and treats, but as of six days ago she has refused to eat. She has been to the vet and had a full panel done and she is perfectly healthy. I switched her food to a higher calorie content since she isnt getting the calories she needs as of late, but she wont even try her new food. This isnt the first rime i have had to switch up her food. However this is the longeat she has gone qithout eating and i am very concerned. I have mixed in wet food and did what her vet recommended, but it hasnt worked. I have added chicken, pumpkin, rice, and even fish but she is not interested. I worry about her health because she seems to be getting skinnier by the day. If anyone has any advice on what i can do for her i would love to hear it!! Thanks!!!

Does she eat treats or the toppers you've added without the underlying kibble?

Nope, everything has been a bust for her, her stools are normal and she still has the same level of energy, but i have been wary of excersising her to much because of her weight loss. Her coat is fine and she has not been showing any signs of lethargy

My vet said its common for huskys to be picky eaters, but ive never seen it this extreme, i just want to help my pup and im hoping the members of this community have more knowledge or experience with this type of situation. she is the first husky ive ever owned and i just want her to have the best life possible

I think after 6 days of not eating i would get a second opinion. That said squirt went about 2 weeks without eating for no reason in protest of a food change but she would take treats. Dogs can go quite awhile without eating the bigger question is the water. Is she drinking normal.

Yes she is drinking water normally, i tried to give her a greenie this morning and she ate that just fine and wanted another. I will take her to a different clinic and have her assesed again to make sure she is ok. So, its common for them to protest food like this??

Should i try excersising her more to see if that boosts her appetite? She already gets 2 walks a day and runs around the yard everyday, but should i jog her instead?

Did you jog her instead of walk her before? So she will eat treats now? What if you make chicken or beef a treat now that she has eaten something. My pack is lazy but they are thrown off by the coronavirus stuff. 2 of my dogs have cabin fever and squirt has been mostly home and when i do take her places i dont let her get out. Its making all sorts of odd behaviors come out. I just wonder how off is her routine and how much that plays in this.

But yes husky pickyness is a husky issue. i tried to wait out squirt and after 2 weeks i bought something else, so she won. Spider is also very picky and loves bananas. But too ripe or not ripe enough she wont touch them. I change food periodically to keep things interesting also.

As a puppy spider went through 6 weeks of not eating anything substantial. SHe had parvo and then developed a food aversion. I was told the big issue is keeping them hydrated.

Ive tried to jog her but she usually gives up about 5 min in. I just took her on her morning walk (about 30 min) and even on her walks she slows down and doesnt want to continue after so long, so ive found that 30 min is her max. I will definitely try giving her some more beef and see if she takes it, i tried the other day and she refused. Her routine HAS been off due to rhe coronavirus, no more doggy park or home depot outings (since dogs are allowed its her favorite place to go). Ive made her another appointment so we will see how that goes. I would change her food but ive decided to put her on a higher calorie diet since her last diet was not substantial for either of my dogs. I also have a 2 year old border collie lab mix and she really likes this new food and since the price point is at the top of my budget i cant validate putting them on seperate food at this time (laid off from work and unemployment has not been coming through). How long do you think i should wait with her not eating before i have no choice but to put her on something else? Thanks so much for your respnses!!!!!

I waited 2 weeks on squirt but she was getting treats and tablefood at the same time. It was when i mixed raw ground beef with it and she even refused that i got something else. The crows enjoyed the rest of the bag. The spider and parvo i ended up feeding her gerber babyfood. for awhile thats all she ate and at that time i had my local vet and then 2 i could call at any moment.

I have never let them go past a week without eating without being under vet care.

So i get the dog food is expensive/no money/no work thing because i just bought dogfood for a neighbor in your position. Does your vet (or any in the area) or your local pet store do dog food samples? That was how i ended up with what i use. Its a good way to save money before wasting it on something they wont eat.

Also did your vet check her teeth?

I hadnt even considered looking for food samples, thats a great idea! Ill be sure to ask around and do that! Do u recommend i try gerber for my pup so that shes getting at least some nutrition? My only worry is that she might get hooked and refuse to eat normal kibble again, but if it might qork ill try it. And yes they checked her teeth and gums which looked fine, my vet recommended i have her teeth cleaned too so i made sure to have that done. Also im glad to hear your pup recovered from parvo, ive had many friends who have lost their puppies to parvo. Its nice to talk to people qho are as dedicated to their fur babies as I am. Thanks for your responses!!!

Baby food is not good for dogs and you have to be really careful there is no grape products. At that point it was anything to keep her from being hypoglycemic. Ive been told boiled chicken or ground meat that is drained and rinsed.

I really do think try some meat again and if that works you might want to consider a different dog food. Some dogs have an unbreakable stubborn streak. I really do think squirt would have starved before she ate the 1 dog food i got that none of my dogs liked

She is fixed, right? Females going in or on heat will go off food. I have a cat in heat right now that won't eat hardly when she is near and in and I force feed her. Also, have you had or been around someone with covid? With pets now showing up with it a loss in sense of taste and smell is a symptom. It might not be covid but there could be something that is causing her to not associate what you are offering her with food. Either she can't smell it properly or it doesn't taste like food once in her mouth so she spits it out. While huskies can be picky they will not starve themselves to death and if she is losing weight and now energy I doubt it's simple pickiness, especially when you've had her for 3 years without this level of issue.

You've gotten some really good comments here; I, for one, would not have thought about the loss of taste / smell in a dog because of COVID.

Obviously, first comments: When any dog stops eating entirely, there has to be a reason for it. We've all had the finicky Husky who decided to just stop eating but that normally only lasts for a few days - then they decide food is good.
You tried what a lot of people try which is to entice the dog to eat with bad results, the norm is that the dog learns that he can "get the good stuff" if he goes on a 'diet' and then you're stuck making him relearn that any food is better than none.

I'd be leery of too much exercise since she's, in theory, not getting the nourishment to replace 'calories burned.'
The fact that she ate a greenie suggest that she knows what food is and that she wanted more - well, a treat's a treat.

I have a mild running disagreement with some folks here - dogs typically don't get bored with their food. "I'm hungry, that's food, so I'm gonna eat." Switching up a dogs food simply because you think they should have something different is not, in my opinion, a good valid reason. If your dog has been doing well on, for example, Purina Pro Plan then switching up to Acana - because that's really good - is an invitation for bad stuff to happen. The norm is "What's that stuff, I'm not gonna eat that!" and we're off to the trials.

All of the above is within the norm for a Husky ... they may just stop eating for three days to a week and if you put food down (and then pick it back up after, say 15 minutes) they will normally go back to their normal 'habits' ... until the next time the go off their food.

The worst thing you can do, again in my opinion, is to try to entice the dog with 'special toppings', treats, raw food (unless you feed raw) - it only takes one episode for them to realize that they can 'get the good stuff' if they push that particular "Not eating" button.

After a week, I'd switch up my plan. If you live close enough to your vet to get daily (or every other day) weight, I'd do that. At the same time I'd keep the dog close enough to me to know - absolutely - everything that they're eating. Are they sneaking into the cats bowl when you aren't looking? Is someone else in the house feeding them table scraps? Are they, maybe, grazing a bit here and there that you're not really seeing?
For the time being I'd make sure that anyone else who might be giving her something - anything - know not to. Right now, you need to be the only person feeding her. Follow the normal guidelines of offer her food and if she doesn't eat then pick it up till the next scheduled meal time. You have to become the sole provider so that you know with no doubt what she is/isn't eating.

@twisterII last comment is one that I wholeheartedly agree with - if she's losing weight and not eating there's more going on than meets the eye and a second (or third) opinion is well worth the effort.

thanks for all the great replies! she had her appointment with a different vet to get a second opinion and all of her tests came back fine. The vets main concern was her weight, but other than that she got a clean bill of health. She is fixed, so I can rule that out as being a potential issue. As an update, she did eat her food just fine last night (thank goodness!) so I know that she has definitely been hungry, though she refused to eat again this morning. I also bought her some new treats that she seems to enjoy and want more of, so i think her sense of smell and taste are alright. Ive cut out adding in any kind of special toppers because in the past she would only want the toppers and not be so keen to go back to kibble, cant afford to start that habit again! As for the covid questions, she has not been in contact with other dogs for about a month, aside from my other pup who also has not been in contact. they have both been to the vet recently though (issues with eating for Leela and routine checkup for Lucy) so maybe they could have been exposed to it there? As for the food she gets I have made it very clear to the members of my household to not give her ANYTHING (though I am not a fan of my dogs receiving to much people food to begin with). I have been the only one feeding her morning and night, even when it comes to treats that she will take. Luckily nobody in my house leaves food around for her to sneak so Im confident she has not been snacking on anything i haven't been giving her. Both my dogs are on Purina Pro Sport because of the higher calorie and protein content since I keep them pretty active and it was recommended to me by both vets I have seen, though I have read mixed reviews on it so I am not sure if I like it for my pups just yet. I will definitely cut back on her exercise amount right now since, like you said, I dont want her burning calories she doesn't have. I will talk to my vet about routine weight checks and keep a log so that I can more accurately track what is going on. Other than that what are some treats you would recommend? Right now I am feeding the purebites salmon and wild caught baltic sprat mainly as an occasional treat, with a greenie once a day (if she decides she wants it). Thanks for all ypur help and advice!!!!

An answer ... for starters, I'm a 73 year old who really shouldn't have a Husky, let alone three of them. I also live in one of the warmest parts of the US, we got up to 104f today, not too bad but we all crashed about 14:00 for a nap. About 16:00 they all broke out and went for a run; up and down our thankfully not busy road and off into the bush (chasing rabbits??) I'll let them run for about an hour and then I go chase them down in my Jeep.

Treats - I'm really mean, my dogs seldom get any. Well, I lie ... our end of day routine is to do some "in place" refresher training (set, lay, down, that kind of easy stuff) and for that Sasha (at 13ish?) get's her joint supplements (as a reward) and the other two get a couple of "Fromm Crunchy O's" Those are Cheerios sized treats that two out of my three will roll over for (I wish!)

Until you're happy that she's back to eating 'normally' (there is no normal for a Husky, I don't think!) I'd do the weight checks ... more for your knowledge and peace of mind.

I wish I could let her off leash to chase rabbits! last time i tried it was a 4 hour search..... so needless to say i learned my lesson pretty quickly. As for the treats, she also has to work for them, both her and my border collie mix, though lately Ive been more easygoing because of her weight loss because i am just desperate for her to eat something. And yes I plan on speaking to her vet again on monday for routine checks. thanks for the advice!

Im glad squirt comes back offleash and doesnt require chasing. The few times spider got loose she ran in circles around the house. We did have the one jailbreak before squirt decided she hates other dogs... squirt and spider broke the fence and went after a heeler.

So i give my dogs way too many treats. I would recommend none. I say this with a morbidly obese german shepherd laying on my foot. 3 of my dogs are way overweight. Combination of things but mainly treats caused it. Whatever is making leela not eat i wish both the boys and squirt would get it.

Just curious did you name her leela after leela in futurama?

ok so I will definitely try cutting back on the treats for now, maybe part of her not eating is knowing shes going to get the good stuff during the day? And I get asked that about her name a lot hahaha Her assigned name at the shelter was Tina since she was a stray with no information, but she didn't respond to that very well. I wanted to change her name but keep the "a" sound at the end for familiarity. Leela was the first name that popped into my mind and I had never seen a single episode of futurama. After signing all of the paperwork and having her name changed my fiance brought it up on the way home and it clicked since I have heard of the character before. She actually started responding to Leela fairly quickly though, so it stuck and after watching a couple episodes of futurama the name definitely fits her personality!

As an update, she eats fine now, but only if my fiance feeds her. Does anyone know why she might be doing this?

Huskies thrive on routine. If your fiance has always fed her it may feel like things are wrong or off somehow if that changes. My female doesn't like to eat when my husband feeds. he feeds the same thing and the same amount, but if he's feeding then that means that I am not home and she doesn't like it when I'm not home.

ok that makes sense, but previously i have always been the one to feed her. when she went through her not eating phase i finally had my fiance try feeding her and she ate fine, so now i leave the feeding to him.

Men are Chef's while women are cooks - obviously she knows a good meal when she sees it!
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hahaha I guess you've got a point there