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Hello. =] I have a siberian husky she's about six months and having difficulties with dry food. I still give her puppy food until she turns one. My concern is that she won't eat it until she gets real hungry. She likes canned food, but I don't want to give it to her all the time. As my vet recommened it. I tried everything. Putting some water with her food to make it like gravy, mixed some cooked rice with it. Would you recommend that I buy another dry food brand and if so, what kind is the best? Thanks for all the help! =]

Sara and Loba
 

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What food is she on? If she's already on a high-quality food, there's no reason to pander to her whims by dressing up her food with gravy and rice. At this age, she should be eating at least twice a day. Put down her first meal for fifteen minutes. If she doesn't eat it, take it back up and put it in the fridge until the next meal. At the next meal, put it down again for fifteen minutes. If she refuses, take it back up. There should be NO treats or food given in between these meals.

A healthy dog will not starve itself. She knows that there is food for her...but she also knows that if she holds out long enough, you'll put goodies in there for her, so of course she'll wait. She needs to learn that dry food is all she's going to get, period, and she can take it or leave it.

Dogs can go up to a week without food, so you're not doing her health in by withholding a couple of meals. Usually all it takes is one or two skipped meals before the puppy catches on and realises that it's going to have to eat the dry food. If two days go by and she isn't eating, take her to the vet for a medical check-up.
 

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Give your dog a high quality food, IMO, an all stages food. Put it down, give her 10min to eat, pick it up and she gets nothing else til the next meal. If you're using alot of treats, stop. She may be getting full from the treats. I personally don't believe picky dogs are born, I think they're made by the owners
 

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I agree with the others about not adding yummies to the food -- the dog will refuse to eat without it if you train her to be that way. I know -- I've trained my dog to do that!

Since the dog seems bored with the current food, it's probably a good time to switch to another food. Sticking with the old one is just beating a dead horse. When there are so many good foods out there, why make it harder for yourself? Find a high-quality one she'll really like and follow the advice you've already been given. Pet feed stores often have sample bags of food you can try without buying a whole bag. Follow the instructions about slowly replacing the old food with the new over 2-3 weeks.

When it's time to eat, I would call the dog to eat, make sure you have her attention on the food, put it down for 20 minutes. If she doesn't eat, pick it up and feed it again at the next meal time. No treats in between. When you have her on a schedule where she's eating regularly again, you can slowly introduce treats back in, but never in relation to her meals.

Check with your vet again about the puppy food. We switched our husky/shepherd mix to adult food at around 8 months at the advice of our vet. And while you're at it, make sure there's nothing else going on with the dog that would put her off food. Our dog had stomach issues which is why she seemed like a picky eater. She had no other symptoms at first -- was very active and playful. But she got worse over time. Not saying your pup will. Just saying that if a food switch and the new regimen don't work, might be time to check out other reasons she won't eat.

Good luck and let us know how she's doing!

P.S. We learned the hard way to always give our dog her kibble first. Once she's eaten all or most of that, then she gets the canned. We feed her 2 cups of kibble 2x a day and 1 can of wet at dinner. If we gave her the canned first, she would turn her nose up at the kibble. A side benefit of not mixing them -- moistened kibble, esp. kibble with citric acid in it, has been associated with bloat. So I never wet the kibble or mix it with the canned for my larger dog. Her mother died of bloat so we're extra cautious.
 

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As long as she is eating I wouldn't worry. She needs to know that she's getting what you're feeding and if that means she doesn't eat at every meal then so be it. A healthy dog will not starve itself. But whatever your long term plans for feeding are, stick with them. Huskies are often a picky breed (do we make them that way? ;)). What I do with mine is a mix of kibble and wet. He loves wet and the mix ensures he eats everything in his bowl. But if you don't plan on feeding wet on a regular basis I wouldn't suggest this.
 

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Hi...Huskies are picky eaters....I've noticed that if I feed my guy right after a walk or playtime in the yard -- he devours his food --- if I put it out any other time he just picks on it.

What brand of food do you use?....try and find one that has very little/no fillers and no gluten--- and I've noticed that my guy likes the Chicken ones better than the Lamb or Beef.....try and see which one he likes best ....buy small bags so you don't waste -- and if you can buy at Petsmart they will take returns if your pup doesn't like it.:)
 

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Huskies are picky eaters
Ilya would agree with you Donna!

One other thing I've noticed about my husky is.... he doesn't really need very much. If there he's not very active that day, he might even skip a meal. He does very well on raw or just Solid Gold's Barking at the Moon.

I've been able to use Blue Buffalo as training treats.
 

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This is something my boss suggested I try with my husky since he was raised in a pack situation (3 dogs in a pen with little human interaction), and it sounds weird, but with the dog watching stick your face in the bowl. Make smacking noises and crunch the food around like you're eating it...spit in the food, mix it in then set it down. I know with Tiberius it worked as he's never been the boss, he was waiting for the alpha to eat before he would.

I only resorted to this after the put it down and pick it up routine didn't seem to be doing any good because he was so nervous about eating first. Just my two cents.
 

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SPIT in the food??? .....:mad: oh no....I wouldn't do that to my dog!.. ...I'll give him kisses - but never spit in his food!:(
 
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