Husky problem with food and the toilet!
I received an email today from a worried husky owner, after recently acquring one of these wonderful dogs. This is what she said...
"i noticed you have a beautiful husky and wanted to know if you could answer some questions for me?
i got my husky when she was 6 months old...shes 11 months now and when we got her the previous owner said she ate wet and dry food. For a week Brina wouldn't wet food and barely ate the dry food. So I freaked cause she was already skinny as hell and tried all different kinds of things...warm water in the dry food, white rice mixed in the wet food, canned chicken mixed with the dry food. she would eat what i made her for about a day or two then would eat the next day so of course I tried something different. After a lot of money spent on just food, lol, my bf tried to giving her plain wet food again and she ate it. But of course shes right back to the habit where she only eats that for a couple days and then wont touch it. Am I doing something wrong with her food that is making her so finiky? She looks extremely skinny. But I've heard from numerous people that huskys usually are pretty skinny when there not in Alaska or snow? Do you know if any of this is true?
Also potty training. She's not very good at it and shes almost a year old. my boyfriend and i are so fed up we are almost to the point we are about to give her away.
in the morning before my boyfriend gets up at 7 she goes on the carpet in the hallway. and at night she goes in the kitchen. i am home all day. and take her out often in our backyard, she sometimes pees but 99% of the time shes running around trying to catch lizards and bugs and doesn't bother trying to go to the bathroom outside. we're pretty much at the end of the road here with her on this. any advice would be great.
sorry this was so long..lol"
This was my response to her...
"Hi,
YOU ARE NOT ALONE! ;-)
Huskies are really fussy eaters, as mine would love a particular food and then decide to hate it as soon as we bought a new 20kg bag, although we've now found a combination of dry food (Choice from Nutro, for sensitive stomachs) and wet food that he likes.
I'd first recommend having her checked by a vet, to make sure there's no infection or other illness (worms etc). It sounds like this might be related to her relocation though.
We feed Lupus twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. Routine is really important to dogs, so you also need to make sure that she doesn't get food from other sources in between, at least until she gets in to a good eating routine. Huskies can look skinny, especially at this time of the year, as she should just have lost her winter coat for spring. I saw one yesterday that looked really skinny, but she was perfectly healthy.
Changing food often causes an upset stomach, so it might be that she's trying a food, liking it and then not feeling well enough to eat any more after a couple of days. It might also be that you've set a bad routine of rewarding bad behaviour (not eating food) by giving her better food every time.
You should check her stools, as they will be runny if she's unwell, but huskies are notorious for not only being 'picky' but also having very sensitive stomachs, so the slightest thing can cause upset. Try simple boiled rice with boiled chicken for at least a week and see what happens.
When huskies are working they can burn thousands of calories in a day (10-12,000) and will eat accordingly, so if you combine her eating routine with a good exercise routine it might help. Lupus has a 1-hour walk in the morning, after which he gets his food and nearly always eats it. He then gets nothing for the rest of the day (except a few treats during training) and gets his evening meal after we've eaten dinner... as it's also important for you to eat every meal before the dog (maintaining the pack heirarchy).
Another thing is not to leave the food down. Put it to her for 30 minutes and then remove it. Do this at exactly the same times each day and she'll get a routine for when food will be provided. Don't give in, just use the same food at the same times until she starts to eat it.
When changing food you should gradually start to mix an increasing amount of the new food with the old food, gradually changing the mixture over a period of 1-2 weeks until you're completely on the new food. That will prevent any shocks to the digestive system and should avoid any illness from sensitivity.
There's a good answer to someone having a similar problem on this web page, at the bottom:
http://www.dogbehaviour.com/behaviourproblems/dogs/dogsettlingin/diet.htm
TOILET TRAINING
This doesn't have to be too hard. As with any dog training, the mantra to remember is...
"Reward the good... ignore the bad..."
It takes a little time, but you need to reward every poo or pee she does outside, while she's doing it. This means you have to stay close and prevent her being distracted until she has been to the toilet (perhaps keep her on a lead to maintain her attention until she's got it). As soon as she squats to pee or poo say "good girl", and give her a small treat. This will reinforce that going to the toilet outside is a good thing to do. It's good to keep a specific area of the yard aside for this, and make sure it's cleaned up daily, otherwise she won't use it. After about a week of this remove the treats, so you're only giving voice reward, then she should be well on her way.
When she goes in the house DON'T REACT, as any reaction is rewarding her behaviour. Put Brina in another room so she can't see you and clean up the mess quietly and without any fuss.
If you keep rewarding the good behaviour (going to the toilet outside) and ignoring the bad behaviour she'll eventually catch on. Again, routine is important, so once she learns that she will be taken outside at certain times, and be rewarded for going to the toilet, she'll adjust her behaviour accordingly.
It's like having a child, where you quickly need to establish a routine. Boredom might come in to it too, so set-up a daily routine of exercise (2-3 times per day), basic training (up to 30-minutes a day of 'sit', 'stay', 'down' etc) and eating.
It takes a bit of time and patience, but you'll get there. You're not only training the dog, but also training yourself, so try and get hold of some books or go to a training class. One thing that is very important is consistency, so you and your boyfriend both need to train and treat Brina in exactly the same way, otherwise she'll get confused and you'll undermine any progress you make.
Huskies are challenging, but they're very smart and can be trained to eat and go to the toilet at times that suit you, providing you stick to the routine.
I hope this helps, but if you need any more advice just drop me a line. I'd love to see a picture of Brina too, if you have one.
Cheers!
Doug."
If anyone has any other useful advice on this subject I'd love to hear it, and I'll pass on anything useful so we can help another beautiful husky to have a great life. If you know anyone else who might be able to help please pass this post on to them too.
Just leave a comment and I'll keep an eye out.
posted by Doug Chaney @ 10:57 am
7 Comments:
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We feed Wolfy with a similar combination. We started out with Nutro dry puppy food on its own. However, his stools were always runny, and he started to go off of his meals (which he has twice per day). My wife then started adding some canned Pedigree Chum puppy food into the Nutro, and hey presto, dinner was delicious again.
I also give him treats of raw chicken pieces (legs and wings selected for dogs) that he eats whole and raw including bones and skin, raw eggs in their shells, and minced tripe. He particularly likes the raw chicken and tripe.
However, a word of warning. Our dog trainer tells us that we are doing it wrong - that we should stick to the dry food alone, as the canned food and raw treats unbalances the diet. She warns us that too much protein could cause health and behaviour problems, including agitating potential hip displasia in later age.
For training treats, we use hotdog sausages, salami, cheese, and some specialist bagged dog treats.
I would love to give him raw meaty bones, but we don't have any local butchers remaining in our area - all the trade has gone to superstores. We do give him cooked bones from pet stores, but I understand that cooked bones can splinter. We sometimes buy dental sticks, but I am told that they can be very fattening. Wolfy LOVES tripe sticks and dried pigs ears.
As for toilet training - I totally agree with your advice. Wolfy still has the odd sneaky poo near the back door, but they are getting rarer and rarer. We praise him for toileting on grass every chance that we get.
Good advice! Also, another great source for advice on Huskies is the forum on www.everythinghusky.com. There are a lot of very knowledgeable people there.
Also, this article from our husky rescue's site is soooo accurate about how Huskies can be picky eaters! http://www.siberescue.com/Breed_Info/BDiet.html
Hmmm, about Wolfy's trainer's comment on the diet - the idea that kibble alone is a "balanced diet" for a dog is silly. AAFCO standards are pretty low, so a diet that meets AAFCO standards isn't automatically healthy and balanced.
I have been on the raw diet now since last October and I am healthier than I have ever been. Dogs digestive systems are not designed for consuming large amounts of grain and carbohydrates. THAT can cause health and behavior problems. Some vets now think that excess carbohydrates convert into sugar and lead to hyperactivit and possibly diabetes. That trainer needs to brush up on dog nutrition!
i, Can someone please give us some advise. We have a 14 week husky pup, who is driving us to distraction. We also have a 3 year german shepherd, who is well toilet trained and never goes to the toilet in the house. However the puppy will not do anything outside, just on our lounge carpet, or my son's bedroom carpet. She has 3 decent walks every day, but we cannot praise her for going outside, because she won't go there. She will hold it until we are not there, for hours if necessary, and until she is in the lounge by herself, and then poo on the carpet, we simply don't know what to do now, but i am at the end of my tether with it!
Hi, my name is Karen. I just found your blog. I love your Husky as he looks so much like my Timber.
Timber just turned 3 yrs old on Dec 9th. He's lucky he lived to be 3 cuz so many times we wanted to "kill" him. We didn't know what we were getting into with him. I didn't do any research because my cousin had a Husky & I thought she was a good dog. WOW, was I wrong! What a handful he turned out to be!
We got him when he was 6 weeks old. Boy, talk about a little tornado! He caused trouble where ever he went! He literately ate the walls in my house. We lost track of how many rolls of toilet paper and paper towels he destroyed! To this day, no stray sock is safe (especially if it's been worn-ew). He hides them in his "bed". At 10 weeks old, he got a hold of a box of dryer sheets and ate I don't know how many (thank God he was okay).
His bed saved his life. It's a crate, but I don't like the word crate or cage, so I called it his bed. If it wasn't for his bed...we wouldn't have kept him, I am sure. It's nice to have when we need some space from him or the kitties need some space. See, Timber thinks the kitties are squeeky toys.
We still have to play "Potty Police" for him, or he wont go. It gets old when he ignores us and goes off to watch the neighbors, or a bug or a what ever has caught his attention. He waits for the "good boy" and I am sure that my neighbors are sick of hearing me say it (we live in a mobile home park). I would be!
My advice is just be patient & stick with your dog. He's one of the joys of my life & I am so glad that we didn't give up on him. There is nothing like coming home and hearing him say "I want Mama" or "Hi Mama"!!
If I could get him to leave the "snacks" in the catbox alone, life would be good! Gross dog!
Karen
My huskies are pitiable too since i might have not being a good pet owner. I kept changing food and made my female husky, cello having diarrhea. i have not tried t fed them with wet food. should give it a try. My major problem is they are like to drink pool water and being dirty. I heard bath them often will cause skin disease and bad smell
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