hi i have a siberian husky and at the moment im very worried, she seems to be under weight in my opinion very skinny although when i took her to the vets a couple of weeks ago they didnt seem to mention anything about her weight.
She's 13months old and only seems to eat cat food, we have tried her on many different brands of dog food and i hope this doesnt seem creul but in some cases i would leave out her food and water and not feed her anything else in order for her to eat her dog food, and she will only just eat it then and only minimal amounts.
She isnt yet very under weight she just looks as tho she may be going down that route, which is why im very concerned and taking action now. I have tried her on canned food and packaged dog food and she wont eat either, except whiskers :S which she robs from our cats bowl.
If anyone could advise me as to some things i could do it would be much apprieciated!!!
Thanks in advance dani

Cat food is NOT good for dogs.

Have you tried feeding a raw diet - type BARF into your google and have a look ...

Some dogs are skinny - if she is otherwise healthy I wouldn't worry too much ...

Years ago I knew a wolfhound who wouldn't eat anything but cat food. I don't know if I'd have given in to her myself but her owner (a very experienced IW breeder and Judge) did and she survived to a ripe old age on Whiskas. :)

Yea she is otherwise healthy and i dont feed her whiskas freely she literally ros it from our cats bowl who now has to be fed on the stairs with a baby gate to stop our husky getting to it.
Has anyone heard of people who make there dogs there own food, like pasta and chicken ect???? and if so would this possibly be a good idea for the next step??

I think ill try the BARF diet and see how she goes on that i cant really see her turning that down.
Thanks tho :D

Hi Danni,

Dogs love smelly food :D and in my experience cat food is verrrry smelly! try giving her some sardines on her food..my boy Looooves them. The native diet of the Sibe after all is Salmon,fresh water fish and animals like otter and mink (which stinks when dead!) that are high in fat content.
I use wafcol Salmon and potato (good for his protien and Carb intake) and I treat with raw foods,Chicken wings,sardines,salmon,uncooked bones etc.
  But in terms of tempting her to eat I find sardines great!
Dont worry about her wheight at present..Sibes are lean and eat minimally (think of their working background..chosen as sled dogs because they could run on minimal amounts of food) Have a look at the SHCGB website for breed standard and you can compare her wheight if your concerned,to put your mind at rest...I usually just go by the old tried and trusted method of feeling for ribs (which you should be able to just feel in Sibes)
HTH
:D

sorry Danni, forgot to mention, BARF's a great way to go! this is a nice userfriendly intro to read:
UkBarfClub
:D

Ive got a siberian husky who is 2 years old. We went through practically EVERY brand of dog food trying to find one that he would eat and also one that would suit him - otherwise he would have the runs! The wafcol mentioned in the above message did suit him for a while and he did really like it. The food that he is on now really suits him and has done for months. It is arden grange chicken and rice adult working dog food. We mix in a tiny bit of tinned dog food to make it tasty for him.

Like yours sometimes he just wont eat - he may go a couple of days without eating because he doesnt feel like it. Lots of times he wont finish his food. I wouldnt worry too much about yours as huskys can be fussy and light eaters. Normally if we just add a bit of scraps to santas food he loves it! we just put like a few baked beans or a bit of mash potato - whatever we are having for tea! (within reason! - obv not curry or any spicy food!)

Good Luck :)

hi dani,

  i wouldnt worry too much about the weight as some sibes are very lean untill they mature a bit. one of ours looked awful till he was about 18 months and then he really filled out and is gorgoeus

if the vet cant find any reason for her not eating dog food and if it doesnt give her the runs i would most definatly go down the route of putting a bowl of food down and if she doesnt eat it she goes hungry.  she may go days without eating but will not starve herself.  one of ours can be fussy especially if they have had sardines or something the night before. he then wont eat his tea cause he wants sardines. he goes hungry and eats the next meal with or without sardines.  sibes are little monkeys and if they think there is something better on offer they will hold out till they get it. same with most dogs really.

if you are going to try the barf diet ignore the above as i really dont envisage her refusing that!!  ( if she does i would get her checked by a vet.)

i am trying a raw diet with one of ours who has had some digestive problems and so far so good! 

hope you get on ok with your girl.

I have 3 Sibes, and they are fussy eaters. Infact I dont know any Sibes who are greedy dogs. Maybe someone will come along and prove me wrong. Oh yes and they all love to get the left over cat food.

Hi everyone,

I have 2 sibes, they are complete opposites when it comes to eating. Logan is the greediest dog ever, will eat anything and everything. He always polishes his bowl and asks for more?!!He is also twice the size of Indy. Indy on the other hand is the picky fussy eater who will not come near salmon, sardines, beef you name it. What he seems to like is chicken, brown rice carrots, parsnips. I sometimes think he's vegetarian. These 2 are brothers and they are so different. Could it also be that the top dog also eats more than the underdog (my poor Indy in this case)? Indy is slim but not skinny so I'm not worried. I guess like with humans all dogs are different.

To danisparrow: Have you tested your dog for zinc defficiency, this can cause loss of appetite in sibes.

I was under the impression that Zinc Deficiency was a recessive gene trait affecting Zinc absorbtion (common in Sibes and Alaskan breeds, Samoyed,Mals) and that more modern thinking finds diet unlikely as a cause.
     Either way Wheight lose rather than appetite loss would be a sign of prolonged deficeincy but the more common signs you would see first would be Skin disorders (to muzzle,eye and pressure points such as hocks) looks a bit like mange,reduced immune functions,allergies,intestinal disorders.

Dont think you need to worry about Gwen on those fronts, she's otherwise healthy right? :)