Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everybody.

I have a 5 month old Siberian called Misha.

She is growing at a phenomenal rate and everything is going OK apart from 2 things. One is her aggression, she has
a tendancy to use her teeth too much and...the subject of this post, her eating seems to yoyo....

For a week or so she seems to do fine, eating whatever I give her in the usual 'woof and it's gone' style, then for the next
few days she slows down and hardly touches her food.

this has been happening for about 2 months or maybe a bit more. I know Huskies have been bred for a very harsh
environment and I guess they are used to a feast and famine kind of regime. I also wonder whether she is self-regulating
and her eating habits reflect her needs with growth spurts causing her to eat more some times and less at other times.

Has anybody else had the same experience? Does your Husky puppy (or even adult dog) yoyo eat like this?

Misha is the correct weight for her age and her coat is good and she is full of life so I don't think anything is wrong. I'm
kust concerned to do the right thing and make sure I keep her in the right condition.

Thanks for your help.

Mike
Edinburgh, Scotland

My huskies do the same thing. Perfect example...I fed them dinner Friday night (of course) and the same food sat there till Sunday afternoon when they finally decided to eat. And when I fed them their breakfast this morning, it was gone by the time I came home for lunch. I think huskies are just that way. All of our huskies have always been that way!

I hope that helps!

Great help! Sounds just like Misha. I was beginning to worry that she may be sickening for something but your example sounds exactly right. Some of the books I have about puppy training say to give them 15 minutes in which to eat before taking the food away...I guess so that they don't get the idea they can browse and to reinforce my pack superiority but right now if I did that I don't think she'd get to eat much at all. But she still comes running to me if she hears a pack of potato chips being opened from 100 yards away

No problem...just like you said...they may not touch their food but the second their scoobie cupboard is opened - they are hungry again (for that!).

My Huskies have self regulated themselves for years. We put food down in the morning and leave it until it is eaten or until dinner time comes. Often Nikki will skip breakfast and only eat dinner. Other times she will skip a whole day. Other times she will eat breakfast and ask for (and receive) 2 or 3 dinners. Through all this she maintains a svelte figure.

This only works for dry food (kibble). If you put wet (canned) food down, she will eat whatever is there whenever it is there.

Don't be concerned. Leave the dry food down and your dog will take it when it needs it. It's not like a Lab who will eat anything put down.

Walt