Huskies are a loving breed, are very active, and thus, need to eat well to stay healthy. But due to some reasons which we shall be highlighting later on in this article, your husky won’t eat and is losing weight.
Of course, this gets you worried as a husky owner and prompts you to find a solution to your dog’s indifference to food.
If this is your case, then, you have come to the right place. We shall be talking about the various reasons why your husky is not interested in foods, and possible solutions.
Husky won’t eat and is losing weight
Illness
Do you notice that your husky is avoiding his food? This may be due to some illness that you may not be aware of. Just like humans, when dogs are ill, they become inactive, lose their appetite, and just want to sleep. If you find out that your dog has diarrhea and is also vomiting, then it’s high time you consider visiting your vet. And you must do this within 8-12 hours.
Alternatively, before the arrival of a vet, you can carry out these few simple hacks to resuscitate their appetite:
Give them warm foods – foods that are not warm may contribute to the reason your dog seems uninterested in food. Therefore, consider warming up his foods in a microwave before serving him, to revive his taste buds. He might just want to give it a try when it’s fairly hot.
Pour chicken broth, beef broth, or tuna water over the food to make his food more appealing. This will make him unable to resist his food and might just take a bite.
Try feeding him with dry food if you have been feeding him wet food all along. The new change may encourage your husky to try something different.
Insufficient Nutrients
Another reason why your husky won’t eat is if their food nutrients are insufficient. Generally, huskies are an active dog breed, therefore they need just the right amount of nutrients.
These essential nutrients include fats, protein, carbs, and vitamins. Each nutrient plays a vital role in your husky’s health. While fats help keep their skin and coat shinier and healthier, protein helps them build muscles.
Carbs provide your dog with adequate energy, and vitamins help them to grow and repair itself. If they are fed with an incorrect amount of nutrients, it may slow down their desire for food.
Stress or Anxiety
Stress or anxiety, or both can be a reason why your husky won’t eat. Just like humans, when your husky is anxious, he is barely able to function properly, and food is the last thing that comes to his mind.
While some anxiety is short-term and will pass without much effort, long-term anxiety may require more serious consideration.
Some of the reasons that may cause anxiety in your husky are:
- Change in the environment – dogs are very intelligent animals and they can tell if they are in a completely different environment. Sometimes this change in environment is too much for them to take in.
- Change in routine – Did you switch your routine? Or you completely canceled out an interesting activity of the day? There you have it.
- Not receiving enough attention – When your husky stops getting the attention he enjoys, he may become anxious and stay alone, not wanting to eat as well.
Insufficient Exercise
Huskies love to play. They are one of the world’s fittest breeds, therefore, they need a good amount of exercise. Huskies are a breed with high metabolism to pull energy from the food they eat.
Exercise helps very much in this aspect. But if your husky is always indoors, and without the right amount of exercise, he is likely to keep staring at his food without eating.
Staying inactive makes him desire less food. Consider taking him out to play on the lawn. On average, 2 hours is enough time to exercise.
Repeated Meal
Even as humans, if you keep eating the same food over and over again, you’ll become tired of it.
The same thing applies to huskies; if they keep eating one type of food every time, before long, they’d lose interest. Consider spicing things up a bit to improve their appetite.
For instance, if you feed your husky mainly packaged foods, you can spice things up by feeding him with things like broccoli, carrots, blueberries, chicken, broth, cheese, and so on.
Stomach Upset
Stomach upset could be another reason why your husky has refused to eat. Some huskies have a very sensitive stomach which could cause them to become uninterested in foods.
This, in turn, makes them lose weight. While naturally having a sensitive stomach could be the reason for refusing to eat, there are other reasons, which include:
- Intestinal parasites – this includes guardian, hookworm, whipworm, coccidia, and more
- They ate something bad – In your absence, your husky may have eaten something which their system does not agree with. This can be unsettling for their sensitive stomachs
- Food sensitivity – foods such as garlic, chocolate, grapes, and onions could upset your husky’s stomach, especially if consumed in large quantities.
They Just Got Vaccinated
If your husky won’t eat his food after vaccination, it is just an effect of the vaccine. Dog’s main vaccination is mainly DHLPP (distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis, parvo, and parainfluenza), Rabies, and Bordetella. Most of these dog vaccination is similar to human vaccines and can give just about the same symptoms.
What should I do if my husky is not eating?
There are quite many things you can do if your husky is not eating. They include:
- Introduce multivitamins – Asides from being naturally a dog breed with a sensitive stomach, the lack of some essential nutrients may be the reason why some huskies won’t eat. These nutrients may not be contained in their food, which is why you need to introduce a multivitamin supplement to complement the nutrients they lack. This will help increase their appetite as well
- Exercise Then More – Keep your husky active by organizing an outdoor play. On average 2 hours of intense exercise should suffice. This will not only improve your husky’s metabolism, but it will also improve their mental health
- Get Them Required Nutrients – Huskies need a good amount of fat, protein, carbs, and vitamins. Each nutrient has a specific impact on their overall health. The absence of these nutrients may be the reason they seem to detach from food
- Change Their Meal – If you have been serving your husky a particular type of food, consider switching to something else. This could help boost your dog’s appetite
- Consult Your Vet – Call the attention of your vet if you have tried all the above remedies without the desired result. There may be underlining health issues that you are not aware of
How Long Can a Husky Go Without Eating?
Most huskies can go for up to 5 days without eating. This is especially true if your dog drinks plenty of water, though. Some huskies can even go for 7 days without eating. However, refusing to eat may be due to many reasons such as the ones highlighted above. You should be sure that your husky is fine but just doesn’t want to eat, otherwise, you should be on your way to your Vet’s.
What Can Cause a Husky to Lose Weight?
Lack of food could cause your husky to lose weight. But apart from not getting the proper amount of nutrients in food, or lack of food itself, what else can cause a husky to lose weight? Intestinal parasites, diabetes mellitus, cancer, kidney disease, metabolic disorders, advanced heart disease.
Conclusion
It can become a thing of concern if your canine friend won’t eat, as they need food to stay active. Get to know why your dog is not eating and see how you can proffer a solution from the list of options explained above.
If after trying out the remedies, your dog still won’t eat, then it may be a health issue. You should consider taking your husky to your vet for better examination and treatment, if necessary.
