sibe1 Posted October 6, 2014 Report Share Posted October 6, 2014 Have had my husky for two weeks now. I feed him in the morning, lunchtime and in the evening. I have finally gotten the portion correct for his tummy, no more diarrhea, however he is acting like he is starving all the time, not new he was like that when he came home with us. If you try to take his bowl away from him, he wolfs down the food as fast as he can, a form of food guarding I assume. I am new to this behavior as my other husky is a very picky eater, you have to coax him to eat ! Never had a food guarding issue either, treats yes with other dogs, but food no. Puppy was fed at the breeder from one bucket shared by mom and 7 siblings, so I understand the food guarding and will work on that, but if he acts hungry is he hungry? or is this part of the guarding issue? I feed him 1/2 cup ( 237 Grams) of puppy dry food, quality brand, with about two tablespoons of rice mixed in at each feeding, total of 1 1/2 cups per day, he weighs 16 pounds , gained about 6 pounds in two weeks. I don't want to under feed him, but need to know if you have any idea if this a hunger issue or a behavior issue? Thanks ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase Posted October 7, 2014 Report Share Posted October 7, 2014 It sounds about right, I fed Ronin around 2 cups per day which is a bit more than average. He is always hungry too, and am sure he would eat a bucket load given half a chance. Ronin also goes nuts just before meal time, you would think he was never fed He will do aerial 360s and gets very vocal. You can try feeding all or half of his meals in a treat ball, as this makes him work for his food, makes it last longer and is better for digestion. A slow feeder bowl will also slow down consumption which is also a good thing. I am not sure if what you are describing is guarding, but you can work on this anyway. Maybe hand feeding some food, or sitting near him and adding a few kibble to the bowl at a time. Try taking the bowl empty at first, adding a few and then give it back, take again and repeat. I used to (still do) feed frozen raw chicken necks as part of breakfast and also half a frozen carrot in the evening. Both things are really good for gnawing on and the cold soothes teething discomfort. The frozen carrot will add very little calories to the diet but will fill him up a bit. In answer to the question "how do I tell if my dog is still hungry?" I always answer "If he is breathing - he is hungry" You just need to keep at eye on his condition if he starts to bulge out then you are feeding too much, too skinny then too little - it is difficult as no two dogs are the same and it is a bit of trial and error. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Posted October 7, 2014 Report Share Posted October 7, 2014 I had (and still have) this issue with Yukon. I feed him the same amount you do and he always wanted more. I would't worry about it. You can always tide him over with some veggies (carrots, lettuce, etc), which are healthy snacks and will give them something for their tummy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sibe1 Posted October 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2014 I will try the frozen carrot, it might help with the endless chewing on things he's not suppose to chew on, like furniture, shoes etc ! Thanks for your answers, I was worried I was starving the poor little guy ! And just like Ronin, Rocky will do flips and whine and yip ( sounds like you are killing him) when we place food in the dish ! I have a slow bowl on the way, couldn't find one locally exept for very large dogs. Once again, this place has helped me worry less and enjoy my huskies more ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emma Posted October 7, 2014 Report Share Posted October 7, 2014 Ice would probably eat his way through the 15 kg bag if I let him, it seems that although some huskies are good at regulating their intake......others appear to be missing their off switch! Lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Kay Scroggins Posted October 8, 2014 Report Share Posted October 8, 2014 How old is he? 1 1/2 cups seems like a lot for a 16 lb dog. Ours gets 1 1/2 cups and he's 52 lbs. But anymore than that he won't finish. Huskies generally require much less than normal dogs, as they are bred to run long distances on little food. Of course reducing his food doesn't help the issue you're having. Has he been dewormed? Is he on a puppy formula? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sibe1 Posted October 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2014 Rachel, he is 12 weeks old, he has been dewormed, and he is on puppy formula dry food. I think you are right about the amount, I forgot they don't eat as much as other dogs, my older husky doesn't get very much food, but he is a picky eater, so I just thought he would eat when he gets hungry, he does now and then eat more, I always offer it to him. The puppy on the other hand will eat everything you give him and still want more. So, I will be the mom and limit his intake to a tolerable tummy level ! If only they could talk ! or would talking be a bad thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase Posted October 9, 2014 Report Share Posted October 9, 2014 Puppies will generally eat and require more food. Ronin would eat his roughly 1 and 3/4 to 2 cups of TOTW per day of adult food plus a small handful of beef mince or a couple of chicken necks with each meal from 8 weeks. This seems a lot more than most feed He has never been even slightly overweight and the vet would always comment on his condition and say that whatever we were feeding was working really well and not to change it. The breeder was also very happy with his development. This diet came from our breeder and she said that he will probably require less when he is an adult. I am not suggesting you follow my diet but this is really to say that they are all quite different in food requirements. I do not think you are over feeding, I would like to see some more pics from standing up sideways and above. He should be gaining around 500g of weight per week right now. FWIW Ronin has been on fully prey model raw for the last 3 months and will freely admit I have a canine diet obsession Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aliciajean1977 Posted October 18, 2014 Report Share Posted October 18, 2014 Thor was the same he was terrible so I upped his feed he has settled back down now to eating more steady and actually chewing his kibble instead of just swallowing. wormed him so that's not an issue (I get text reminders from the vet each month so I cant miss it) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clare70 Posted October 18, 2014 Report Share Posted October 18, 2014 My boy was 16 weeks old wheh he came to us, was seriously under weight and he too had to share his food with his siblings. He would inhale his meals and always appear to be hungry. I used to feed him more than was necessary and of course he'd end up with very loose stools, so I had to learn and accept he was really eating too much. To slow his eating down I used to hold his bowl when he was feeding, at first he would still scatter the food everywhere but in time he learnt I wasn't going to take it away from him. I'd start by placing a hand next to his bowl, then touching the bowl then to holding it. This really worked for us and now my boy will eat like any other dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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