Anxious husky rescue

[Anim14]

Hi,

Just rescued a lovely Siberian husky from a shelter she's a little skittish, but is super sweet... To me (I'm a woman). But she's super scared of my boyfriend. 

H (the boyfriend) is the one who saw and picked her out. The shelter said she was picked up as a stray, but she looks to be full Siberian husky. They don't know how long she was a stray. She seems to be in great health barring a little fur missing at the very tips of her ears. ( Shelter said that was common in strays though. Nothing serious... Some sort of fly bites I think they said). I picked her up right after the shelter spayed her bc H had to work. 

It's been 4 days now and I work from home, so I've been able to stay w/ her the entire time, which has helped her get comfortable as she heals up. (She was a little unsure of the home and me at first too). 

H hasn't been able to spend much time with her, as he has had to work the last 4 days. And now she won't do anything w/o me. She growls at H and even tried to nip at him once. And she also won't eat her kibble. 

She'll gobble up hotdogs, and some salmon dog treats, but that's about it. 

How do I get her to open up to H? And start eating? 

Any help would really be appreciated. H is so sad that the dog he loves is so scared of him. 😭

[robke]

Time and patience is the name of the game here…if she has been a stray and been finding food and or has been give scraps to eat then that is what she thinks is good food and the kibble is rubbish in her mindset…

because you do not know the reasons she was a stray it could be that the make of the household did something to her therefore in a home situation she can be fearful of makes…I would start with a treat that only your boyfriend gives her something real yummy and do it that way…

 

by the way patience is not on sale at your local supermarket….😉

[wolfpup]

My last rescue husky - 3 yrs ago,  Mikey  - came to join our other husky Marley after my old dog went across the bridge.    He had been abused by his last female owner - but we were not told this until after the adoption and I had been bitten.    

It took 2 full years before he trusted me enough to do anything other than feed him.    If I walk into the lounge and he is there  - even now  - he leaves and goes into the kitchen.   He happily jumps on the sofa with hubby  - yet wont be in the same room as me unless hubby is there also.    It takes a VERY long time for some dogs to trust again.  There HAS been a massive improvement  - if I have lamb's ribs on offer he is just as enthusiastic as Marley, - even goes so far as to give me a kiss - he is no longer scared of me in other words  -  but still prefers to be out of my sight when we are alone.   I also have to be very careful not to let irritation etc creep into my voice  - it sends him running and takes weeks to bring him back.   

Patience, Patience, Patience - ask your boyfriend to walk at an even pace around your new dog,  get him to provide her food whenever possible,  and stay in the room but far away from her whilst she is eating - as far as the doorway leading out of the room if necessary - or even the passage way  - as far away as she needs him to   - he can slowly get closer as she becomes more used to him.      As much as he wants the close association with the dog that has stolen his heart, the slower he takes it the better,  -  let her come to him when she is ready.

As far as feeding and kibble is concerned  -  my comments come as a qualified dog food nutritionist.     She is a bright dog  - listen to her.    Try her on some raw whisked egg  - or even some lightly scrambled egg if you have to.  Then a little minced beef/lamb/pork  -  no more than 15% fat  i.e.  85% lean  - or 80% lean at the outside.   Get your boyfriend to offer these high quality/high value foods to her.    If she has been scavenging for a while - her body needs good quality nutrition.    If you cannot stretch to raw feeding for her - can you look for a good freeze-dried raw make  - all the convenience of kibble but 90%+ of the nutrition of raw food.   If for any reason you cannot afford anything other than standard kibble - there are LOTS of things you can do to up the nutrition offered  (although they won't completely negate the bad side of kibble) - one of which is the amount of starch in it  - between 30-40% starch (and sometimes higher).   Dogs have no dietary requirement for starch - and cannot digest it.  It is true that there is one type of bacteria in the gut that can break starch down .........  this bacteria is called Firmicutes  - and it ramps up inflammation in your dog's body. 

I will happily suggest ways of improving the quality and nutrition of kibble for your dog   -  even though it is a little like putting lipstick on a pig.   There are things you can do.

[Anim14]

Thank you so much @robke @wolfpup! 
I let her have an afternoon with him the other day (he didn't interact with her, they were just in the apartment together) and then I came and joined them at night. That seems to have helped. She hasn't completely warmed up to him yet, but she doesn't seem to be as scared of him. We've been taking walks together and she seems much more comfortable with him holding the lead... I've been doing this thing where I start the walk with them and then slowly hang back farther and farther so that they can have some time together, but she can still see me if she needs to. That seems to be helping, b/c she's been looking up at him for direction or reassurance when she is surprised by something on the walk... she's been looking back for me less and less, which I'm taking as a really promising sign. (She still doesn't want him to put the harness and lead on for her yet, but she doesn't cower from him anymore.) AND she even ate a bunch of chicken out of his hand today after the walk!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 (like right out of his hand, didn't dart away, stood calmly in front of him eating chicken for like 5 minutes!!! I feel like that's a huge step... maybe I'm blowing that out of proportion?)

@wolfpup, oh man, I may be inundating you with diet questions in the future. I've never had a dog that wasn't food motivated nor have I had a dog that didn't eat kibble... so this is new territory. I think you're right, and I think we're going to have to do a raw food diet for her. I'm going to try the egg on top of kibble tomorrow morning and see if she'll eat that. Her stool has been really runny the past couple poos (I'm sure a lot of that is b/c she was on medication from the spay surgery and b/c of the anxiety), so that worries me a little... and I was thinking the kibble would help firm up her poos a little (the shelter we got her from was giving her science diet kibble so we have a bag of that, but we also have a bunch of other no grain kibble samples we got from a local pet shop.) Regardless I think the bf and I are going to take a trip to the grocery store and get some minced meats tomorrow.

Seriously, thank you both so much. I've been so worried b/c she's been so scared. I've taken care of a bunch of other breeds of dogs, but this is my first husky (H's first shelter husky... he took care of a friend's german shepherd husky mix for six months), so it's amazing that I can ask veterans what to do. I've done a bunch of research, but I find that a lot of times, the stuff I'm finding online is way too general or just not exactly what I need to know... so your replies/help is incredibly helpful. Y'all are Husky ANGELS!... or something... y'know... less corny. 😅

[wolfpup]

@Anim14   Throw the science diet kibble in the bin!     It is one of the worst foods around - nutritionally speaking.     The runs could well be caused by the change in circumstances  -  or different foods  after going in to the shelter.      Give bland(ish) food for a few days  - but stay away from high starch foods.   You will see that folks recommend something like chicken & rice  (vet go-to standard advice).  However a far better option is to give chicken and lentils  -  cook the same as rice - but needs good rinsing before and after cooking.    Personally I prefer green lentils - but anything you have in the house is better than rice.   Lentils are high in protein and other good stuff  - rice is just starch  which you dog does not require.

Try that for a few days - if the runs continue then shout.    There are things you can give  (like food grade diatomaceous earth) with the food  - but I would not advise this at the moment  - all it does is absorb the extra liquid from the intestines  -  and covers up any possible dietary issues your dog may have.

 

 

[Anim14]

@wolfpup OH! okay! thank you! That's such good advice. H is going to pick up some chicken on his way from home from work, so I'll tell him to pick up lentils too. (we're trying to make it so that HE is the one who gives all the delicious foods so she associates him with that.) I'll throw out the science diet. Will keep you updated!

[wolfpup]

1 hour ago, Anim14 said:

@wolfpup OH! okay! thank you! That's such good advice. H is going to pick up some chicken on his way from home from work, so I'll tell him to pick up lentils too. (we're trying to make it so that HE is the one who gives all the delicious foods so she associates him with that.) I'll throw out the science diet. Will keep you updated!

Good luck  -  at the moment you both (and me) are working blind because you do not know her history diet wise   - nor why the shelter had her on a science diet  - possibly because she came in with the runs.   (is it possible to enquire)?  The more information you can get the better you will be able to sort her out.