Husky rescuer, please help!!

[3rdEiland]

Hey all!  My wife and I just adopted Jasmine, she is a little over a year old (according to the shelter).

It has only been a couple of days, but we are perfectionists and really want to be sure we are giving her every chance to succeed.

Jasmine is very quiet, and almost seems timid, I prefer to use the word wary because you can see the wheels turning, she is definitely smart, but not super outgoing and confident (which I'm told are natural traits in her breed). She NEVER barks, not at dogs, cars, people, anything.

Outside she loves to run and is incredibly fast, but inside she takes everything incredibly slowly and gingerly. We can't get her to play much of anything with us and she has had no appetite yet.  No doubt some of this is due to the transition she has gone through in the adoption process, but as first time husky parents we just want to make sure we help her succeed. 

Any advice is greatly appreciated. 

[wolfpup]

Do you know her background?    There could be a reason she is not comfortable with playing with anything  - my last rescue boy has been with us for 3 years and is only now starting to relax enough  - but it is clear that he never learned to 'play'  - and he does not share - anything  -  its a good job my other rescue boy is totally non-reactive  - even when being dragged around the garden by his neck fur.

I would give your girl time  to settle in and get used to you  - take it slow,  give her space and time.  She may not be comfortable inside the house  - because she may not be used to it.

No healthy dog will starve themselves - so if she is not eating much  - it might be as simple as she does not like what she is being fed.   What do you currently feed her?   I have a real interest here  ............  I am a dog food nutritionist.

[robke]

  to.  

agree with Wolfpup but also give it time and patience (not for sale in the shops)…

[3rdEiland]

Thanks for the response and confidence boost. 

All we know is what we were told by the shelter. She was transferred to them from another shelter, she was apparently in a hoarders house with 20 some dogs.  She came to this shelter with another dog they called her brother (not sure if he is blood or just from the same house). He is also a husky, much more normal in the talking and pkaying aspect, so I've been told. Jasmine was in the shelter we got her from for about a week, not sure how long she was in the other shelter. 

I doubt she was completely neglected as she seems to be both crate trained and house broken, we've have no issues with her being comfort in a crate, other than we feel terrible putting her in there during the day when we work. We actually left her crate open yesterday and allowed her access to the entire basement floor while we were at work and she did amazingly, not accidents and no damage. Hopefully that part won't change as she becomes more comfortable. I have been taking her for early morning runs everyday, we run for about an hour and this has really seemed to help with any kind of nervous energy she might exhibit. 

The folks at the shelter told us they could not get her to eat dry food so they fed her wet food. We have both, she seems generally willing to eat the wet food, she will eat a portion of the dry food when mixed but definitely picks out the wet food first. They suggested Authority brand, so that is what we have. In the days since I first posted, jasmine has eaten better, but still not consistently nor what I believe will be enough for her to grow and envelop properly. 

Hope this sheds some light on things for you. Thank you again. 

[wolfpup]

HI,  Glad you are letting her out of the crate whilst you are at work  - even if it is only the basement  (being in the UK we dont have basements).

Have you ever considered giving your lovely new girl raw food?  Even just as a test?     It is doubtful she would have been fed raw where she originated from, but like a lot of dogs in general - (and huskies in particular because of their heritage background), she may prefer raw food.    Kibble foods  are not the best food  (they are in fact the end runners here),  wet food does have many advantages over dry,  not least being that she will not be so dehydrated as she would be on all dry food.

If you would consider trying her on raw food  (which is what dogs have eaten for around 40 million years)  -  and she reacts well to it, - I will happily help you transition.    I know it is not for everyone  ...................... I have been vegetarian for around 42 years now  - but I still feed raw to my dogs.   The main thing I have learned from my studies is that dogs fare better on the most natural food.    The evidence becomes clearer the older the dogs get  - less vet fees etc.

 

[3rdEiland]

Yes she has been responding well to the increased roaming. 

 

We would not be opposed to a raw food diet, as unfortunate as it may be, so much of it is cost determined.  We have found that she eats much better when we add some milk to the dry kibble and/or mix it up with the wet food. I've always fed my dogs table scraps, away from the table of course, and she has had mixed responses ses to those foods. Pork chops have been a huge hit, especially the bones, bacon and most veggies are not at all popular with her. 

[wolfpup]

I hope the pork chops have not been cooked first  - cooked bones can be lethal to dogs.   I understand the cost element  - I am a pensioner - and currently we have inflation running around 10%.   Vegetables must be pureed  -  or at the least very finely minced.   Brussel sprouts, broccoli, spinach, cauliflower, i.e.  cruciferous vegetables are best  -  avoid peas/corn - any high starch veg.   Even carrots are high starch  - so do not feed too much carrots.

I have two huskies,  one around 29 kilos and one around 33 kilos  and I can feed them both for £20 a week  -  I do this because I make my own offal for them,  consisting mainly of  liver, heart, lungs and kidneys (when I can get them).   If I were to buy a whole lamb's liver, it would cost me around £8-£9 depending on the weight   - however I can buy a lamb 'pluck'  (liver, lungs, and heart) for £4.   I buy around 4 at a time, the butcher takes off most of the connective tissue for me  so all I have to do is cut off all the fat  (mainly from the heart)  and then cut into pieces small enough to mince all together.      This is enough to last my boys around a month  - and as the liver is 'diluted' with the heart and lungs I can then give up to 25% of the meal as the 'offal mince'  -  vastly reducing the cost of the actual meat.   The offal portion actually costs me around 25 pence a portion.   If feeding liver it is vital that no more than 10% of the meal as a whole consists of liver.

Kibble is around 40-60% carbohydrate/starch.    But the dog has evolved to only eat about 4% starch in its diet.     Any dog eating kibble is dehydrated  -  which is why most dogs prefer the kibble to be wetted with some liquid.     Bone broth is very easy to make and actually provides around half of the nutrients your new dog requires  (at least to some degree)  -  and as it is just made from bones  it is cheap to make.   You can even use old chicken carcases that you have eaten the meat from,  leg bones from lamb, beef, venison etc that you have eaten.   It does not matter that these bones have been cooked before!    Save all your old joint bones, freeze them (with any meat that is left on them)  -  freeze them until you have enough - then put them in a slow cooker for a couple of days on low,  with just apple cider vinegar and water.  If you can get fresh raw bones to add in as well  - all the better.

Try your pup on either  VERY lightly scrambled eggs  -  or preferably a raw egg -  whisked up so it is combined white and yolk.

Try andfind a butcher willing to give you his surplus/waste bones  - or at least not charge you a fortune for them.   Most butchers have to PAY to get rid of their wast bones etc.

Come back to me if you want to learn more.