My husky - a few things / questions

[nyteblade]

Hi and thanks for reading this.

My husky is pedigree syberian about 1yr 4 months old male in tact. Ive had him since 7 weeks old & fully vaccinated up to date. 

Issue 1 - person keeps telling me he looks unwell for 2 main reasons one being he is skinny? and his coat. Now as we all know having huskies they shed like a snowstorm in a tornado and that is what he has been doing for past couple months so obviously he is not as puffy. He weighs around 25.7kg if I remember correctly from last vets visit. Vets say he is a good weight but I am unsure or trusting of some vets. 

He eats but will never eat dog food in fact will flip it and pee on it in protest. He has pure meat chicken, pork chops, mince etc no additives or seasoning. He does eat the occasional dog food but mostly only defrosted tripe ( natures menu ) if the tripe has chicken or lamb etc wont touch it. Ive tried every dog food I can get my hands on that I see as good enough for a husky but tins / pouches not his thing. He shares my food at times but never has anything uncooked no raw meals unless count tripe. He is a very active dog that loves to run free and wrestle both dogs and me. Recent blood tests all fine. 

Issue 2 - few months ago I left him with someone while I was doing a install work job close by. He was there for about 2 hours. Ever since that day he has had a total of 5 cesures and zero idea why. He had one on the way home ( 1hr 30 drive home ), one next day. The others he had one on my sofa before his morning walk, one on the dog field I take him to. He coughs, a little green comes out of his mouth and then he ceases. Went to emergency vets 1st time hes fine nothing wrong, 2nd and 3rd time nothing wrong bloods fine and rectal exam fine, poo sample fine as well as usuals heart etc fine. The only 2 things could have happened heat as she never let him in the house or a toad he may have caught and dropped. 

 

Any help would be appriciated. 

[wolfpup]

One of my boys developed epilepsy at 10 months of age  -  he also had very severe dietary issues.   It turned out that he is allergic to anything that has ever eaten grains.  Soya is the worst, wheat, oats, corn, rice, potatoes, peas, carrots and sugar beet.     I have to ensure he eats nothing that could have eaten any of the listed items.   Not allergic to the meat in itself - but if had been fed grains in its lifetime - he became very very ill  - going into anaphylactic shock after eating chicken raised commercially.  Once I addressed his food allergies his epilepsy stopped.   That was 4 1/2 years ago.

I feed my dogs raw from scratch  - have fed raw for about 16/17 years now  -  and am a qualified dog food nutritionist.   Your dog would benefit from about 5%  raw pureed/finely chopped veg in with the meals.  Broccoli, sprouts, spinach, etc - even green cabbage,  he also would benefit from some blackberries, blueberries, raspberries etc.   You could also give him phytoplankton  (chlorella or spirulina)  - about 1/4 teaspoon in his main meal.   This will help to complete the nutrient profile.   Raw green tripe is excellent for dogs as it also contains the enzymes your dog has to make in order to digest his meal.

I would not worry unduly about your dog looking thin  - he will start to fill out naturally around 2 years old.     My smaller husky (food allergic one) weighs around 28 kilos, the other one  (longer, taller and stronger) is around 32 kilos.

Just a thought for you  ..................  dogs have been on the planet for around 40 million years.   During all that time (apart from the last 100 years or so) they ate raw meat, scavenged a small amount of berries etc in season, and ate the stomachs of the animals they caught  - containing all the green matter their prey had eaten.