My 5-week-old husky puppy won't eat her food. Is she just being picky?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It would be best to try to switch her food to another puppy brand. However, it is important to continue her on puppy food for at least another 2-3 months. This will let her grow appropriately as needed. You may try highly palatable kibble blends like the shredded blend diets from Purina Pro Plan or possibly canned food. Good luck and have a great day!

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It sounds like you've got yourself a pretty picky Husky! As long as she does not have any food sensitivities or allergies, I would recommend boiling some chicken or ground turkey to use as a tasty treat that is low in fat. This is what I have to do for my own dog. She will likely consider this a much more rewarding treat than plain kibble, and hopefully motivate her to be trained into a sitting or laying down position. I hope this helps!

This can be difficult. Finicky eaters are not uncommon with small breed dogs. Fixing this depends on how stubborn both you and Freya are. A dog who is healthy will not starve themselves to the point of illness. You can pick a high-quality food, I recommend the brands Royal Canin or Purina pro plan. Offer the diet and don’t offer her anything else. It is likely she will refuse the food and may do so for a couple days but eventually she will eat. You can try adding in canned food or meal toppers, a very small amount of shredded boiled chicken or some plain brown or white rice to make it more appealing. An alternative is to look into a diet more like fresh pet or Nom Nom pet food. These will be more like meals humans eat and you may have more successful. When you have a finicky eater, it is crucial not to offer any human food or food from your plate. Treats must be minimal. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Chapatis, oats, and rice are not a balanced or healthy diet for a dog. Dogs need protein and calcium as well as many other vitamins and nutrients, and that diet you provided doesn't give him that. I see that Max is six months old, so he needs a puppy formulated food. Puppies need higher amounts of calories, protein, and calcium than adult dogs, and a puppy formulated food will provide that for him. I would not give him human food any longer, and put him on a puppy dog food until he is 12 months. Then he should be on an adult dog food. Brands I recommend include Royal Canin, Hill's Science Diet, Purina ProPlan, and Iams. I would also have a health check for him with the vet. He may be feeling unwell from have a nutrient deficient diet, or he could also have a medical illness causing the loss of appetite. Please keep in mind that even if it is a medical illness causing him to lose his appetite, the current diet you are feeding him is very poor and he needs to be on a puppy food. Good luck, I hope this helps!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Loss of appetite can be observed with many conditions such as gastroenteritis, dietary indiscretion, kidney disease, pancreatitis, among many other possibilities. I recommend that you have Tundra evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. They would be able to check for these possibilities and others depending on the findings on exam. Treatment would be based on findings. Good luck and have a good night! Hoping for a speedy recovery! 


This is a common problem in small breed dogs. They can be stubborn when it comes to dry food. I would stop offering her milk as this can upset her tummy. You could mix in some canned food or boiled chicken with her dry food to see if this helps to entice her to eat. If so, slowly start to decrease the canned food until she is just on dry food. And you may have to just be more stubborn than her. If she is continuously refusing the eat or not acting right then I would take her to your vet to ensure everything is okay. If she is skipping meals and she weighs less than 5 pounds then I would supplement her with nutrical (high calorie vitamin supplement) to help prevent her blood sugar from becoming too low. I hope this helps!

Yes, that food is fine. I would recommend that you transition the foods over 2-4 weeks to avoid upsetting the stomach. You can mix them together slowly until it is only the Eukanuba. Some dogs don't have a sensitive stomach and switching between foods suddenly doesn't cause any issues.