How to properly feed a husky at home

Nutrition recommendations

Before you start making your own diet for the Siberian Husky, you need to choose the most appropriate food option. You can feed this breed of dog both with natural products and ready-made feeds of industrial production. If preference is given to the second option, then only high-quality specialized feeds belonging to the Premium class, elite class or holistic should be used.

It is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of the metabolic processes of animals. The main difference of this breed is that these dogs completely lack the tendency to overeat, which causes obesity. Huskies can remain fully functional even in the absence of a large amount of food, which forms a special protein and fat metabolism, completely uncharacteristic of dogs of other breeds. Therefore, the weight of the Husky rarely deviates from the norm.

A feature of the digestive system of this breed is that it can perfectly absorb and process fatty and protein-rich meat.

Healthy food for husky

In order for your pet’s diet to be well balanced, the following recommendations must be followed when compiling it:

• 70% of the diet should consist of meat products, which can be used as rabbit meat, beef, horse meat or chicken meat;
• boiled vegetables must be present, for example, white or cauliflower, pumpkin or zucchini, cucumbers and carrots can be given raw;
• 10% of the diet should be devoted to cereals such as buckwheat or rice;
• from dairy products, you can give kefir or cottage cheese, adding a chopped apple to them.

The dog should not be fed at night or before a trip in public transport, a private car. The bowl of food should remain in front of the pet for 20-25 minutes, then it should be removed.

Due to the physiological characteristics of the Siberian Husky, a large amount of food is not required. In the absence of optimal physical activity, a sedentary lifestyle, due to age characteristics, or with an unbalanced diet, dogs may refuse to eat at all.

Natural feed

Most owners of dogs of this breed, until recently, preferred to feed their pets with natural products. Traditional dog food is very useful, but it is very difficult to correctly compose a complete and balanced diet on your own. In addition, when choosing natural food, a dog needs vitamin and mineral complexes.

Offal and meat trimmings can be used as a useful component in home cooking. As a top dressing, it is allowed to give dogs a tripe, veal or chicken liver, heart and kidneys. Twice a week, the pet’s diet can be supplemented with boneless and boiled sea fish of low-fat varieties.

Dogs will benefit from boiled or raw vegetables and herbs. To do this, they need to be finely chopped or grated and added to porridge or to a meat dish. If finely chopped vegetables are given fresh to the dog, they should be mixed with a small amount of sour cream or vegetable oil. To prepare cereal porridge, you must use unsalted water or broth.

It is impossible to give minced meat to dogs of this breed, because due to the lack of chewing teeth, food of this kind can cause a malfunction in the digestive tract.

Before lunch, dogs should be given dairy products: cottage cheese, kefir, whey, yogurt or sour cream. Once a week, you can offer your pet boiled eggs.

Ready-made dog food

Huskies, like other breeds of dogs, can be fed with dry or canned food. The advantage of such nutrition is that the animal receives all the macro- and microelements necessary for the body.

When choosing food, you should give preference to quality products and choose food from the Premium, Super Premium or Elite class. This food contains a sufficient amount of protein, which is so necessary for dogs of this breed. The disadvantage of industrial feeds is their high cost, and some manufacturers also distort the composition of the product, overestimating the proportion of useful meat components or incorrectly indicating the name of the ingredients.

For feeding adult dogs, you can use a combined diet, combining ready-made dry food and natural products. Puppies and young dogs are not allowed to be fed this way.

How to feed a husky puppy

From the moment of birth and up to 1 month, and especially in the first two weeks of life, mother’s milk is enough for babies born. Therefore, at this time, the breeder needs to carefully monitor the nutrition of the lactating bitch and provide her with a full-fledged high-calorie diet. Feeding babies should start from the age of one month. If the mother does not have enough milk, then they are fed artificially with milk mixtures from the age of 7-10 days.

In the future, Husky puppies should be fed according to the following table:

The volume of food should be increased gradually, focusing on the appetite with which the puppies eat. If they lick the bowl while feeding, then the amount of food needs to be increased.

From the age of six months, babies are gradually transferred to three meals a day, while increasing the volume of servings. At the age of 8-10 months, puppies are gradually accustomed to two meals a day.

Feeding puppies ready-made food

Ready feed can be in the form of dry pellets or canned. When buying food, you need to choose a product that matches the age of the puppy and contains animal proteins in the list of ingredients in the first place. An excellent option would be food that contains several types of such protein, such as fish, poultry and meat. This is very important in the absence of raw meat in the diet. High-quality dry food should not contain flavors, dyes, preservatives and other harmful impurities.

The best food for puppies:

Name	Description	A photo
Acana Puppy & Junior	Suitable for puppies of any breed. For the manufacture of this feed, fresh meat and fish are used, it also includes cereals, vegetables and fruits. To replenish the supply of carbohydrates, the feed contains oats with a low glycemic index. For the proper formation of bone tissue, special additives are included in the composition.
Orijen Puppy	Very high quality Canadian food with meat content (over 75%) and low carbohydrate content. In the process of feed production, 6 varieties of meat and fish are used, there are no cereals, there are vegetables, beans, berries and fruits. The composition of the feed is enriched with special minerals and vitamins.
Almo Nature Medium Puppy	Produced in Italy. It includes 53% meat ingredients, contains cereals and vegetable components. The composition is enriched with rosemary extract as a natural antioxidant

You can not often change the brand of feed and mix several at once. Up to 9 months, when feeding puppies with dry food, the granules must be soaked in broth, milk, kefir or warm water. When feeding ready-made food, you must adhere to the manufacturer’s recommended norm in grams per serving and provide the pet with constant access to clean water.

Feeding puppies with natural products

If the puppy is fed natural food, then meat products should be used as the basis. Until the age of three months, the meat should be boiled and given in a cooled form, pre-cut into small pieces. From 3 months, gradually boiled meat should be replaced with raw. From the age of five months, offal can be given to the puppy using trimmings, tongue, calf or chicken liver, bird’s ventricles or scar.

When preparing cereals, you can use milk or meat broth. Oatmeal, buckwheat or rice should be well cooked without adding salt. You can cook porridge from several cereals and add chopped or grated boiled vegetables, herbs and a small spoonful of vegetable oil to it. From dairy products, the share of which should be 30%, puppies can be given calcined cottage cheese, whey, kefir, sour cream or unsweetened yoghurts without additives.

Feeding adults

Adult dogs over the age of 1 year can be gradually and smoothly switched to feeding natural products or balanced commercial food. On the advice of experienced breeders, it is worth giving preference to the second option.

The best food for adult huskies:

Name	Description	A photo
Acana Adult Dog	This Canadian-made feed belongs to the premium class. According to the description, the composition includes 55% meat components, which include chicken meat and salmon fillet. Carbohydrates are low-sugar cereals such as brown rice, oats and peas. In addition to these components, the composition includes vegetables, berries, fruits and vitamin and mineral supplements.
Go Natural Holistic Fit + Free Grain Free All life Stages	This food can be used for dogs of any age. The composition contains 70% meat components, which include turkey, chicken, salmon and trout. Vegetable products are represented by vegetables, berries and fruits. The composition does not contain offal, beef, cereals and harmful additives. Additionally included vegetable oils, lactobacilli, vitamins and trace elements
Orijen Adult	This Canadian food contains 80% meat components, including boneless meat, different varieties of fish, eggs, and liver. The plant part is represented by beans, vegetables, berries and fruits. In addition, the food is enriched with bacteria, vitamins and trace elements useful for digestion. Due to the increased nutritional value, the dog eats in a smaller portion

With age, it is important to switch to feeding a pet with special food for aging and inactive dogs. If the dog has problems with the joints or the musculoskeletal system, then, on the recommendation of a veterinarian, specialized vitamin and mineral complexes with an increased amount of glucosamine and chondroitin should be given.

What not to feed huskies

There are foods that are forbidden to be used for feeding husky at any age. For a pet to be healthy, its menu should not contain:

• sugar and sweet foods;
• frozen fish;
• any seasonings;
• pork and lamb;
• smoked meats;
• flour products;
• tubular bird bones and meat with bones;
• unpeeled fish;
• chocolate.

Also, you can’t feed your pet from a common table and pamper him with treats too often. When feeding the dog, you must adhere to the selected schedule and do not give food at an unscheduled time.