May 5th 2014. My husky ( 10 + yrs & healthy ) stopped eating his food 9 days ago and had 5 dog biscuits after that for two days. The vet has run blood panels, done xrays and there is nothing to show. He still tries to eat grass but recoils from any type of food ( chicken, rice, wet food, pudding, noodles, peanut butter, ANYTHING) it is killing me but he is still mobile, somewhat alert and drinking plenty of water. I have made the painful decision that tomorrow I will have him put down. I wish there was some other way but at what point do you say he's my baby and I will not have him be in anymore discomfort. I feel for anyone who is or will be in this position as it has wrenched my gut and kept me up for the last 5 days trying to decide what is the "right" thing to do. I will miss my "Blu"
This is one of those questions that one is reluctant to answer for fear that you're planning on neglecting your dog for some reason and want to know just how negligent you can be before he dies.... Assuming that is not the case, and you've recently been reading Call of the Wild or the like and just have a healthy curiosity, I'd say it depends on a myriad of factors, such as the health and weight of the animal at the start of the fast, and the humidity and temperature of the environment.
Dogs are largely carnivorous, and as such can go for some time with out substantial food assuming that they have a healthy level of fat stored up to meet such a need. Wolves and other "wild dogs" may have to go for a week or more without a kill during harsh conditions, but their systems and mental psychology are more readily adapted to a gorge and fast mentality than our pets. It would be much more distressing for a domesticated animal to have to endure such circumstances. Working dogs, such as Huskies are usually very fed High calorie diets daily with supplemental "treats" given throughout the day. If I were to venture a guess. I'd say a husky " lost" in the wild, Jack London style, could make it a week or more without food. Water however is another matter entirely, and I'm guessing depending on the temp., humidity, and level of activity... Two to three days?
Dogs are largely carnivorous, and as such can go for some time with out substantial food assuming that they have a healthy level of fat stored up to meet such a need. Wolves and other "wild dogs" may have to go for a week or more without a kill during harsh conditions, but their systems and mental psychology are more readily adapted to a gorge and fast mentality than our pets. It would be much more distressing for a domesticated animal to have to endure such circumstances. Working dogs, such as Huskies are usually very fed High calorie diets daily with supplemental "treats" given throughout the day. If I were to venture a guess. I'd say a husky " lost" in the wild, Jack London style, could make it a week or more without food. Water however is another matter entirely, and I'm guessing depending on the temp., humidity, and level of activity... Two to three days?