What We Feed Our Alaskan Huskies

Several readers have asked me what exactly we feed our alaskan huskies. This has always been tough for me to answer because we do not follow exact recipes and what works for us might not work for you. But maybe you are like me, and learn visually, or by example.

Let me preface this feeding program by saying we do not measure everything precisely. We let visual appearance and attitude of the dogs be the guide. If a dog seems particularly hungry we will feed him more. If a dog is gaining weight, we will make sure that he (or she) is getting plenty of exercise.

We generally follow two books when feeding our dogs. The first is The Truth About Pet Foods by Dr. R L Wysong and the other is Dr. Pitcairn's New Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats.

Another factor in our feeding program is that we have a range of ages - from 10 months to 12 years old. We do not make any feeding changes based on age. The changes we make are based on health, temperature (more fat and protein for cold weather), and amount of exercise.

We buy organic when we can, but that is not always a possibility (either price or availability).

The base of our diet is usually Wysong. Sometimes we stray from Wysong if we need to cut back financially or are trying another brand. We order 4 bags of Wysong dry dog food at a time. We buy a variety including puppy, synorgon, vegetarian, and optimal. We keep the opened bag in the freezer and the unopened bags in a cool dry place. We feed approximately half (or less) the recommended daily ration of what is written on the bag. Wysong is expensive to ship, but after trying several local brands we noticed a drastic difference so we feel Wysong is the best value in the long run. We do the auto ship method which cuts the shipping price in half.

We often add oil. Usually salmon oil, but sometimes grapeseed oil or cod liver oil. We don't use olive, corn, canola, soybean, or common type cooking oils.

We buy fresh and frozen vegetables depending on the time of year and availability. We blend up one half pound of frozen mixed veggies (watch out for the added onions). When we are lucky enough to have fresh veggies, we blend tomatoes, cucumbers, avocado, lettuce, carrots, and anything available besides onions. You have to either chop up veggies into small pieces or blend them because dogs cannot process vegetables whole. You can freeze the vegetables before you blend them which breaks down the outer layer of cellulose making them easier to digest. We also add available fruit like fresh blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and apples. I have found entire blueberries in stools so fruit needs shredding too.

We usually buy cans of organic beans and rinse them before we use them. We use soybeans (we also use tofu), split peas, pinto beans, red kidney beans, white beans, or lentils. You can use packaged legumes, but make sure you soak and cook all beans to capacity so they do not expand in your dogs stomach (it can lead to GDV or bloat). I pour the juice off the cans if they are not organic to avoid extra preservatives.

Occasionally we add uncooked oatmeal or a piece of whole grain bread. You can make a batch of rice, but you cannot keep rice for more than 24 hours. For us, rice only works in an emergency. You can boil potatoes if you want to add an inexpensive carbohydrate. Our dogs love mashed potatoes. Don't use raw or green potatoes.

We buy raw and frozen meat. Most often the cheaper turkey and hamburger, but organic if we can. Make sure meat is 100% meat and NO SEASONING or added breading. The larger the amount, the cheaper. We buy frozen fish while avoiding seasonings and breading. We only buy wild caught fish - no farmed fish or fish from China - because of mercury, antibiotics, and pesticides.

If we have access to a butcher we ask for fresh scraps and bones, and many times get them for free. Butchers often have to pay to have scraps removed. We also feed liver, kidney, heart and other organ meats. It is important to feed other organs besides muscle meat! If you feed wild game (bear, moose, deer) double check with your veterinarian or an local expert in wild game because some organs are have toxic levels of nutrients. For instance, polar bear liver is toxic in Vitamin A and seal intestines often contain a high volume of worms.

Every feeding at our house offers a variety of ingredients. At first we thought making food was complicated and too much work. After a month I become more comfortable with mixing and matching, and now even when we are short on food, we can find something to put together for dinner. For every dog besides our allergy dog Joey (who eats a raw diet), we use dog food as the base of the meal. It is not in our budget to feed raw to all the dogs.

A typical feeding looks something like this:

1. Half (or less) of the recommended daily dog food ration. We feed a variety of Wysong dry dog food, but we change flavors (synorgon, anergen, puppy, maintenance) every week. All the dogs get all the flavors (including the puppy variety).

2. Mixed veggies. Whatever is available. Usually 3 kinds pureed with water in a blender.

3. A teapoon of cod liver or salmon oil.

4. The proper amount of Dr. Pitcairn's Healthy Powder (a particular mixture of kelp powder, lecithin granules, brewers yeast, bone meal powder, and Vitamin C) which is found in his book Dr. Pitcairn's New Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats

5. We add Dr Wysong's C-Biotic if the dry dog food we are feeding does not contain enzymes. (Wysong dry dog food already has enzymes.) Enzymes are friendly bacteria that help the digestion process get the most out of food. Packaged dog food often lacks enzymes. You do not need to add enzymes if you feed an all raw diet. A raw diet supplies the proper enzymes.

6. 1/2 pound of beef, fish, or turkey (raw or frozen). Sometimes we use the organ meats instead, but small amounts.

7. Beans, oats, or a slice of whole grain bread.

8. We soak the entire mixture in warm water for a few minutes. Especially when we use rolled oats. If you soak food, keep in mind that bacteria can start to grow within 20 minutes of adding warm water. That said, people have been soaking dog food successfully for generations. Just recognize the possibility that bacteria can be present.

Good luck on your feeding adventures!

More Dog Food Articles

home from what we feed our alaskan huskies

Click here for my dog care book.