Many members here feed one brand (TOTW usually) and rotate flavors within that brand so it must be ok, I'd stay away from anything with chicken though just to be safe, seems many dogs in general have intolerances to chicken.

Myself, my little girl seems to have issues with most food, although I can't pinpoint what exactly. I went to Acana, a meat based food, and after feeding them both the fish based one, I changed to their line called "Singles" which uses basically one meat based protein instead of several. In my case, I went with lamb and apple and they both are doing great on it.

The folks here at IAHT have really helped me with kibble problems. I cook veal and salmon, but their suggestion of Taste of the Wild (Pacific Stream) has changed Grant from picky to consistent on his kibble consumption, which I use in conjunction with raw (actually cooked, in my case haha--homemade single ingredient, anyway) because it adds other nutrients. The Husky people here know what they're talking about!

Hi GhostsMama17!

I feed my husky raw. While he's never been picky about what he eats, his problems with his bowels forced me to switch him over and I've never looked back. Between fixing the problems with diarrhea, the clean teeth benefits are absolutely amazing! While some people have the dedication and the knowledge of making their own raw., I just go with a company that does everything for me. It ships directly into my house, comes frozen, and all I have to do is thaw and serve.

I can say with the constant rotation of different meats every 3-4 days and the different rotations of patties vs raw bones, he's ALWAYS hungry for more, and never gets bored of seeing what I'm going to pull out of the fridge and put into his bowl.

Good luck! Let us know what you end up finding what's right for your dog!

UGH! I so wish it was more easy. I'm driving myself crazy. One website says something different than the next ten. Thinking of sticking with Fromms heartland puppy gold for now... but found out it has chicken in it and would just rather not go there I guess. Thinking of nutrisource's Pure Vita salmon and pea per a friend and local store suggestion instead. It's just me and Bohdi and I'm happy to spend as much on him as I do on myself (why would I feed myself better than my life partner?), so price isn't a factor I guess. It's all so new still for me... i probably just need to BREATHE, everything will be alright. Going to look into a RAW/Cooked DIY diet and just eat the same thing maybe. I'm far form picky and do better when I have someone to cook for anyway. ALL Ideas/thoughts/suggestions/jokes are welcome

I currently feed mine Dr. Tim's Momentum. It's a food for active dogs, so there are more fats and higher calorie content. Before, I fed them Dr. Tim's Kinesis, which is an all life stages food. Wolf had eaten that since he was a puppy, and is very happy and healthy. I wish I could feed raw. But the cost and time required makes me hesitant. Overall, I've been very happy with Dr.Tim's foods.

Thanks for the reply Graham, I was going a little crazy yesterday from sleeplessness. I'll look into Dr Tim's for sure. But I've already switched the pup from his "breeder" garbage to Fromms, to Nutrisource in 3 days. Bohdi doesn't seem to mind or have issue with either Fromms or Nutrisource, so I'm just going to relax for a few weeks and at least finish the nutrisource. He really seems to love it and has calmed down around feeding times with it as well. Your pack sure is beautiful. Thanks again! -Harvey&Bohdi

I have been feeding my husky The Honest Kitchen for almost a year now. It's helped out a lot with her sensitive stomach, her pickiness, and it's human grade. I would advise you highly to take your puppy off of beneful as soon as possible. That has killed so many dogs including my previous boss's animals. It took her months to figure it out but it was the food. Being in the pet food industry myself for quite some time, I've seen what that stuff can do to dogs. I would highly suggest staying away from anything that is made by Purina, Iams, Blue Buffalo and Nutro has a label on it saying "contains genetically modified material" on the front so I'm not to convinced on that one either. Just do as much research as you can and make the best choice. Also I would be wary of asking a vet for opinions. Alot of vets don't understand most dogs needs nutritionally, especially huskies. Just be very careful. Just wanted to tell of my own experiences with this.

Good morning, We're back at it LOL. Bohdi seems to now not like the PureVita from Nutrisource when I wet it with warm water, he prefers it dry, and even then i showing some indifference it seems.
Question:
Anybody have huskies that rotate feed types? I know they have reportedly delicate tummies, but Bohdi has on off diarrhea anyway still ( I think still from all his changes in general of place, food, newness, etc). Should I just make him eat what he has? The honest Kitchen looks great, though expensive-ish. I guess it only comes in at $2.5/ #, but that's pretty expensive compared to many more main stream brands. I'd love to give it a try but am a little worried about him getting used to a rotating diet, or ending up with a dozen half eaten bags of food LOL.

Thanks Guys,
Harv & Bohdi

Was feeding IAMS, which was what he was fed with at the Rescue, until I saw it on the list of "worst dog foods" (sorry Iams!)...

Switched to Merricks. I picked Merricks only because they have a beef flavor (Rumo goes nuts for beef). I have seen his fur get softer/shinier, and his poops get smaller. Food does make a difference! Kind of inspired me to eat healthier myself...

( He's not exactly a picky eater...I'm needing to watch his weight and measure out his food carefully with a cup these days so he doesn't get fat!)

I've wrote on this subject before, do some research, I Know one expert says this and one contradicts that, isn't it always that way? I'm not a believer in "dog food", I do have some dry and canned that I feed my pups if "I'm" on a tight schedule, I try to make their food and it's different 2 or 3 times a week and they eat it. I think you should start looking outside the box, don't look at "dogfood" is something you have to feed em, get a good can of dogfood and look what's in it and how much did you pay? Can you buy some store brand stew and feed it to them minus the potatoes, yes you can and how much did you pay? Would you eat that can of dogfood? Would you eat the stew? Merrick is a good choice if you do prefer to feed them that way and there are others, so many recalls and bad practice with the pet food industry

You need to feed what works for your dog and your wallet. I feed TOTW Prey and raw. I have dogs with allergies and intolerances and that has helped me. Some dogs need grain-free and some don't. Some dogs can't do chicken and some can. Freeze dried foods are great and if you want to dive into home cooking or raw we have a lot of resources for that as well when you are ready to take that on. With raw and home cooking there is a lot to be aware of. Dogs are not people and they have different dietary needs than people so when you are sourcing food for diy there are things that you have to look out for. Sodium being a big one. Some of the meat you buy has high sodium so they will keep their nice color on the shelf. Premade soups and stews have way too much sodium for a dog so you will have to make your own dog friendly form. A lot to think about but once you start really researching and dive in it becomes easier.

Well said, Jenn!

I'm going to add to what Jenn mentioned. It is imperative to feed a puppy a balanced diet daily. And adult dogs need to be balanced at least over time, but should be daily as well. It is better to feed a below average food than to feed a not thought out DIY food. No matter what kibble is fed, it is at least balanced, too many people want to DIY their food for their dogs and horribly mess it up and not feed balanced. With that said The honest kitchen is a great food, but there are only a couple of flavors offered that is appropriate for a puppy. If THK is too expensive there is also Grandma Lucy's and Sojo's plus a bunch more out there, BUT like I said you must feed what has been formulated to be balanced for a puppy. As far as a picky puppy, well sometimes they are and sometimes we create the pickiness. At this point I would find a food that you feel comfortable enough to feed and stick with that brand, and should feed a puppy food. Forget about rotating for now, puppies need that puppy food. If he is over 6 months, which I don't think your pup is then you can look into an all life stage food. At that point if the pup has an iron stomach rotating brands is fine, if not then I would rotate between proteins within the same brand of kibble, less tummy issues sticking to the same brand. People rotate between brands to ensure if there is a recall of one they can hard switch to another without much issue. People like myself will rotate proteins within a brand, I feed TOTW Prey line as well and I rotate between protein. People do this to help ensure that your dog will not develop an allergy over time. Many dogs who are fed just one protein continuously can become allergic to that one protein. lastly a healthy dog will never starve itself. Huskies in general eat less than other breeds, and many self regulate. So what appears to be a dog being picky is really a husky just skipping a meal today, and they are super smart, sometimes I swear it's so they can get to the good stuff, since us owners tend to cave in and give them what they want, and that will make a picky dog when giving in to them. Best advice, stick to the food YOU want to feed, if the pup doesn't eat 1 meal oh well, chances are he's being a brat, or just not hungry.

MiyasMomma wrote:

Many dogs who are fed just one protein continuously can become allergic to that one protein.

Wow, this is good to know!

Shepsky................Cool I am glad that I offered some sound advice. That is one reason I have stuck to TOTW for the last 4+ years. I bounce back and forth between TOTW Prey, Regular TOTW and 4 Health Untamed line, I can offer 5 different proteins, and if I didn't have such an allergy prone gsd, would rotate between even more proteins. My shepsky girl has no issues with proteins, but digests grains horribly, so TOTW has been a great food for my 2. I can feed all 3 lines without any transitions, which I find amazing, since my 2 are so incredibly difficult to feed.

After going through some fun with gastrointestinal issues, Misty (approx. two years old) is currently on a holistic limited-ingredient bagged food called Venture, which has some really interesting flavor/ingredient combinations. She's tried Rabbit/Pumpkin and Alaskan Pollock/Pumpkin so far and REALLY likes them. No more tummy issues so far, either. Might try the Squid/Chick Peas next.

I accidently hit a "bad treat" on one of MiyasMomma's posts above, when I was at work on my phone, earlier. I've already asked a member to reverse it for me so please disregard the bad treat until it is reversed.

This is definitely one of the most debatable subject. I agree on a lot of the response on here. My main thing is making sure that the food does not give my dogs diarrhea and I think that each dog reacts different to different brand, flavor and ingredients.

Here is my story with both my dogs. My oldest dog will be 16 years old in June. She is doing very well for her age and I know smaller dogs lasts longer than big dogs. I was young when I got her so I did not do any research on dog food. The place I bought her (in Bel-Air..I know, I was young and naive and did not think about adopting at that time) gave science diet. I had to change that right away because her farts was so horrible. I changed her to Pro-Plan. Worked pretty well. But then I changed her to Beneful because I was afraid she was getting bored of her food. Again, I didn't know to do research. She stuck with it for many years but had to switch to Nutro Chicken Flavor when I had to move back to my parents house. My sister's dog was allergic to grain so we couldn't have dog food that had grain because my dog eats when she wants to. When food is still in her bowl, my sister's dog would eat it. And let's just say hair loss and massive diarrhea was no bueno.

Now that we have our Husky, we have been testing out different types of food. We were on TOTW and I think that was ok but something happen where we change to EVO. The poultry flavors was so so but when we change to the red meat, all hell broke loose. It was 2 weeks of diarrhea and we thought it was because she ingested my older dogs arthritis meds. After we switch dog food to Natural Balance Chicken and Sweet Potato, her bowl was so much better. Chicken doesn't affect my husky. Both TOTW and Natural Balance works for us but we just recently tried Venison and Sweet Potato and it is working wonders on her poop. So now that this works well and nothing is broken, we are not planning to switch again. However, I can't have my older dog eat that flavor. She is sticking to her chicken. For some reason it is making her poop a lot more and she isn't realizing she is pooping sometimes. They are hard poops but very random at times.

That is just my 2 dogs. My sister's Husky, totally different story. She can not have any chicken flavor at all. As soon as she touches that, clean up is a pain. So she is on every other flavor other then chicken. She was on a more expensive brand but that hurts her pockets too much. She is now trying the Natural Balance for her and haven't had any issues.

Sense we are talking about food.. I feed my dogs 4Health, suggested by a friend who is a breeder of German Shepherds.

They seem to like it and eat it.. Of course sometimes they are little more picky the other times.. Sometimes they skip a meal.

Here is what really bugs me.. When they each each others poop... I get so angry about that and get them into trouble..  It seems to me that I raise them all for the picking up after them before they eat it.. What THE HECK is that all about???

Suggestions?

I also feed my dogs NewVet supplements...

My boys seemed to outgrow the poop eating thing...but, yes, when we first got Ami, drove me nuts. No way would I let him kiss my face then!

The poop thing, yes my older husky did that for awhile. There is not 1 pinpointed reason they do that, some say it's a nutrient deficiency, it could be they are stressed, frustrated, bored, they could also be imitating you picking up their poop. Best thing is, if you see them doing it, let them know to stop and you are not pleased and clean up the yard more often.

I'm including here the latest news in research on why dogs eat poop, doesn't mean it's right, but it does make sense http://www.philly.com/philly/health/why-do-dogs-eat-poop-new-research-suggests-an-ancient-answer-20180224.html

Some greta thoughts, advice, and suggestions. Sounds pretty much like food is a journey for the human canine team that is individual while being dog and situation specific. Bohdi's most recent one protein (salmon) food seemed like the one... for a few days. His poops fluctuate between too soft and spot on. Now he's acting uninterested in the food, and we're nearing the end of his first 5# bag of it. So I'm going to rotate into a different brand to maintain interest and just to see how it goes and what happens. If I find something he still likes after finishing 5#s, we'll buy another 5.
I've decided that he needs to be able to eat dry food/kibble as we'll likely have lots of long travel and road trips where raw/homemade diet just isn't practical or available.
A good friend suggested I try Wellness Core Puppy. After reading about it, sounds good, and I want to revisit the chicken thing anyway, see how he does and if it upsets his tummy.
Anyway, I love hearing how everyone deals, and what you all have finally decided with yours. Love the forum and discussion. itsahuskything ROCKS!
Harv & Bohdi

As some members have said, it's trial and error.  You just have to find what works for your husky.  Mars has always eaten lamb based kibble (he doesn't like fish based).  We have been feeding Acana limited ingridients (lamb /apple) for quite a while now and his kibble is is topped with different slightly cooked meats.

I also would love to know a good food for my Siggy. In the past with my previous husky I fed her some kibble "Blue Buffalo" and then I gave her a mix of rice,carrots,peas and some kind of boiled meat. She loved it but not sure if I can swing this now. There's so much food controversy now days, do this dont do that. It gets so confusing. I want her to have the best but I also have three kids and a cat. LOL Your feed back would be muchly appreciated. Thankies