Does anyone have a recommendation for food, that can be bought from a physical store, that doesn't have the small brown bits of food? We tried three types of food, all highly recommended, but all three have had these small brown bits in them that my dog wont eat. He spits them out all over the house and im constantly picking them up or stepping on them.

What are the foods you have tried and what are the small brown bits? Most kibble come in small brown bites so without a little more info it's hard to give a suggestion. Are you wanting a kibble or are you looking for prepackaged raw?

He was on Blue's from a puppy, so we continued using Blue as an adult. The adult version has small, round, dark brown bits that he spits out. We tried another brand (blanking on the name now) and it had the same ones, and he spit them out too. I'll get pictures of them when I get home.
I'd like to stick with a kibble as that's what he's used to, and I'd like something availabale in stores so I don't have to special order it.

Blue went through a lawsuit recently concerning their food containing ingredients they specifically say it didn't, so Blue and any food made by Blue such as their Wilderness line aren't seen by some (many) as a trustworthy brand anymore. I feed Taste of the Wild now and it is available pretty easily at any farm feed store like Tractor Supply or Orschelns (no tractor supply stores where I am so it's Orschelns here. Not sure what branch you will have where you are). Petco carries it also so I would assume that Petsmart will as well. If price isn't a large factor, I know Blue is more expensive than TOTW, you might look into Acana. Great food. When you think of the other food's name or can elaborate on the brown bits we might be able to weed out some others. Grain free is always a big important thing to look for in any food since many huskies don't do well on grain or have allergies. dogfoodadvisor.com is a great resource to use since it will narrow foods down by how many stars and then you can see what that meet that star are available in your area. What larger petstores do you have available to you? I have Petco but have been a little miffed with mine lately because they change what they carry all the time.

I have petco, petsmart, farm and fleet, tractor supply, and a few others. Lots of options.
Its these pieces, and its been in every food weve tried.

tinyurl com /zdnpndg

I think that is a blue buffalo thing. My taste of the wild doesn't have anything like that. Nor does diamond naturals I was on before. Both are great foods you can get at tractor supply. Acana, fromm, and nature's variety are your higher end brands that should be available at petco or petsmart. The bites you linked looked like they were in wilderness food which is blue buffalo so if you change from a blue brand you should escape the offensive brown bites your dog doesn't like.

My recommendations are Victor (Hi Pro formula is their 5 star bag, and of course, all their grain-free varieties are rated 5 stars but more expensive; their other bags are rated at 4 stars) and Taste of the Wild. I used to feed TOTW a long time ago and my dogs hated it at the time, but I just recently went back to it and Suka loves it (though I'm not feeding the bison and venison variety this time, it's the Pacific Stream - fish one). So I decided to keep him on it since it's easily available.

Another popular option is Fromm dog food, or their sister company, American Natural Premium. I think ANP is a regional thing, though. I have personal experience with ANP and it was an amazing dog food!

The "brown bits" are probably Blue Buffalo's "Life Source" bits, basically a blend of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. MANY dogs don't like them. They're exclusive to Blue, but other manufacturers are using something similar now too. I think even the Natures Domain from Costco that I feed mine, are using them. I think to avoid them, you will probably have to go more high end in your choices, where the natural ingredients they use, make it to where adding the bits is unnecessary. Fromm and Acana are probably your best bets for that.

Taste of the Wild and Victors are quality foods, but are not high end in price and neither have those bit pieces. I find that highly interesting, Jimmy that Blue has their vitamins and stuff separate from the actual kibble, scary, that means that dogs are not getting a well balanced meal, if they spit out the good stuff.

MiyasMomma wrote:

Taste of the Wild and Victors are quality foods, but are not high end in price and neither have those bit pieces. I find that highly interesting, Jimmy that Blue has their vitamins and stuff separate from the actual kibble, scary, that means that dogs are not getting a well balanced meal, if they spit out the good stuff.

Renee, I believe I read somewhere, probably dogfoodadvisor, that most all manufacturers are adding these vitamins and minerals, most in the form of a coating over the kibble. The bits Blue adds, I believe are *extra*, I'd equate it to someone who feeds kibble, and then gives their dog supplements, the supplements are an extra on top of the food they are eating. I know the Natures Domain, has on its bag, the wording of these extra vitamins and minerals, but no, I don't see the extra brown bits that Blue uses, so I think I'm safe in saying TOTW has it too, of course anyone can correct me if I'm wrong, I don't take it as an insult, but more for learning. I don't feed Blue, I'm not defending Blue, I just know that many people I have discussed food with, who have used Blue, had problems with these little brown bits in the form of just not eating them, much like the OP has brought up, so no, I do not believe someone who feeds their dog Blue, and who's dog may be spitting these bits out, is not getting the nutrition that other dogs are getting, eating TOTW or many other brands out there.

No doubt Jimmy, with TOTW the vitamins and minerals are coated. One of the big changes, and I presume other companies will follow suit, is for example Acana, their food processed here in the US and the change will happen in Canada too, is formulating the kibble to have the ingredients form the right vitamins and minerals. Most companies are using what is called vitamin packs, made in China, and these packs are added to the kibble. What I think is those chunks that is in the Blue food, is indeed the vitamins and minerals to form into the proper amounts. I definitely know you are not defending Blue, every company is different in how they add these vitamin packs. Now if those bits in Blue are EXTRA vitamins and minerals, then yea, I agree the dog has been getting the right amounts. The people behind the truth about dog and cat foods have been asking companies to stop using the vitamin packs, because they are made in China, companies get around the claim of made in America, because the vitamin packs are added into the kibble process here in the US, so they are not lying by saying their food is made in the US. Might I add, one of the most trusting companies is Fromm, and most of their vitamins come from Europe, but if memory serves me only China makes vitamin K, which means that all dog food, no matter what brand, will have a component made in China.

That's interesting on the vitamin packs, Renee, I didn't know all that. Seems to me, that with what Acana is starting to do with formulating the food to form the necessary vitamins, is something that should have been done all along, I assumed the higher end foods, recipes, were just that, quality ingredients that gave the dog everything it needed ...naturally.

I'm going on assumptions again here, but my understanding from what I've read here and there, is that the coating of the vitamins is what makes the kibble "stick together", so I'd think that Blue has its vitamin coating in its kibble, and then these *extra* "life source" bits. The Great Dane I just the other day posted with my two in Mishka's scrapbook, is one of the dogs I personally know of that refused to eat those bits in Blue's line of foods (back when Blue was a highly regarded food) I don't know what it is though about those bits that dogs find offensive, or whatever...gotta trust a dogs instincts though!

I feed my husky Eagle Pack but lately he hasn;t been quit hype in eating it and im not sure why so i might try another brand to see if he's just tired of the same taste after a while. Here a link to which brand you should use. I choose my brand of food off this.
http://www.reviews.com/dog-food/

The source that I think most of us here us is DogFoodAdvisor which lists thousands (I think) of brands of dogs food with their evaluation. To recap the ones that Review.com lists:

• Orijen - 5 star
  
• Acana - 5 star (interesting to note that the US product scores 4.5 to Canada's 5!)
  
• Eagle Pack - 4.5 stars
  
• Fromm - 4 stars (??!!??)
  
• Nature's Logic - 5 stars
  
• Stella & Chewy's - 5 stars (freeze dried)
  
• Wysong - 5 stars
  
• Pinnacle - 4 star
  
• Primal - 5 stars (freeze dried)
  
• Hi-Tek - 5 stars
  

All of these are the first dry food listed for the company - except for the two who only have freeze dried food.
Fromm surprises me since I've always considered it a much better than average food (use the weight control formula for my overweight Sibe).
Pinnacle I had never heard of ...

For a couple of comments: It's not unusual for a Sibe to 'take a break' from any food (lasting from one to three days, more or less) they may pick a bit but just don't eat as much as normal. The other part is that when the temperature (and humidity?) goes up a Sibes appetite tends to go down. So it may have nothing at all to do with the food - it may be just that he's being a Sibe.