The scores
Blue Buffalo Blue Bits Tasty Chicken: B/76 — Above average. Chicken first, fish-oil-sourced DHA at position twelve, no artificial colors, no synthetic preservatives. Held back from B-mid by cane sugar at position four.
Fruitables Skinny Minis Pumpkin & Berry: B/78 — Above average. Plant-led panel with pumpkin first, 3 kcal per piece, natural preservation, no artificial colors. Held back from A by lack of named animal protein and honey as a sweetener.
How the ingredients compare
The leading ingredients are the structural difference between these two treats:
Blue Bits: Chicken, Oatmeal, Brown Rice, Cane Sugar, Potatoes, Vegetable Glycerin, Pea Protein, Flaxseed, Water, Natural Flavor, Salt, Fish Oil (DHA), Natural Smoke Flavor, Dried Cultured Milk, with lactic acid and mixed tocopherols.
Fruitables Skinny Minis: Pumpkin, Chickpeas, Peas, Vegetable Glycerin, Tapioca Starch, Flaxseed Meal, Honey, Sunflower Oil, Blueberries, Pork Stock, Citric Acid, Vinegar, Natural Blueberry Flavor, Cinnamon, Salt, with mixed tocopherols and rosemary extract.
These two treats serve overlapping use cases (low-calorie soft-chew training rewards) but from opposite formulation philosophies. Blue Bits is meat-led: chicken first, with a DHA-from-fish-oil supplementation pattern that is uncommon in the training-treat category and contributes to cognitive maintenance per Heinemann 2008 and Zicker 2012. Skinny Minis is plant-led: pumpkin, chickpeas, and peas in the first three positions, with pork stock at position ten as flavoring and no named whole muscle meat anywhere in the panel. Both use vegetable glycerin (−5 deduction) and added sugar (Blue Bits cane sugar at position four for −8; Skinny Minis honey at position seven, which still triggers the sugar-anywhere −8). Both avoid BHA, BHT, ethoxyquin, and synthetic colors entirely.
Where Blue Bits pulls ahead
Named animal protein first: Blue Bits opens with whole chicken (whole muscle, not by-product meal). Our rubric awards +12 for a named whole-muscle meat first — the strongest single bonus in the panel-quality axis. Skinny Minis opens with pumpkin (a whole vegetable, +1 bonus) and forfeits the named-meat-first credit entirely. For prey-driven breeds or dogs that need high-value protein rewards during training, the meat-first formulation is more motivating.
DHA from fish oil for cognitive support: Blue Bits includes fish oil (named DHA source) at position twelve. DHA is a long-chain marine omega-3 with documented cognitive, retinal, and cardiovascular benefits in dogs (the AAFCO minimum for puppy large-breed diets includes DHA). The dose per Blue Bit is modest, but stacked across a training session it’s additive to the dog’s overall DHA intake. Skinny Minis has flaxseed for plant-source omega-3 (ALA), but conversion of ALA to DHA in dogs is limited.
Real flaxseed and dried cultured milk for additional micronutrients: Blue Bits stacks flaxseed (omega-3 + fiber), dried cultured milk (probiotic-adjacent), and natural smoke flavor as palatability. The whole-food micronutrient density beyond the chicken-first protein is more substantial than Skinny Minis’ plant-only stack. Shop Blue Bits on Amazon →
Where Fruitables Skinny Minis holds its own
Pumpkin-first whole-food base: Pumpkin is a high-fiber, low-calorie whole food that supports GI regularity and is one of the most universally tolerated ingredients in the canine diet. Skinny Minis builds on a real food substrate rather than a meat-stock-and-glycerin matrix. For dogs with chicken sensitivities or owners doing strict elimination feeding, the plant-led panel is the safer base.
Lower added-sugar position: Skinny Minis has honey at position seven; Blue Bits has cane sugar at position four. Both trigger the rubric’s sugar-anywhere −8 deduction equally on count, but the position-four placement in Blue Bits means cane sugar is one of the dominant dry-weight components, while honey at position seven in Skinny Minis is a smaller share of the formula by mass. For owners with weight-management or dental priorities, the position matters even when the rubric scores it identically.
3-kcal calorie density tied with the lowest in class: Skinny Minis runs 3 kcal per piece, tied with Zuke’s Mini Naturals, Charlee Bear, Stella & Chewy’s Carnivore Crunch, and PureBites for the lowest calorie density in the training-treat class. Blue Bits is slightly higher at 4 kcal per piece. For very high-volume training sessions (50+ rep recall practice, 30-minute heel work drills), the calorie discipline favors Skinny Minis. Shop Fruitables Skinny Minis on Amazon →
The bottom line
These two treats split the soft-training-treat market on protein philosophy. Blue Bits is the meat-led pick — chicken first, DHA from fish oil, natural smoke flavor — held back from B-mid by cane sugar at position four. Skinny Minis is the plant-led pick — pumpkin first, low-calorie positioning, broader sensitivity tolerance — held back from A by the lack of named animal protein. For dogs on weight-management primary diets, Skinny Minis is the calorie-conservative pick; for prey-driven breeds or dogs needing high-value protein rewards, Blue Bits delivers more motivational reward energy.
Read our full reviews of Blue Buffalo Blue Bits Tasty Chicken and Fruitables Skinny Minis Pumpkin & Berry for the complete ingredient-by-ingredient breakdown.