Wellness Dog Food
October 4, 2008 by admin
Filed under Solid Gold, Wellness
Wellness Dog Food
Wellness dog food is made and manufactured by Old Mother Hubbard. Wellness dog food comes in a wide selection of formulas.
Wellness Dog Food Review
Wellness Dog Food Formulas:
- Wellness Core Dog Food
- Wellness Core Ocean Dog Food
- Wellness Core Reduced Fat Dog Food
- Wellness Complete Health Chicken Dog Food
- Wellness Complete Health Lamb, Barley and Salmon Meal Dog Food
- Wellness Complete Health White Fish and Sweet Potatoes Dog Food
- Wellness Health Weight Dog Food
- Wellness Just for Puppy’s Dog Food
- Wellness Just for Seniors Dog Food
- Wellness Large Breed Adult Health Super5Mix Dog Food
- Wellness Large Breed Puppy Health Super5Mix Dog Food
- Wellness Small Breed Adult Health Super5Mix Dog Food
Wellness Core Dog Food Consumer Review
| Title | Votes | Rating | Review |
| Eukanuba dog food | 3 | 5.0 | -1.0 |
| Wellness Complete Health Chicken Dog Food | 37 | 6.6 | -1.0 |
| Wellness Complete Health Lamb, Barley and Salmon Meal Dog Food | 56 | 4.9 | -1.0 |
| Wellness Complete Health White Fish and Sweet Potatoes Dog Food | 35 | 5.5 | -1.0 |
| Wellness Core Ocean dog food | 51 | 7.8 | -1.0 |
| Wellness Core Reduced Fat dog food | 106 | 6.3 | -1.0 |
| Wellness Core dog food | 73 | 8.0 | -1.0 |
| Wellness Health Weight Dog Food | 23 | 3.1 | -1.0 |
| Wellness Just for Puppy’s Dog Food | 84 | 5.9 | -1.0 |
| Wellness Just for Seniors Dog Food | 14 | 5.4 | -1.0 |
First time trying this brand
please send coupons
where do i also find this food
What about the rest of the Wellness line? They just came out with that complete health food, which is what I’ve been feeding Theo. I had him on Evo, but he likes the Wellness better, and I like that he’s not getting quite so much protein. Will there be reviews eventually?
Julo-
Yes the rest of the Wellness line will be reviewed. I am hoping to get to it here pretty soon.
BTW, I love your website. Corgi’s are awesome dogs!
Can you please let me know what you think about wellness just for puppy i want to get the best food for my puppy.
Thanks
Any of the Wellness foods are good, or at least better than most of the foods on the market. However, if you want the best food for your puppy, Orijen or raw are the best ways to go.
I think Wellness is much better than most of what’s out there. My dog was on the Lamb Super5Mix until recently. She did not seem to love the taste… I usually had to add something to make it more appealing. I also think that she has an intolerance for grains and chicken. Unfortunately she is not crazy about fish, otherwise I would try Wellness CORE Fish. If anyone from wellness or Old Mother Hubbard reads ths, could you develop another grain-free food without chicken or fish?
I have use Wellness Sr. canned for a year now, our dog did well with it but I think she is getting tired of it…she doesn’t tolerate the higher fat contents well. I homecook evening meal for her and she has no problem eating that!
I also use Wellness canned grain free chicken and turkey for our cats. They do well on it. They don’t seem to like the other flavors as much. Maybe it has to do with being grain free.
A canned food is much better than dry, even if it is “high” quality. Dry is exactly that…dry. Maybe why there is so much skin and allergy problems. Read Dr. Martin and Robert Goldstein.
Wellness used to be good dog food about 10yrs ago. It recently switched hands and they altered the ingredients to lower quality and now theres another prenium kibble that went to crap. Of course when quality is altered the price never is. I had my dogs on this for about 3yrs of there lives, once they switched quality of ingredients and it smelled bad and the colour of the kibble was funny I never bought another bag. there aren’t too many kibble out there that are good quality any more even when pay $70-80 a bag. I feed raw and solved all the kibble problems and will not go back.
My dog is a year and a half havanese. He weighs about 19 pounds. He is very active. I have researched dog foods and thought that wellness core was the best for him, but after a few weeks; he ignores his food. I do not know what to do. I do not want him on a high grain diet. I want him to live a very healthy long life. He would not even try the peanut wellness bars. I am at a lost to know what to feed him. Please respond.
Crystal, I was wondering where you received the information about the lower quality of ingredients in Wellness. I’ve fed my dog the fish and sweet potato variety for 9 years and in the past few months she had shown some signs that worry me. She is extremely gasey, eats grass, and now her hair is falling out. I can’t understand why she would be eating grass if she is on the same diet. My assumption is that the quality has changed and there is something she in either allergic to intolerant of. I’ve been to the vet and they don’t see any indication of illness. Blood levels are all good.
I have just changed by dog to Wellness super5mix whitefish & potato today and it seems like he totally loves the taste! I don’t think i have ever came across a dog food which he instantly loves and i have tried like 7 brands, i mean he just gobbles it up! Previously i had him on Wellness Core i researched and got so many great reviews. However, he developed a really bad allergic reaction – red skin, itching, hot spots and a stench, it was really worrying. The vet said hes probably allergic to chicken and recommened a pork or fish protein food. He doesn’t seem to like lamb much too. Hence i tried this wellness whitefish one and it’s great! =)
But i have one concern, the news recently said that deep ocean fishes like salmon and tuna have high mercury content and dogs need to eat their food like everyday in hugh quantity. To be on the safe side, i really like the wellness brand and hope they develop a pork based one – i’ll have him on it in a heartbeat!
As commercial dog foods go, I think Wellness is one the best your money can buy. My dogs coats all shine and they do not shed a lick. I do recommend rotating foods, though as eating one thing their entire life is not giving your dog everything he needs. Wellness is one of my rotation foods, along with Taste of the Wild, Solid Gold, Chicken Soup and Merrick.
Back when I didn’t know any better, my dogs both had failing livers at only 3 years of age. Since they are siblings, my vet said it was hereditary. Well that’s when I started researching, and switched them off of Iams, Purina, eukanuba, and onto holistic. Their livers healed themselves in 6 weeks. No other treatment. That’s all it took to convince me that the “hype” is real. Same with cat food. If you have cats and are tired of shedding and vomit. Switch their food. I did and it was the best decision I ever made. Most holistic dogs food companies also make cat foods.
Do not buy this food, it will make your dog sick.
I just switched my dog to Wellness Core because I have been hearing rave reviews from friends and colleages. Well now my dog is in the hospital because of an allergic reaction. Her whole body is covered in hives and her mouth is swollen!
My Bernese Mountain Dog puppy did well on Wellness large breed puppy formula. However, he is suffering terribly from the Wellness Core Ocean, itching, hives, swollen nose, ears are inflamed, licking and chewing constantly. My vet has him on prednisone and benadryl. To get his system quieted I am feeding him only cooked brown rice and raw lamb.
Lisa, he is most likely allergic to fish. My dog doesn’t do good on a stong fish diet, so it’s meat only for him. Think of it this way, have you ever seen or heard of dogs in the wild catching salmon like bears ???? No, so what does that tell ya. Sure a wild fox might steal some if he is hungry enough. Wellness is a very good brand of dog food, expecially their Core side. Just find one without fish or keep feeding what you are, but make sure you add some Vitamins to that diet.
I have been feeding my dog Wellness for a little over a year. Just yesterday as I passed her food bowl I noticed small white shards laying at the bottom with the few pieces of kibble left in the bowl. They are about half the size of an apple seed and jagged – this was in the lamb and barley kibble. I have been looking into this and have found user complaints surrounding pieces of what appears to be bone in their bags of Wellness. Has anyone else found anything like this? I believe their bag references “ground bone” but I am questioning how “ground” ..I am now also questioning my confidence in the brand..does anyone else have any information on this? or has anyone else experienced white pieces in their dog’s kibble?
FYI… Just because one dog dosent do well on one type of food does not mean that, that food is bad. Think about it different people are alergic to different things why would are dogs be any different. My little dog took 10 different trys on dry dog food before we found one that she would eat and didnt have her alergens in. If you find a good mom and pop pet store they’ll help find what works and sometimes take back what dosent.
I have been using Wellness for a couple of years without a problem. I believe they had contracted out to a Canadian company to manufacture the Super Mix5 Complete Health, the dark purple bag.
That was until mid November 2009 when I bought a bag that said made in USA on it. The kibble size was larger, the smell was different, one of the dogs vomited and both of them turned their noses up at the dishes and would only eat with coaxing.
The company is very secretive about who and where they make their foods. I am going to ask if they know of any problems. In the mean time I switched brands and will be taking Wellness up on their guarantee for the current bag. If I don’t get an acceptable answer it will be my last bag of their product. I love my dogs too much to worry about their food.
I only feed my dog Wellness brand. Honestly, I could not stomach feeding my dog any of the grocery brand foods, because they are basically garbage. If people actually paid attention to what is in grocery brand dog food, they would be greatly disturbed. After adopting our puppy, we started her on Wellness. She so so much energy and the most beautiful coat we’ve seen on a dog. I understand that Wellness brand is pricey, but I would not feel our dog anything else.
i have been searching the internet looking for food recommendations, and specifically reviews on dog food. I have a picky puppy…she is 10 months old, pit mastiff mix…she has been very picky since we adopted her at 3 months old, and had had a myriad of health issues…itching, ear infections, terrible eye infection!! It has been quite a ride. She was quite underweight when we got her, so finding a food she would love was a high priority.
We switched her to Wellness Super5 puppy and she really seemed to like it for a while but it always had to be dressed up with something else or she would turn her nose up at it…w were told by our trainer to mix in a little whole fat yogurt for a while to really get her to eat her while meal.
On her last trip to the vet it was suggested that her ear infections were due to allergy..her vet suggested a switch to the Wellness White Fish formula..SHE HATES IT!! SHe eats it but practically must be hand fed and starving. It was very helpful to log on and read the reviews. We have decided to switch her to a different brand all together, and focus more on a home cooked diet with some kibble mixed in..hopefully this will take care of the issues!! Thanks for all the honest feedback..I feel like all the evets now a days get kick backs for recommending one food or another…If only our little four legged friends could talk!!
I really appreciate the information posted on this site! It really helped me a lot.
I have a Pekepoo who is 1 year old and weighs 10 lbs. He is very picky and I have had a tough time finding a good food for him. We used to use Purina ProPlan, but we had to put warm broth in it to get him to eat it. Then I took him to Petsmart, and one of the workers recommended Nutro Natural Choice dog food. Not knowing better, I just went to the Nutro website and decided that it was probably a good food for him. Besides, it was more expensive than the ProPlan, so it must be better, right? But I had to mix the food with soft food to get him to eat it.
Finally, I found this website. I was shocked to see how bad the Nutro products are! It made me feel like a bad mom. No wonder his stools were a little loose and he really didn’t have an appetite for the food!
After doing a little more research, I decided to try Wellness Super5Mix dog food for small breeds. He loves it! I don’t have to add anything to it. And the kibble size is perfect for him. It is such a relief to find a good dog food. And it is actually less expensive for me to buy Wellness ($13 for a 6-lb bag) than Nutro Natural Choice ($14 for a 5-lb bag). If you are looking for a good food for your dog, I would definitely suggest Wellness.
“But i have one concern, the news recently said that deep ocean fishes like salmon and tuna have high mercury content and dogs need to eat their food like everyday in hugh quantity. To be on the safe side, i really like the wellness brand and hope they develop a pork based one – i’ll have him on it in a heartbeat!”
I don’t know where this comment came from. From what I understand salmon has the best mercury profile CURRENTLY and tuna the worst CURRENTLY. You can’t say salmon and tuna in the same sentence.
I have a Bernese Mountain Dog. As a puppy, I started him out on the Innova Puppy formula however, he was having issues with diarhea and bouts of blood in his stool. I tried him very slowly on several different brands of puppy food, before I put him on Science Diet Natures Best Lamb Formula. His tummy finally straightened out. Due to Science Diet’s reputation, I didn’t want to keep him on it for too long. After about a year, I noticed that he was having issues with licking/chewing his feet and his ears kept getting gunky & smelly. Tell-tale signs of Allergies. I am in the process of finding a new food for him. I slowly changed him over to Innova California Naturals Lamb & Ric, however, started getting diarhea. The vet thought that a totally grain free diet might be best, so I slowly transferred him to Innova Evo Turkey & Chicken Formula, however the diarhea continued. It was getting so bad that he could hardly hold it and would have accidents in the house. I have put him on a strict boiled chicken and rice dinner for about a week, just to get his digestive system back in order. He is finally having normal bowel movements. Now, I’m trying to figure out my next move. I am considering either Orijen or Wellness core. Since he is a large breed dog, I am not sure if the high protein is going to be too much for his system. Any Suggestions?
I sent an e-mail to wellness about the use of ethoxyquin and this is the answer I got. I am not to sure if I believe this or not, but they did reply quickly which leads me to believe them. I don’t feed Wellness because it is waaaay overpriced in my area, Core is 9-10 dollars more a bag than Orijen. Core well stay on my A list and Wellness will most likely move up. While TOTW well move down.
Jess
Thank you for taking the time to write about Wellness® Dry Dog Food. Our pet food products are 100% ethoxyquin free. Our fish meal supplier has obtained the necessary permit to utilize a natural antioxidant made from blended mixed tocopherols in place of ethoxyquin to preserve the fish meal during transit. Thanks again for contacting us.
Susan KordishRepresentativeConsumer Affairs
It’s also on all of their bags.
I agree with Jess in that Wellness has become very overpriced. For the money, there is certainly better.
I can’t remember where I heard this, nor is there anyway to really confirms this….but….I was told that that nice shiny bag alone cost $6.00
Just hammers home one more time that dogs don’t buy food….people do.
Eric, I am on a mission, I am e-mailing every dog food company that is on my list about the use of ethoxyquin. Guess which 2 companys are dragging their feet about replying ???? Yep and it’s two of your favorites…. Fromm and Merrick and if I don’t hear from them tomorrow, down the list they go….Artemis is the only other company who has taken as long as these two companies. Horizon answered in about 10 minutes, quite unreal and I can guarantee they don’t, man were they ever bold and straight to the point about not using it. Where’s Michelle and Antiono???
Jess…..I’ve actually shortened my go to list. It now only includes Orijen (Large Breed Puppy and 6 Fish Only), Acana (Grasslands Only) and Evo (Chicken/Turkey and Red Only)…That’s It!
I do use a couple chews and treats still from Merrick…Texas Toothpicks, Bully Sticks and Turkey Patty’s.
You’ll get a faster answer from Merrick if you call them. They are not to quick to respond thru email. To be honest with you, when i used Merrick foods which was Turducken and Grammy’s Pot Pie, there were no fish, fish meal or salmon oil in it. So the no ethoxyquin statement was not even crossing my mind. The only time I care is when (obviously) there is a fish product in the food.
Eric, I can’t make a list with just 5 options for people. They have to have some choices and in this crappy economy money is a big deal for a lot of people. Products like Cali. Natural and Heath Wise need to be pushed on people with money issues and no Costco card, instead of them turning to Ol Roy and crap like that.
By the way Merrick has these lamb treats that are just fantastic, Tony just loves them. I am not calling anyone, I want to give all the dog food manufactures the opportunity to respond in a decent time frame.
I just found that Chicken Soup should not be on anyones feed list and DFA needs to drop them to a 2 star because they use it.
Hey guys- I’ve been REALLY busy we got my son a puppy for his 5th birthday.It’s a springer spaniel-8 weeks old.It’s like having a newborn baby again!! But it’s worth it-everyone loves him!!Trinity-my Lab is playing nicely and teaching him manners.I’m not worried about Ethoxyquin because the formulas that I use from Merrick are Before Grain Chicken and Buffalo-they do not contain fish.Also for my cats I use the Before Grain Chicken formula-I won’t buy any formulas that contain fish-even if they claim to be ethoxyquin free.I feel that is the only way to be really sure that your pet is not getting the preservative.Hey Eric whats wrong with the other formulas of the brands that you listed??Also about the Chicken Soup brand I’m pretty sure some of the formulas contain Menadione Sodium Bisulfite complex also.
Ok ok…..lets make the list a little larger then.
I like Cali Natural. It’s not the cheapest though. Around here a 30 pounder goes for about $40-$45. If your dog has sensitivities, it’s a great food. There is only one meat source though. Healthwise is more affordable.
Probably my favorite budget food is Whole Earth Farms. Nothing would be preserved with ethoxyquin as there is nothing fish in it.
TOTW is probably the best budget grain free at $40 for a 30 pounder.
I also like Canine Caviar for a budget food as well. One meat source but it is in dehydrated form. They also use prebiotics instead of probiotics.
Please keep in mind….these are budget based foods I’m recommending…not the best kibbles available.
Why am I not hearing anything about natural balance( Dick Van Patten)?
3 years and thousands of dollars in allergy specialists couldn’t match the full recovery we saw switching to their venison and potatoe diet. Is there a problem with this food ? No one seems to post anything pro or con.
And we are now hearing a warning from our vet about fish and urinary stone development in dogs. Care to comment?
I have been feeding my Golden, Dazie, Wellness Core since we got her at 1 year old over a year ago. It is wonderful and she loves it. I picked Core because it didn’t have alot of protein for her at her young age. I have thought about Orijen Regional Red but will not change unless she gets tired of Core or it changes ingredients or goes to another company. I would recomment “Wellness Just For Puppy” for a puppy food because if you read on “Dogfoodanaylsis.com” it always says at the end of the analysis that you need to be careful not to give your puppy too much protein especially if it is a large breed. This puppy food does not say that and if your puppy does well on it you can keep him on it for a long time. Thanks for your site.
To bad Dog Food Analysis doesn’t actually study dog food and the effects on dogs.
Sorry, but Dog Food Analysis is the most bogus dog food site on the web.
Aside from that, it’s nice to hear that your dog is doing well on Core. I don’t agree that Just For Puppy is a good puppy food as it is grain heavy, low meat content and has a few to many fillers. For the money, there are much better puppy foods out there.
LOL. Eric we finally totally disaree on something….
“Sorry, but Dog Food Analysis is the most bogus dog food site on the web.”
“To bad Dog Food Analysis doesn’t actually study dog food and the effects on dogs.”
Hummm, how many really do?? But they do know which particular ingredients are good and which are bad. Don’t get me wrong because I do disagree with where they rate a couple of foods.
Eric, Purnia, abady, Royal Canine, Science Diet, Bil Jac, Ol Roy and others say they do a ton of studies on dog food AND I AM SURE YOU BELIEVE THEM.
DFA uses internet hype to “grade” foods leaving top quality foods in the bottom brackets because they do not know how to interpret ingredients nor read nutrient breakdowns.
Sorry, DFA is a joke!
One is much better off reading TheDogFoodProject and figuring out for themselves which food is best for there pet.
Geez… Remember the days when we all fed our dogs Alpo and they were just fine? I had several dogs who lived long and healthy lives on whatever was cheapest at the grocery store.
I can’t believe how much trouble is attributed to really high-quality, expensive dogs foods on here. No commercial food has great ratings which is ridiculous and indicative of people who can’t be pleased and will find fault with anything.
Most dogs will eat what you give them. Most of them will thrive on the food. By reading this site, you’d think no commercial dog food was acceptable and that everything on the market is crap. Please. We feed Wellness and the dogs like it well enough and I’ve never had a problem. I don’t stress myself out wondering if I could get a better food. They’re dogs. They’re fine. Be realistic.
I have just heard that Wellness has been sold to another company and they have changed their ingredients somewhat. Usually when that happens to a dog food the quality goes way down so the new company can make more money of course. Has anyone else heard this?
Wellness sold years ago and yes….that happened.
Current company that sold is Natura Pet to Proctor and Gamble
Natura Pet (Innova, Evo, California Nautral, Karma, Healthwise)
Lauren. Yes back in the 60′s and 70′s and even in the early 80′s you could get good dog food from most manufactures. But it seems like overnight the greedy college graduates started showing up and showing the the dog food manufactures HOW THEY COULD MAKE MORE MONEY BY ADDING CORN AND OTHER CHEAP CRAP INTO THE FOOD. Heck they even started adding plastic…. The greed in this country has gotten totally out of hand.
Hi. I was feeding my american bulldog puppy wellness and he stopped eating after one month. He would not touch it at all. I have since switched to Blue Buffalo and he loves, but I felt more comfortable feeding him wellness. Has anyone experienced this before or does anyone have any advice? Is Blue Buffalo comparable to Wellness??
My gsd did great on Wellness Lg Brd Adult but I wanted to try something better so I switched to Innova but he didn’t keep weight on. I then tried Blue Buffalo hoping for the best(also easier on wallet) My dog loved the taste but he developed a skin lesion and started itching(mildly). I am going to go back to Wellness because his coat was softer and tons of energy. Wellness Lg Brd has been only food that he has done the best on. As for comparisons, I like Wellness better but only for Lg Breed, the other varieties seem to be a little more grain heavy. I think if you add your own meat to the kibble, that is better. Blue Buffalo I think is better than any grocery store brand. Mine was really picky eater as a puppy, we had to switch foods on a monthly basis, even add wet food and then would get tired of it. Maybe its just a puppy thing. Mine didn’t start eating normal til he was almost 18 months. Blue Buffalo is fine, just try to stay away from food with all the artificial colors,flavors and preservatives. There are brands that are in the same price range as Wellness that are considered far better but may not be available in your area. Thats how it is where I live. Good luck
I had both my dogs on Wellness Large Breed and Large Breed Puppy at one time. I didn’t care for how either looked, acted, performed…..
It’s low on meat content and super low on calories.
For the price of Wellness, there are definitely better options….Blue Buffalo is not it.
Acana grain free is the same price as Super 5 with much higher meat content and way more calories. My dogs now eat Honest Kitchen, Orijen and Evo
Thank you both for your advice. He is my first puppy and I really want to do right by him.
John I disagree with Eric I believe Wellness Core to be one of the top foods produced today and has a lot of meat in it. But then again it is over priced. Now with P&g takeing over EVO it’s just a matter of time before that food slides down hill but for now it is a very fine food. Now here is a list I made up and in a month it well change.
The A list
1. Orijen
2. Evo
3. Wellness Core
4. Instinct
5. Go, Grain free only.
6. Acana, Harvest, Pacifica & Grassland only.
7. Innova
8. Blue Wilderness
9. Taste of the Wild, wetlands & prairie only, Grain free
10. Artemis
11. Fromm
Good quality for a low price
1. TOTW
2. California Natural
3. Health Wise
4. Kirkland, Costco
The B list
1. California Natural
2. Now, Grain free.
3. GO, free indurance,chicken,salmon only
4. Merrick
4. Evangers
5. Timberwolf
6. Wellness
7. Solid Gold
8. Canidae
9. Health Wise
10. Karma
11. Horizon Legacy
12. Nature’s Logic
Thank you so much Jess. Unfortunately I, like Ann, live in an area where a lot of the top brands are not available. I think I may check out Costco for Kirkland. I have had several serious “dog” people mention this brand to me. My problem now is that I do not want to keep switching foods on him. Can I keep him on the Blue for a while or should I look into switching ASAP??
Thanks again for all the advice. I frequented this site for info while I was trying to choose a brand of food- settled on Wellness. So, naturally I would return with additional questions. Take care and GO CELTS!!!
Jess I am surprised you never heard from Merrick I emailed them about the use of ethoxyquin a few weeks ago and they said they don’t use it. They responded to my email within 24 hours. Maybe you should try again.
Currently my dog is on Acana Grasslands and doing great.
Jon, Blue is fine I would just add some meat. Most butcher shops have some sort of dog food meat at a pretty good price. I buy them and cut them into about 1/3 pound slices and spoon feed it to my dog as a treat. I have even bought stew meat from Costco and froze it in small snack bags and added it as a snack later that night, but I always cut it up into smaller pieces. A cooked egg every so often is a good idea also.
Rick, they finally did respond but it was 2 1/2 weeks later.
May I ask if anyone knows from where Wellness gets each of its ingredients.
I’m in the process of finding a new food for my Westie as I have found teal colored granules in the canned lamb food. Upon calling the company, was not given an intelligent answer as to what those granules actually are. I also find shards of bone in the canned food.
Thank you.
I’ve fed my dogs Wellness duck and potato canned and their whire fish and potato since the business opened. M vet really likes their food. Healthy ,well balanced ingfedients and no grains except de hulled barley. They get their fish from Canada or the US, same as their owther ingredients.
Does not EVER cause soft stool.