Wellness Dog Food

[Guest bonniesbullet]

For those of you that use "Wellness Dog Food"--what do you think? Our Petsmart just started carrying it and the ingredient list seems to be right in line with what we would like to see--human grade ingredients, no grains or by-products. Right now, my 12 year old boy has been on Eukanuba and does fine with it. I checked out the pet food grading on another thread and it did not score as well. When we got him we were on Nutro, then he had issues. Tried Canidae and he did not do well on it..then Eukanuba. Thanks for the replies!

[mangos_mom]

It's crazy expensive, but when I started having trouble with Pro Plan with my first two dogs, I switched to Wellness Core. After I lost Mango and Takoda, I went back to Pro Plan, but at the beginning of the summer, I started having problems with my current two hounds with loose stools. So I switched back to Wellness again, this time the Mix 5 Complete Health. No more loose stools, although I do have 3 gassy hounds - normal gas, not excessive. I just keep forgetting to get yogurt to add to their menu.

 

Yow will get good advice here from others who know of less expensive but equally good foods. I just stick with Wellness as long as I can afford it because I honestly don't have the patience to explore all the other possibilities until I really need to.

[Rickiesmom]

My senior whippet is on Wellness Core Reduced Fat. It has good ingredients and low phosporus and a couple other things I can`t recall right now that need to be controlled especially in senior hounds.

[Hubcitypam]

Because of Poodle's pancreatitis/diabetes he also is on Wellness Core reduced fat and does well on it. The greys eat Iams (same company as Eukanuba) and do just fine so I don't feel the need to feed them Wellness. My Rex and current foster Elvis were/are both finicky tummy dogs and somehow Iams works best for them.

 

You might want to check out the Chicken Soup For The Dog Lovers Soul thread here. It's not grain free, but it is a great food for the price. IMO "no grain" is just the newest cult mantra. It used to be "no corn no wheat no soy".

[Guest Profgumby]

Because of Poodle's pancreatitis/diabetes he also is on Wellness Core reduced fat and does well on it. The greys eat Iams (same company as Eukanuba) and do just fine so I don't feel the need to feed them Wellness. My Rex and current foster Elvis were/are both finicky tummy dogs and somehow Iams works best for them.

 

You might want to check out the Chicken Soup For The Dog Lovers Soul thread here. It's not grain free, but it is a great food for the price. IMO "no grain" is just the newest cult mantra. It used to be "no corn no wheat no soy".

 

I don't necessarily argue with the no corn, no wheat, no soy mantra....but the grain free I am also indifferent about. The bottom line is, if someones dogs do well on "food brand x" and they have bright, happy, energetic dogs and a clean veterinary bill of health, more power to them. But far too many dogs (as I hear more and more the more I look into this) apparently have a wide array of health issues on the corn, wheat, and soy foods. As well as low grade foods with lots of dubious ingredients, funny chemicals and manufacturing practices.

 

Honestly, I want the best for my dogs and what does the best for them. And I am more concerned about the manufacturers practices and ingredient sources and any nasty chemicals in said ingredients than if there is or is not grain in the food. And as you say, the Chicken Soup stuff looks like a good food and gets good reviews, as do many. And you also are not alone with Iams or even Eukanuba. Back in the day (not that long ago) these were premium foods and in the hunting dog world, 2 very well known and recommended foods! We had our last pair of Whippets on Science Diet as the vet recommended it.

 

Hell, in the 80's, I fed my first whippet Purina High Pro. (I can hear some of you cringe...)

 

To answer bonniesbullet, we are just now off of Wellness for our girls. I have a post elsewhere about Wellness foods. I have no issue with the foods ingredients, recipes, the company or the quality of the food. it did however give the girls horribly soft stools. We tried 2 varieties and the problem just got worse. Again, no slam on Wellness or what it did for our dogs. Shiny coats, no dry skin or itches, lot's of energy and happy girls that loved the food. But the end result (bad pun, sorry) was not good.

 

Here is a link to the latest update on the food situation -

http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/262706-wellness-foods/

Edited October 14, 2010 by Profgumby

[Hubcitypam]

Hell, in the 80's, I fed my first whippet Purina High Pro. (I can hear some of you cringe...)

I'd bet the majority of dogs on this board have probably eaten Hi Pro. Until they quit making it 2 years a LOT of kennels and farms fed it. My friends father raises GSPs and sells the gun trained for several thousand dollars and he and his fellow breeders almost fainted when Hi Pro was no more.

[Guest MyBoys]

I tried the canned Wellness, I alway add a tablespoon or two of a good canned food to their kibble, within a few hours they both had the big D. I took back what I had purchased and went back to what I was using.