Thoughts on Wellness Dog Food

[Josh83]

Hello

I use to feed my Dog Nutro Lamb and Rice and she was vomiting on it. The Vet now says she has a sensitive stomach and put her on Hill Perscription Z/D (which i know is horrible food and over priced) I was told at pet store and have done lots of research on the net that the Wellness brand was very good. I am working to transition her to Wellness simple plan salmon and rice. This is dry food that I am talking about.

Just curious what your thoughts on this food is.

[kathryn]

Wellness is very good... but I find it too expensive. Alot of people on here really like it, and my cats did well on the Core, but honestly I'm not going to pay the price.

Kibble isn't the best since it's just dried chunks of food... but if you are going to feed kibble you can atleast do right by it.

For sensitive stomach usually lamb, whitefish, duck, & turkey are top choices.... just avoid chicken. NO corn or wheat or soy. Those are the worst... and of course avoid chemicals like dyes and nasty preservatives.

Here's a few off the top of my head that are good foods-
http://www.breeders-choice.com/dog_p...dermdog_lr.htm
http://californianaturalpet.com/prod...fault.asp?id=3
http://www.frommfamily.com/products-fs-d-d-duck.php


If you can, try a canned food diet. Not a high protein one, but just a basic one like Duck and Sweet Potato or Lamb and Brown Rice... those would help alot more.

[Wolf]

wellness is one of the brands that we recommend.
Wellness core is the best of the wellness products. its alot better then most brands out there.

Orijen in my opinion is the best dry dog food you can feed.
Horizon is also good (haven't tried it, its also quite pricey)
Acana is also made by the same brand as Orijen. also very good
Innova EVO
Taste of the wild
Before Grain
Timberwolf organics

[rainbow]

Nutro is certainly not the best food out there but I really question your vets assumption. I'm thinking he/she was just trying to promote a brand just as bad.

Did your dog vomit after every meal? Was she exercized before eating? How soon after eating did she throw up?

Wellness is alot better than the other brands you mentioned but there are better options imo. And, I think you need to find out the reason for vomitting in the first place.

[Josh83]

Originally Posted by rainbow

Nutro is certainly not the best food out there but I really question your vets assumption. I'm thinking he/she was just trying to promote a brand just as bad.

Did your dog vomit after every meal? Was she exercized before eating? How soon after eating did she throw up?

Wellness is alot better than the other brands you mentioned but there are better options imo. And, I think you need to find out the reason for vomitting in the first place.

The vomiting was random but as soon as we put on the Hills science diet Z/D it stopped. As soon shes finished this current bag of hills I am moving her to Wellness Simple Plan which i have been told is very good and it is grain free. I have contacted both wellness and Ouijen and asked them to send me samples which they have sent.

I would love to put her on Ouijen as I have read a ton of good things about it. It just that i have heard its quite a rich food. So i don't know how her stomach will take to that. On the other hand she is not a fussy eater. I totally agree with what your saying though about the hills i think the vet is just trying to promote and this will be the first and last time she is on the food. Mark my words

[kandy]

Originally Posted by Wolf

wellness is one of the brands that we recommend.
Wellness core is the best of the wellness products. its alot better then most brands out there.

Orijen in my opinion is the best dry dog food you can feed.
Horizon is also good (haven't tried it, its also quite pricey)
Acana is also made by the same brand as Orijen. also very good
Innova EVO
Taste of the wild
Before Grain
Timberwolf organics

Just a couple of comments on 2 of these foods - Taste of the Wild is made by Diamond Foods, which has been involved in numerous recalls. In fact they are currently in a recall situation for two brands of their cat food. IMO feeding any food made by Diamond is risky.

I have fed Timberwolf almost exclusively for about the last 4 years. I have tried to switch to a different brand a couple of times, with no success. My main reasons for switching in the past has been their non-existant customer service and their refusal to name the processing plants that they use (although they do list their manufacturer now). However, in the last couple of years, they have changed their formulas and have IMO lowered the quality while raising the price. The grains in their formulas are moving up the ingredient list, while the meat protein sources are moving down the list - making for a food that is increasingly more grain based. I no longer recommend Timberwolf to anyone that asks me, and I am currently deciding what food to try next.

[Melei'sMom]

Originally Posted by kathryn

Wellness is very good... but I find it too expensive. Alot of people on here really like it, and my cats did well on the Core, but honestly I'm not going to pay the price.

Kibble isn't the best since it's just dried chunks of food... but if you are going to feed kibble you can atleast do right by it.

For sensitive stomach usually lamb, whitefish, duck, & turkey are top choices.... just avoid chicken. NO corn or wheat or soy. Those are the worst... and of course avoid chemicals like dyes and nasty preservatives.

Here's a few off the top of my head that are good foods-
http://www.breeders-choice.com/dog_p...dermdog_lr.htm
http://californianaturalpet.com/prod...fault.asp?id=3
http://www.frommfamily.com/products-fs-d-d-duck.php


If you can, try a canned food diet. Not a high protein one, but just a basic one like Duck and Sweet Potato or Lamb and Brown Rice... those would help alot more.

Why aviod chicken?????

[kandy]

Chicken is one of the most common allergens to dogs, so even if the dog doesn't have full blown allergy symptoms, an intolerance can cause stomach issues.

[Melei'sMom]

really? i didn't know that. Melei has a harder time with pork then anything. but one of the kitties, Kadea, upchucks chicken when we would feed it to her and the other, Rayne, loves it and has no issues with anything we have given her. THe only other thing is liver...none of them will eat it, no matter how we try to prepare it or hide it, won't touch it.

[HelenNutmeg]

Love It.. its a great product..

[Bakaga]

Originally Posted by kathryn

Kibble isn't the best since it's just dried chunks of food... but if you are going to feed kibble you can atleast do right by it.

If you can, try a canned food diet. Not a high protein one, but just a basic one like Duck and Sweet Potato or Lamb and Brown Rice... those would help alot more.

On the contrary. The water content in wet (canned) foods can range anywhere from 60 - 80% (depending on brand). Meaning that, regardless of the quality of ingredients, it is not very nutritious. Relying on wet food as the soul source of diet can be very dangerous. It is recommended that it is fed alongside kibble for optimal results. Some people enjoy feeding wet food for variety (mixing it with kibble one meal out of the day).
It is good to feed wet food to cats (alongside kibble). It will keep them hydrated as they drink less water than dogs. But, again, wet food is essentially just a filler. Not very nutritious at all.

[sugarcatmom]

Originally Posted by Bakaga

It is good to feed wet food to cats (alongside kibble). It will keep them hydrated as they drink less water than dogs. But, again, wet food is essentially just a filler. Not very nutritious at all.

Kibble has NO place in an appropriate feline diet. Lets take a look at the food that cats have evolved eating: fresh juicy prey. Rodents, birds, lizards, bugs. Which contain, guess what? 60-80% moisture. Dry food contains 10% moisture or less. Considering cats came from desert climates where water sources are extremely scarce, they've evolved to get their water requirements met through their moisture-rich prey. Did you know that one of the main causes of death in domestic male cats under 12 is a blocked urinary tract? And that blocked urinary tracts are almost entirely caused by consuming a dry food diet? So you're wrong that wet food is "essentially a filler". In truth, it's ESSENTIAL.

[Myka]

I have fed a variety of dog foods in the last 10 years, and I have settled on Orijen. I did try Wellness Core, and found it to be very pricey in comparison to brands that were better (like Orijen, Evo, and Acana). Evo I found to make my dogs gassy (even after a year of eating it). California Naturals (not grain-free) is a simple food with few ingredients which is a great food for dogs with allergies. I have really liked to use CN as a source of carbs for my high energy dog. I found she became too lean (read: overly skinny) when fed a grain-free diet, and when fed even amounts of Orijen/CN she did very well. My dogs both did much better on Orijen than Evo. I never tried Acana. Orijen has both a red meat and a fish kibble that neither have chicken. Both Acana and Orijen are made by Champion foods in Alberta too, so it's nice to feed a Canadian made product (both Wellness and Evo are American).

[Josh83]

Originally Posted by Myka

I have fed a variety of dog foods in the last 10 years, and I have settled on Orijen. I did try Wellness Core, and found it to be very pricey in comparison to brands that were better (like Orijen, Evo, and Acana). Evo I found to make my dogs gassy (even after a year of eating it). California Naturals (not grain-free) is a simple food with few ingredients which is a great food for dogs with allergies. I have really liked to use CN as a source of carbs for my high energy dog. I found she became too lean (read: overly skinny) when fed a grain-free diet, and when fed even amounts of Orijen/CN she did very well. My dogs both did much better on Orijen than Evo. I never tried Acana. Orijen has both a red meat and a fish kibble that neither have chicken. Both Acana and Orijen are made by Champion foods in Alberta too, so it's nice to feed a Canadian made product (both Wellness and Evo are American).

Thanks for all the replies. I am going to try her on Orijen.

[Myka]

Let us know how she's doing on it in a month or so.

[Josh83]

Originally Posted by Myka

Let us know how she's doing on it in a month or so.

Thanks Myka. I am really hoping it works out. I have heard so much about Orijen and how good it is so I would love to be able to stick with it.

[Josh83]

Originally Posted by Myka

Let us know how she's doing on it in a month or so.

Seems to be doing well on Orijen and has been on it almost a month.

[BusterBoo]

Glad Orijen works well for you! Buster is on Wellness Whitefish and Sweet Potatoe and doing very well. I was giving him a combination of Wellness and Orijen but he picked up a nasty habit when I started the Orijen ... "schnacking on poopsicles" I think the Orijen was just TOO good for him.....

Good luck!!!