Wellness are without doubt one of the better producers of pet food worldwide, and their grain-free range Wellness CORE is fantastic.
Let’s take a look at their more budget-friendly Complete Health Chicken…
Chicken and Chicken Meal are the main ingredients, and this is what I like to see in a pet food. Chicken “meal” is a denser ingredient than regular chicken and ensures the food is high in animal proteins.
The grains in the food are all good choices. We don’t see any rubbish corn or wheat here, we see oatmeal, barley, and brown rice. These are top grains that are as healthy for dogs as they are for humans. It has to be noted we have 2 meat ingredients to four grain ingredients, so it’s likely the bulk of the food favours the grains.
We find chicken fat, whitefish, and even flaxseed in the food, and these go a long way in providing essential nutrients, oils, and omega fatty acids, great for heart health and a glossy coat.
The food is packed with a range of vitamins, minerals, fruits, and veggies, which despite being in small quantities will ensure your dog is getting a decent well-balanced diet.
This is definitely a decent food for a regular dog. As far as grain foods go this is one of the best. If you can afford it the higher protein Wellness CORE is the better food.
Where to buy
Ingredients
Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Oatmeal, Ground Barley, Ground Brown Rice, Rye Flour, Tomato Pomace, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Whitefish, Tomatoes, Carrots, Natural Chicken Flavor, Ground Flaxseed, Ground Millet, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Chloride, Spinach, Vitamins [Vitamin E Supplement, Beta-Carotene, Niacin, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Riboflavin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Biotin, Folic Acid], Minerals [Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Iron Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate], Choline Chloride, Sweet Potatoes, Apples, Blueberries, Chicory Root Extract, Taurine, Mixed Tocopherols added to preserve freshness, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Chondroitin Sulfate, Garlic Powder, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Dried Lactobacillus plantarum Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus casei Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product, Rosemary Extract, Green Tea Extract.
I am a vet tech and it has been researched that grain free diets for small breeds has been connected in causing cardiomyopathy in small breeds. Not sure why grain free diets have become so popular. Most vets I know do not recommend them.
Hi Michelle, the “research” you speak of has long since been dropped due to inconclusive evidence. This can be viewed on the FDA website, and there is more information here. In fact, the theory stemmed from a Dr Lisa Freeman on the payroll of numerous corporate pet food manufacturers who manufacture grain-based pet foods.
Unfortunately the nature of the Internet, viral media, and lack of individual consideration has led to many vets even today still believing this is true researched fact when it isn’t.
The best take-home point I can offer is most dog foods contains as much non-animal ingredients as they are legally allowed, which is more about cost than canine health. The result of this you can assume doesn’t just lead to DCM as a rare condition, but many of the more prevalent conditions in pets such as renal failure, diabetes, or short lifespan.
I feed the wellness core to my two dogs. I did the right thing and introduced the new food very slowly, only a little added at a time. One of my dogs ended up really sick and I had to take him to the vets as he became dehydrated. The vet told me my dog wasn’t the only one they had seen with the same problem. Took them off this food and they both stopped the vomiting.
Hi There, I am giving my dog Wellness Complete Health Fish Dog Food and after two weeks I’ve notice that he is getting sick, like he has a nausea and he is licking his lips as if getting ready to vomit. Also, he is drinking more water than usual! And the most peculiar things is that he is avoiding the food, meaning I’ll feed him at certain times but he is not interested to eat the food until he is really hungry and then he gets bit sick.
I really started to worry, but now I am sure it’s the food, so thank you all:)
It’s really a same as he has a terrible allergies and the food made his coat so beautiful and he is not scratching any more. He is border collie cross 🙂
I used to feed wellness, eagle pack and Holistic Select – all Wellpet brands – to my dogs and never any problems. It is important for owners to remember they need to transition their dogs onto these types of feed slowly as many dogs are very sensitive to rapid changes in diet. Wellpet uses probiotics in their foods which help stimulate digestion which if a dog or cat is not used to may cause a bad reaction. I recommend a 7 – 14 day transition period where the new food is mixed with the old food in increasing amounts. If owners are not properly transitioning their dogs onto new kibble then it could explain pets getting sick.
Wellness CORE also gave my dog diarrhea and vomiting. Switched brands and instantly went away. I will be avoiding this brand in future.
Hi, love your website, thanks for your work on this, it’s completely changed my purchasing decisions. I always thought I was relatively savvy when it came to not falling for marketing, but clearly when it came to purchasing dog food over the last 10 years I’m as gullible as the majority of people. I will be apologising to my dogs.
I’m just wondering what you think of Wellness Simple Limited Ingredient, and how different is it compared to the Wellness Complete Health range? More specifically, as it has less ingredients, does this mean in theory it’s ‘better’ or is it missing out on some essential ingredients re protein, carbs, fat etc?
Hi Nigel – thanks for the feedback 🙂
If your dog doesn’t suffer allergies or intolerances to any ingredients then I’d stick to Wellness Complete Health or CORE. Wellness Simple is still well formulated, but generally they’re lower in fats which your dog will use for energy and nutrition.
I have recently found out that WellPet have some of their products manufactured in Thailand, although they are lines I’ve never fed my dogs, I will not be using any of their products again as I feel a company that does this really doesn’t care about the health of our fur kids. I have fed (& loved) wellness wet & dry since it was first available in Australia.
Hi Sarah, I don’t know if any of their foods or ingredients are sourced from Thailand. It’s possible, many manufacturers do (inc Purina).
Some Thai food manufacturing plants are very high quality. I’d be far more concerned about foodstuffs sourced from China.
Hi there, we are giving Ivory Coat a go, so far so good. Will still use Canidae, Earthborn & ZiwiPeak for the kids as well. Thanks for the website, very informative.
Wellness Core (grain free) made my dog sick.He had diarrhea and was vomiting while on it.It was strange as he was fine with the small bag but as soon as we bought the bigger one he started to be sick.
I have one of my fur family on this food (wellness core small breed). Now I’m wondering whether I should change the food again?! Tried blackhawk grain free and didn’t do so well on. What’s your recommendation for small dog?
Hi Chelley, Wellness have brought out their New “Toy Breed” & the “Small Breed” I’ve been feeding the Small Breed Healthy Weight I prefer kibbles with rice..Most of the Grain free kibbles are Potato & Pea heavy, no good for a yeasty dog also peas & potatoes are high in Lectins…
http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/recipes.aspx?pet=dog&ft=1#Complete
Hi Chelley, Wellness is generally a very good food and I’d have no concerns feeding it, especially if your dog’s happy with it. Any of the foods on the best rated list would be suitable. Some kibbles are larger than others, which may be the only factor for a small dog.