Wellness Puppy Food

[confused2082]

Any advise or thoughts on Wellness. Is it worth double the price of regular food?

 

[inhissight]

@confused2082 Define "regular" dog food? If it's a choice between wellness and Pedigree or ol' roy, then yes the price is worth it. If it's a choice between wellness and another decent, middle-grade food though, then double the price is not worth it.

In general, nutrition is important, yes. It will affect your pup's health and behavior. You don't have to get wellness or any other particular brand, but do read the ingredients and look for real food ingredients (e.g. meats, vegetables, potatoes or whole grains) rather than bs filler (e.g. corn gluten meal, by-products).

Protip: check the calorie count. Sometimes the more "expensive" foods actually don't cost that much more, because they are more calorie-dense so you need to feed less.

For example, around me, I can find an excellent dog food (e.g. orijen, Instinct) for around $65-70. I can find a decent food (e.g. taste of the wild, Innova) for around $45-50. I can find a middle-grade big brand food (e.g. purina pro plan, Science Diet) for $35-40. Dog chow, Pedigree, et al are cheaper, but they're so cheap for a reason. The ingredients are kinda crappy.

My dog ate 2.5 cups/day of purina pro plan and only 1.25 cups/day of Orijen, so for us it costs almost exactly the same to feed those two foods even though Orijen costs double per pound. Just something to keep in mind.

 

[chrissyboy]

@inhissight This is great advice. I used to pay $50 for a lower quality brand, now I spend $80 same size bag--but I used to have to feed 2 cup/day of the older brand and now feed 1 cup a day of the new brand!

 

[inhissight]

@chrissyboy Plus, less food means less poop. That's especially nice for dogs and puppies who aren't 100% house trained yet. Less frequent urges to go means less of a chance of accidents.

 

[akadascribe]

@confused2082 Probably the cheapest, good quality food out there is Taste of the Wild. Next to that would probably be Wellness or Fromm. You have to remember that this is actually extremely cheap compared to most human foods, especially fast foods. You might be paying double, but the quality is increasing a hundred-fold.

 

[hgfdfvnjjjjjjjjggff]

@confused2082 This site is a good resource for dog food info, and the 5 or 6 instances where I researched other sources to confirm their claims, they came through as legit, so the info seems pretty reliable.

I haven't done research on the Wellness brands that aren't grain-free, so I can't comment on those, but I've been feeding my dog Wellness Core for the last year. He had been on Science Diet (blech) at the shelter, then I put him on Blue Buffalo for about 9 mod, but he just spit out those tiny "LifeSource Bits" all over my apartment and I was tired of cleaning them up so I switched to the Core. Additionally, he had been eating grass nearly every time I took him outside, so I wondered if he was having digestive upset. Vet said it probably wasn't a major issue, but I could try some grain-free if I wanted to.

He is doing really well on the grain-free Core. It isn't cheap, but he eats less volume and poops far less than he did on the Science Diet that the shelter gave me when I took him home, and less of each on the Core as opposed to the Blue Buffalo, too. He's the ideal weight for his frame at 40 lbs and has a pretty moderate-to-high activity level, he eats free-feed and averages just under 2 cups a day. The $60 bag lasts me about two months, which isn't too bad in my book. He doesn't eat grass any more and seems to be the picture of perfect health, normal, healthy poops, shiny coat, good energy…

I've heard rave reviews of Costco's grain-free dog food. My sister is part of a forum for people who have rescue hounds like hers, and everyone on there says the Costco brand is fantastic and much less expensive than other grain-free, so that is another option. Do your own research, though, because without a Costco membership, I haven't so much as even seen an ingredients list, so you'll have to check that out first.