Wellness Dog Food Reviews, Ingredients, Recall History and Our Rating

Finding the right food has quickly become a nightmare. There are more brands on the market than you can reasonably count, and the product variations are mesmerizing – grain-fee, reduced fat, limited ingredients, exotic protein, and so on.

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We’re here to simplify matters with our unbiased guides to the best and worst pet food brands out there. You just sit back, take it all in, and then decide what’s right for you and your dog.

Here’s our look at Wellness Dog Food reviews, ingredient quality, recall history, company info and more.

At a Glance: 3 Formulas Featuring Heavily in our Wellness Dog Food Review

• Wellness CORE Natural Grain Free
• Wellness Simple Natural Limited Ingredient
• Wellness TruFood Baked Blends

Note: The links above take you to more information, current prices and customer reviews on Chewy.

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Our Overview

Wellness offers a wide variety of premium-grade wet and dry dog food. They have selections suitable for dogs of many different sizes and stages in life, as well as for varying nutritional and allergy requirements.

The company claims to use nothing but quality ingredients, avoiding the following in favor of wholesome, natural foods and supplements:

• GMOs
• Fillers
• By-products

A wide range of size options is available to suit your buying habits. This is not the most expensive brand on the market, but it is far from being a bargain brand.

Wellness projects a very good corporate image with attractive and comprehensive websites that include a consumer feedback feature. They also have a YouTube channel with a lot of interesting content.

Here's what you need to know:

After researching the company, one comes away with the feeling they can be trusted. They certainly seem to have a large group of brand adherents, and those who purchase their products seem highly satisfied far more often than not. We, like many others, do recommend this pet food.

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Who Makes Wellness Dog Food and Where is it Made?

Wellness dog food is made by Wellpet LLC, an umbrella company headquartered near Boston, Massachusetts. The company sprang from an earlier dog biscuit manufacturer called Old Mother Hubbard, which itself began from a bakery founded in 1873. Wellness has existed as a brand since 1997.

In addition to an extensive line of dog food, Wellness also sells a cat food line. Other Wellpet brands include Old Mother Hubbard, Holistic Select, Eagle Pack, and Sojo’s.

Wellness Dog Food Ingredients

These the ingredients for Wellness CORE's Original Formula, quoted from WellnessPetFood.com:

Deboned Turkey, Turkey Meal, Chicken Meal, Peas, Potatoes, Dried Ground Potatoes, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Tomato Pomace, Chicken Liver, Natural Chicken Flavor, Ground Flaxseed, Salmon Oil, Spinach, Vitamin E Supplement, Broccoli, Carrots, Choline Chloride, Parsley, Apples, Blueberries, Kale, Sweet Potatoes, Taurine, Mixed Tocopherols added to preserve freshness, Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Chondroitin Sulfate, Calcium Carbonate, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Iron Proteinate, Beta-Carotene, Vitamin A Supplement, Copper Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Manganese Sulfate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Sodium Selenite, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Chicory Root Extract, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Biotin, Calcium Iodate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), 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, Spearmint Extract.

Discussion of Most Important Ingredients - Good and Bad

The ingredients in Wellness CORE dry dog food are generally favorable, although there are a couple that may be worth singling out for further discussion.

But first, the good:

And the not-so-good:

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Wellness CORE Dog Food Guaranteed Analysis

Quoted from WellnessPetFood.com

• Crude Protein (Min) 34.00%
• Crude Fat (Min) 16.00%
• Crude Fiber (Max) 4.00%
• Moisture (Max) 10.00%
• Calcium (Max) 2.00%
• Phosphorus (Max) 1.40%
• Vitamin E (Min) 400 IU/kg
• Omega-6 Fatty Acids* (Min) 3.25%
• Omega-3 Fatty Acids* (Min) 0.50%
• Glucosamine* (Min) 250 mg/kg
• Chondroitin Sulfate* (Min) 200 mg/kg
• Beta-Carotene* (Min) 5 mg/kg

*Not recognized as an essential nutrient by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles.

This offering from the CORE line of products contains a blend of protein sources including turkey and chicken, and also adds in salmon oil and a mix of fruits and vegetables. There are no fillers or meat by-product listed among the ingredients, neither are there artificial ingredients of any sort.

It’s a blend especially for adult dogs, and Wellness warns it is so palatable that your dog may try to eat more than its share. It is available in a range of sizes from 4 to 26 Pounds, which is great for the consumer; you can choose your size based on the size and quantity of dogs you’re feeding.

The ingredients list a wide variety of nutrient sources, making this an apparently very healthy choice for your dog. Feeding this should provide a well-balanced diet suitable to a dog without any specific health or wellness issues.

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From the Simple line of dog food products, this formula lives up to its name, having noticeably fewer ingredients than many other Wellness offerings. This particular blend has just one source of protein, namely turkey. This may help for anyone trying to isolate an allergy, or simply eliminate red meat from the dog’s diet.

Pay attention if your dog is a sensitive one:

The lack of gluten and grains of any kind should be of benefit to dogs with sensitive stomachs. Non-meat ingredients are also kept to a minimum; there are no berries or fruits, save for tomato pomace. There seem to more than enough supplements to make up for their absence, however.

Owners may appreciate the variety of bag sizes, it being available in 4.5, 10.5, and 26 pound bags. It is marginally higher in calories than the CORE blend described above, but not enough to make weight gain a concern.

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The TruFood Blends are available in a variety of flavor profiles, and each one combines a dizzying array of readily identifiable ingredients. Dog owners who prefer a more natural approach to nutrition will appreciate seeing lentils, flaxseed, pumpkin, ginger and more listed on the side of the bag.

Being able to choose from chicken, lamb and salmon-based formulas allow the chance to vary the diet, or find a favorite and stick with it. The line also includes wet foods and treats made in the same all-natural manner.

Bag size is limited to either 3 pounds or 18 pounds, but this may be good enough for many people. The kibble is baked, and Wellness touts that TruFood blends have 70% more raw protein than typical kibble.

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CONS: