Wellness CORE Grain-Free High-Protein Dry Dog Food, Made in USA with Real Meat & Natural Ingredients, All Breeds, Adult Dogs (Turkey & Chicken, 26-lb) With Nutrients for Immune, Skin, & Coat Support

…or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the CORE.
I am a dog owner and dog trainer with a thirst for knowledge. When I first started hunting for a great dog food I did my research and began with Blue Buffalo. I tried a number of premium brands and formulas before this came out and nothing, including the regular line by this brand, can hold a candle to CORE. It’s not the most affordable, but at least in MN, I can’t find a better price for this. If you can get the subscribe and save discount this food is a steal!My dogs are constantly observed as extremely healthy by vets and trainers alike. They have noticeably softer coats since switching them to CORE and less skin issues. I also no longer deal with frequent gas – something several premium brands caused.If you’re still not sold, here are some guiding principles for why this food is great and how to shop for quality dog food. Everyone has a budget, but try to find one you can afford with the best of these:- The first ingredients should always be meat. Just like human labels, the first ingredients comprise the largest quantities within the product.- Lamb and then chicken tend to be most digestible for most dogs.- Meal is like a protein powder made by rendering down a stew-like mixture to maximum potency. It contains more protein than meat alone by eliminating water per ounce. That said, not all meal is created equal. Make sure the source is specified. Simply saying “poultry meal” can mean it came from any source they could find and usually that means varying degrees of quality.- Avoid grains as they can irritate many dogs stomachs. You want potatoes, oats, and/or brown rice for fiber and carbs. If you see “brewers rice” on a label, it shouldn’t be in the top five ingredients (or at all for me). It’s a cheaply obtained processed carb and a filler.- Flaxseed and fish oils are great for skin and coat. I used to supplement my dog food with salmon oil in winter, but it hasn’t been necessary since they started this food. Mentioning the source of the fish oil indicates its quality, just like the meal source.- I like a food with few antioxidant ingredients in it, such as blueberries and broccoli. Healthy for us, healthy for them. That’s just my opinion though. I treat with the fresh stuff when I can.- That list of vitamins at the end? It’s your dog’s daily multi vitamin. Glucosamine is important to joint health for any size, age, or weight. This product has natural preservatives, which is my preference where possible for their diet and my own.- Protein percentage! Vets say stay above 15% for a normal adult dog; my goal is closer to 25% or 30%. If your dog is very active, that should be your goal too; however, even if your dog isn’t that active a higher protein content is fine. Early research used to claim it could cause renal failure, but that research has long been debunked.Don’t believe me? Do the research yourself. Don’t trust the word of food reps, breeders, or even many vets. Most haven’t paid attention to nutrition science, it’s advances, or have an agenda of their own. Even a well meaning vet may not know some of this and be operating on outdated common knowledge.Never transition your dog’s food all at once. Pay attention to their unique reaction to a new food over the first few weeks at 100% of it. Pay attention to their stool and frequency of bowl movements. Watch for weight fluctuations. New food means you may have to increase or decrease their volume per meal. Each dog has unique needs and sensitivities, just like we do, so even a great food may not be great for your dog.I hope this helps!

Great product for dogs that can handle the high protein
In short, our experience has been that this is awesome food for adult years.Two dogs:Male GSD on Core from five years old to 10-1/2 years old.Female Rottie, On a mix of 1ea 26lbs bag Core and 1ea 35lbs bag Canidae All Life Stages formula at five years old, still on it at seven years old.All dogs are different, so your results may vary.Took a bit more than 9 days for a smooth transition for the GSD, with a bit of loose stool during the transition (off Purina One).The Rottie, had no problems, and made the switch in an easy 7 days.For the GSD senior years, it is too much protein.GSD eats about 2.5 cups a day.Rottie eats over 4 cups a day.Fed Super-Mutt (the GSD) on this for about 7 years, until he was 10-1/2. He did great on it for all that time. Great coat, firm stool, easy to maintain weight, and great blood tests at his yearly check-ups. We were extremely active, with daily runs and walks, play at the park, etc. But digestibility was always a bit on the low side. If I cut the volume of food down, he would loose weight before any noticeable decrease in stool size.I could also use the kibble for training, as he really liked the flavor.My Girl Friend’s Rottie is on a mix of this with Canidae All Life Stages. She is a high drive, work-aholic! Honest, you would be hard pressed to find a more active dog. She does amazingly well on this. Stunningly beautiful coat, great digestibility, easily maintained weight. She has been on this mix for about 2 years now, and she is seven. No kidney issues with high protein, but we will watch as she ages. Her focus, and attention seems more rock solid too on this mix…At Super-Mutts yearly check-up (when he was 10-1/2) we noticed kidney functions were out of whack. So as a test I switched him to a senior food (Chicken Soup for the Soul), this is much lower protein. This change brought his kidney functions back to normal, and digestibility is better. So he is enjoying his senior years on “senior food”.Hth,

Best dog food but little expensive

This is the first time I bought this brand. I received this bag on Oct 25, 2024 and the Best Before Date is Oct 30, 2024. I’m disappointed because I pay extra for high quality food for my dog and I ended up with a bag that may have been sitting on a shelf for a long time.