Side by Side Comparison of: Taste of the Wild vs Wellness Natural Pet Food

I can't reccomend this food enough. I have 2 very picky English Springer Spaniels and have tried several different dog foods. As puppies they were eating Merrick puppy, became bored with that so we tried Purina ProPlan puppy which my male had a skin reaction to (his fine hair around his eyes began falling out in patches). They were old enough to transition to an adult formula so after hours of research I settled upon Orijen Regional Red. After a few months they just had no interest in eating unless it had steak or chicken in it. We then tried Merrick Texas beef and went through the same routine. So I gave this a shot and they actually like it. They have been on it for over a year and do get occasional chicken or steak, but will eat it plain. Lately I have been putting The Wellness Core air dried original formula as a topper. It is just a very good quality food. The only problem I have had with delivery is that I was sent a 26lb bag that was not properly sealed at the bottom. there was dog food all over the box. But it should have never been sent with this problem. Amazon sent another bag right away. I am hoping for better quality control.

 We were feeding our dog I-Vet her whole life. She had brittle nails forever. Lately she began breaking her nails to the quick. One nail had to be removed by our Vet. We started searching for the reason why a dogs nails were brittle. One reason is bad diet. Long story short the problem was her diet. I-Vet is not a high quality food like Wellness Core. It contained lots of empty carbs like corn and grains. We gave Wellness Core a shot and now her nails are healing as they grow out. They are look like they did when she was a puppy. Plus, her coat is more shiny. We highly recommend this food and plan on taking advantage of the reorder discount. I made a video about it that I linked above. I hope this review helped. Our dog loves the food.

I'm a big believer in premium dog food because I never have vet bills and my dogs are so healthy. This is the best dog food I have ever found. It beats Blue Buffalo hands-down. My lab and labradoodle absolutely go nuts for breakfast and dinner! Their black coats are so shiny they almost appear iridescent in the sunlight!! I get compliments everywhere I go asking me what the secret is. Absolutely gorgeous coats!! It's pricey but definitely worth it. I would highly recommend it.

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!

I've been feeding this to my miniature pinscher for about 6 months now. His coat is shiny, I've noticed that his eyes are less leaky and he doesn't seem to be suffering as many allergy symptoms as he used to. He loves the food and always finished his bowl. I recommend this dog food.

I recently bought a Toy Yorkie, this will be my third fur baby. I brought her home and slowly switched her over to Royal Canin for Yorkshire Terrier puppies. Within a week her eyes were tearing so bad I was washing her face in the morning and at night.A few days later she started developing bad constipation and would cry when she had to poo. I took her to the vet and got no help, since they endorse Royal Canin and Eukanuba, breed specific formula's. I got a second, third and fourth opinion and they all recommended switching to a hypoallergenic food/grain free. Been there, done that... It didn't work.I finally found a holistic vet that recommended Wellness Core because it did not contain Beet Pulp. She stated that beet pulp is used as a filler/stool hardener and is found in most premium brands. It can cause tear staining and other digestive problems. Out of curiosity I headed to my local PetsMart to look at ingredients in all the premium dog foods. Sure enough beet pulp was found in all of them. Out of 20+ varieties of puppy food I only found 3 foods that contained no beet pulp.I bought a small bag to try for month. Her constipation was gone the first week. The watery eyes totally stopped around the third week. I was terrified I bought a sick puppy, since she was Toy and inherently can have a lot of heath problems. It has been 2 months since I switched her to Core. She is healthy, playful and full of energy. Her silky coat is gorgeous and no longer dry and brittle.After spending 300+ dollars on vet bills. It was a very hard lesson, learned. I have switched all my dogs over to Core and they all seem to have more energy, clear eyes and a healthy coat.I am grateful Amazon carries the large bag since it is a huge savings compared to the price at any chain pet store.I will continue to buy this product and recommend it to any new puppy owners.

This is good quality dog food that we have been giving to our furry friends for some time. It's grain-free and the dogs seem happy to have it. The only reason I didn't give it five stars is that I have no personal experience of the taste. It's also a little expensive but, grain-free and that my dogs like it makes it worth the cost.

the only reason i gave it a 4 star is due to the color of the packaging. For some reason it is discolored. I don't know if it has been in the sun for unlimited time or what the reasoning is. I am going to order one more time after this bag is empty and see if it happens again, if it has the same outcome I will not reorder. Just FYI, for anyone interested

My dogs seem to like this food. It's grain free, which is good as we think our geriatric dachshund has a grain sensitivity or allergy since she gets terrible itchies, and it seemed to abate with grain free food. It's anecdotal I know. It's not poorly priced for what seems to be quality food.

Sasha loves the food. She is a picky eater but she likes this food. My vet tried to get me to use Science Diet low fat due to her history of pancreatitis but it caused more GI issues due to the sub par ingredients. You would not believe the junk they place into some dog foods! This food is 110% better. Very high quality ingredients!

We are a little picky when it comes to dog food. We have to be, one of our boys has a very sensitive stomach and throws up if he eats inferior ingredients.We were on a different dog food for years until he started throwing up. Upon research, I found that the manufacturers had changed the ingredients but kept the price.After a lot of searching and reading labels, we found Wellness CORE.My two boys love the Wellness CORE brand. And I have a lot of faith in the company and the ingredients they use. Our neighborhood Poop scooper says our boys have the best Poop in the neighborhood.Lastly, use the subscription option! It has changed our lives!

I've been feeding this to my dog for 2 years. She's not a picky eater and she eats this kibble with steamed chicken breast, carrots and yams. I recently read the ingredients and was surprised by how long the list was. There are other dry kibbles that have less of a list so, I would do your research. I decided on this brand because of the 3rd party website online that rates dog foods. This brand was right up there as one of the best they would recommend. So far so good...I may switch at some point just to give her a variety.

My dogs ate it but only after it sat out for awhile. I'm back to giving them Blue Basic, which they love. I was just trying to save some money but it wasn't what they want. I'm sure it's a good brand but not for us.

the size is perfect for small and toy dogs, and this is the second time that I have even this one a try. It is available at the local big box pet stores, so would be so convenient to buy when needed. There is just one rather significant problem...none of my kibble eating dogs like it. I have mixed it slowly with their regular food. They would pick though and leave the tiny little triangles of Wellness. Then I would try increasing the Welness core, again, they ate their current kibble, leaving the Wellness. I had tried other flavors in the past with the same results. The only ones that will eat this are my daughter's Dobie and one of my girls(both of whom were adopted stray originally from the shelters. They eat anything! With the others They even picked though it the I tried I mixing it with a canned food of one of their favorite taste of the wild flavors, when they will scarf down any other current ones with the canned food mix. My only conclusion here is that this is not one they will eat willinglySo I guess try it, it does rate more stars than the Iams and Baneful tyre brands and it is grains free, but did not excite my other guys to eat it once they tasted some that I hand few them, they wanted nothing more to do with it.If this has anything to do with it, there was very little smell, where the TOTW, Canadae grain free and Instinct have very noticeable smells.

BE CAREFUL!!!!if too long skip to the last paragraphProduct:AMAZING. My dog had medical issues that couldn't be figured out and needed a diet change. Been on this food since she was 2. No more issues. She's loved it for the last 5 years.BUYING THROUGH AMAZON:Both good and bad experience. Bought it once or twice a year ago and had no issues. Bag perfectly sealed up and good to go. Bought it again recently. Bag had a slice in it. I doubted myself and thought maybe I had done it while opening the bag with scissors. My dog had a vomiting issue since I started her on the food. Vomiting ALL the time and ALL of the undigested food she was eating. Nothing else changed. She doesn't get treats either. Perfect health otherwise. I stopped giving her the food that came from the ripped bag and she's been back to normal since.CAREFULLY CHECK THE BAG ONCE ITS DELIVERED FOR ANY HOLES, SLICES, ETC. If there is anything wrong, tell Amazon immediately and get a new bag!

Although the ingredient list for this food is high quality it does not agree with one of my dogs. I mixed foods for several days and expected an adjustment period but my female persisted with loose stools at a high frequency. I noticed more stomach grumbling and gassiness from her as well although the other dog had none of these issues. At a eight days plus post switch she actually started having accidents in the house in the middle of the night. She is understandably lackluster and I'm feeling a bit guilty for putting her through this food experiment. I'm also pretty unhappy with standing out on the lawn all night. We will return to her old grain free food pronto. It's worth noting my other dog likes this food ( although honestly he has never met a kibble he didn't like) and had no issues with the switch so your dog might thrive on Wellness Core.

I bought this food after doing a lot of research on a better food for my two little dogs, a Yorkie and a Chihuahua. I wanted my dogs to love this product because it seems like a quality food but they wouldn't even eat it. I started out by slowing mixing small amounts of it into their existing food like you're supposed to but they would somehow fish everything out of their bowls except this food. I tried wetting it a little to soften it up and make a tasty gravy out of it but that didn't work either. The final straw came when I bought another new food for them and set them side by side and they immediately ate the other food. The other food by the way was the Bil Jac brand. One important note that I found out and thought maybe some of you other folks may want to know is that Amazon does not accept dog food back on return. I searched everywhere on their site and couldn't find anything about returns on dog food but they said since it's a grocery item they don't accept it. That would be fine and all but my dog may consider it a grocery item however I do not. It isn't even stored under the grocery section of their site so you can see how I was surprised to hear that it wouldn't be refunded. On top of that the Wellness brand has a money back guarantee on their bag that says you can return it for any reason to the place of purchase. In the end I was able to get a refund because of this but I wouldn't gamble on doing it again.

I recently had a problem with this food. I have 2 dogs, a 12 lb Shih-poo & a 24lb Jack Russell Shih Tzu mix. The little one had a terrible bout with diarrhea in August. Went to the vet, stool samples for worms etc were neg. She was put on an antibiotic, & I cooked up a chicken & sweet potato meal for 10 days. She seemed fine until the diarrhea returned with a vengeance mid Sept. & she was not getting any better on the antibiotics this time. A week into the treatment I took her off the Core Original Formula & again cooked up a chicken & sweet potato regimen that I will continue with for about 10 days while I re-introduce her to the Wellness Simple Limited Ingredient Diet for Dogs Salmon & Potato. The diarrhea stopped immediately! I have fed grain-free since they were pups. I am doing a gradual change over for the 24# dog as well, I want them to both be on the same food. The larger dog never had any problem with the Wellness Core, so I'm thinking the little one may have a sensitive stomach, or there was something in the Core Original that disagreed with her. It will take about 2 weeks for the changeover so I will report back when I see the results of switching over to the Wellness Simple.

It arrived with a small puncture hole in the bag. I placed a piece of packing tape to seal it over. This was the first bag of dog food we fed to our dog so I wasn't even sure what the kibble should look like or smell like. He would eat it but only with lots of encouragement but didn't go crazy over it despite adding warm water. We decided to try it again (because this food is highly rated on dogfoodadvisor.com) and instead ordered from Petco and the kibble is a much darker, richer in color and has more of a chicken odor and he seems to be eating it a lot better. I feel like Amazon may have sent us a spoiled or stale bag (based on the puncture hole) in the bag. We will not be ordering anymore dog food from Amazon. However, we will stick to this wellness core puppy dry kibble for now (just purchasing from a more reputable seller).

I ordered bags of this and found mold in three out of four bags I received. Had to toss all out. Thank goodness my dogs refused to eat it.

My dog liked this food a lot. Unfortunately I noticed after the first few days on it, his eyes became very irritated and they drained every day, staining his adorable face and leaving goopy, sticky stuff at the corners of his eyes, which indicates that he was allergic some some ingredients. I figure it was the wild boar because my dog had never eaten any kind of pork product before, but in reality it could have been another ingredient as well. Other's have said they had mold issues, maybe there was a little bit of mold i couldn't see? either way, I fed my dog Core puppy food, and he liked it but never LOVED it. I feel bad because he really loved this food. I'm switching to Nutrisca Chicken for a while, because he really likes it, too, but eventually I will come back to Core and stick with the turkey and chicken flavor to see if that treats him any better.

It was good at first, but the last bag I bought apparently went rancide. My dog stopped eating it completely about half way thru the bag, he was moapy and not wanting to do much, even on walks he was less active and coming home after two hour hikes not touching his food at all. Which has never been the case before. He refused to touch it for three days straight.He loved it at first, but buying thru Amazon apparently leaves the possibility of this product sitting too long on a shelf and going bad. So I am once again buying locally for my pet store & McGruff couldn't be happier.

We usually buy the whitefish food for our dogs, a yorkie and a lab... They both like the whitefish and never experience any digestive problems. Since we have had good luck with Wellness Core before, we thought that switching up the flavor might be a nice treat for the dogs but were we wrong. Both of the girls (neither of which have sensitive stomachs) were very uncomfortable on this particular food. We of course mixed the new food with the old to slowly introduce the new flavor but overall it was a bad experience for them. We are not sure if this was just a bad bag (which is possible) we may try again at a later date.

just got my 8 week old black lab who was being fed IAMS large breed puppy formula and doing great. I started to slowly introduce wellness core and the runs started. After 4 days on a 80/20 mix she got very sick. I switched back to IAMS. Returned this product. Just remember the more meat the more bacteria and steroids. I think a balanced diet is the best choice so I'm sticking with IAMS.

4 month old puppy vomited the few pieces I gave to her . She refused to eat it and started eating again when I gave her Royal Canin breed specific food again. My vet says the recommended amount for feeding is way too much for a 4lb 4 month old puppy. I'll never trust recommendations from dog food sellers who intentionally recommend a greater amount than needed to boost their food sales.This was also explained to me by my vet . I hate wasting dog food , but my 2 older dogs ate refusing it too! 😡

Switched out 1.5 year old aussiedoodle to this food after seeing its great ratings, but she has had serious digestive issues since the switch. Vomiting, diarrhea and just generally acting like she feels bad. We will be switching back to Avoderm.

Our two dogs have been on this food for about 4 years and had been pleased enough to recommend it. It was rated well and seemed to be a good quality food. We noticed a change in the food a while back and then our boy, who is the more finicky eater, started turning his nose up to it towards the end of the bag for the past couple months. They both have had a couple random episodes of vomiting for no apparent reason recently, but not so much to cause alarm. We had the food on subscribe and save with Amazon, which was great...Until our last, and I mean last, delivery. Upon opening the bag we found obvious and extensive mold. I promptly contacted Amazon, while my husband went to our local pet food store. He was told Wellness was under new ownership, though quick research on the internet didn't reveal anything. We are trying the new food they recommended, but are still researching a new alternative. Meanwhile, Amazon was great at refunding us our purchase price. Now in looking through the negative reviews, this was not an isolated incident. We thought we had a brand we could trust. It's so disappointing.

I purchases this for my dog and his hair began to fall out in clumps in his hind quarters. This has never ever happened in 10 years. He has eaten Beneful and I am trying to change him to something a lot healthier. Unfortunately it will not be Wellness Core