# A Wellness vs. Pro Plan Ramble



## BarefootLena (Oct 18, 2009)

Kimber, my mini aussie, just turned a year old, and weighed 26 pounds at her vet visit last week. She ate Wellness' Just for Puppy the majority of her puppyhood, and now eats the Complete Health chicken recipe. I top it with a spoonfull or two of the grain free canned lamb, chicken, or turkey that Wellness carries. Kimber has never been an over-zealous eater, but she cleans her bowl. She's always on the lean side, though. Not skinny, but between helping me with the cattle and horses, regular swimming, and running about after my 7 year old son, she gets a lot of exercise. Increasing the amount of food doesn't seem to help, as she won't eat more than a certain portion. Her hair coat looks and feels great, she doesn't smell, and other than her being a little leaner than I'd like, I can't complain. 

Several weeks ago, Kimber went to stay with my mother in law. MIL has a german shepherd female that eats Pro Plan. I did take Kimber's own food, but while there she wouldn't touch it. She did, however, eat the GSD's food like it was the greatest thing she'd ever had. MIL didn't try to force her to eat her own food, and let her eat the Pro Plan. When I went to visit Kimber, she looked great. Shiny hair coat, stools small and firm, and her weight was better. Not fat, but just a trace of rib when I ran my hands down her side. MIL's GSD always looks good, and while I don't personally choose to feed Pro Plan, I know plenty of dogs that do well on it.

I guess my random thoughts and observations are making me question whether Kimber would be doing better if she were on Pro Plan. But just saying that makes me squirm! She got as much, if not more, exercise while she was with my MIL, so I know inactivity wasn't the cause of her slight weight gain. I did a ton of research before settling on Wellness, both in reading and experimenting with a few other foods. I know that Wellness is a good food. My concern, though, is that maybe it isn't the best food for Kimber. 

Does any one have any ideas, or similar experiences, that they'd like to share?


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## theyogachick (Aug 2, 2009)

I am currently going through this with my puppy, Gracie. She is on Wellness and she is not super interested in it, either. She will eat when she is hungry enough, but she is never really excited to eat. The only time she was excited? When she was on Iams puppy in the first few weeks we had her as we transitioned to a new food.

Do I want Gracie on Iams? Heck no. Does she like Wellness? Nope. Is Wellness a good food? Yep. But, if she doesn't eat it, is she really getting the benefits?

What flavor was the Pro-Plan? What flavor is the Wellness? I know Gracie prefers lamb over chicken...maybe the flavor had something to do with it.

It could have been, too, that it was just something different. I know that Gracie (Gizmo, too) is very excited about a new food for the first few days but that wanes after a while.

What is boils down to is this--you need to find a quality kibble that you feel comfortable feeding your dog. Sometimes research isn't everything. I would just stay away from anything with corn or "by-products" as an ingredient (my personal opinion).

I am looking for a new food for Gracie. I think when this bag of Wellness is nearly gone, I will try TOTW...


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## Jacksons Mom (Mar 12, 2010)

theyogachick said:


> I am currently going through this with my puppy, Gracie. She is on Wellness and she is not super interested in it, either. She will eat when she is hungry enough, but she is never really excited to eat. The only time she was excited? When she was on Iams puppy in the first few weeks we had her as we transitioned to a new food.
> 
> Do I want Gracie on Iams? Heck no. Does she like Wellness? Nope. Is Wellness a good food? Yep. But, if she doesn't eat it, is she really getting the benefits?
> 
> ...


Jackson also acts like Pedigree, or Purina, etc is the best thing on earth the few times he's gotten a hold of it. My family members pretty much all feed their dogs that stuff (but I don't consider them totally healthy, they're both overweight, itchy, ear problems, smelly dog problems, major shedding, non shiny coat, etc) so whenever I visit, Jackson always finds their bowl. I've let him eat some (not insane amounts, I don't want him to get sick) but I look at it like McDonald's to us. It's sooo good when we get it, but sooo bad for us. Dogs can't rationalize, obviously, and of course they're gonna choose what tastes best, but that doesn't mean it's best for them. I dunno, just my thoughts. 

It took me forever to find a food Jackson seemed to enjoy eating. He was 8 months old when we found NV Instinct and he loved it. He ate it for a good 8-9 months before we switched to Acana (he gained a bit of weight on NV, you may wanna try it if you're trying to up her weight?) He's currently eating Acana Grasslands and Go! Endurance and seems to really enjoy both and does well.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Willow didn't do well on Wellness. Too low in fat, maybe? If you're not comfortable with ProPlan, maybe there's a food with similar fat/protein levels but better ingredients.


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## Mr. V (Jan 28, 2010)

I'm sure plenty will chime in to bash the crap out of Pro Plan, but, I've known many clients that were breeders and single dog owners that had great, lifelong results on Pro Plan. Go with what works for your dog, there's no magic food or gold standard when it comes to feeding.


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## Masterjedi688 (Apr 27, 2009)

Well after reading all the posts, maybe Kimber who is a very active dog, herding and chasing after your son etc...needs a food that is for active dogs. Is the Wellness dog food she was on for Active(working/herding) dogs? Dogs the are used for herding/hunting/retrieving etc... are high energy dogs who require a dog food that can give them the calories they need what they burn them off by running and dodging etc.. Does the Pro Plan have a formula for high energy dogs? If it does, go for it. I agree with Mr. V: Go with what works for your dog. I'm not sure what brands provide the extra calories/energy for working/herding/hunting breeds, but there out there. alittle Research may be required here. Good Luck and tell Kimber Happy Birthday.


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## Hallie (Nov 9, 2008)

I don't like pro plan just because Hallie gained so much weight when I was just mixing it in with Orijen. She LOVES it though. When I take her to visit dogs at the Animal Shelter she'll still the Pedigree, Beneful, etc that's in their bowls. What can I say? My girl loves junk food. If you want to try pro plan there's nothing wrong with it. In fact, I think Pro Plan has a 'selects' variety that doesn't contain corn, just one selects variety I know the other 'selects' contain it. At my store it's only avaliable in the big bags but it's still something to look into if the high levels of corn bother you. If Kimber does good on it that's really all that matters. It all depends on the dog.


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## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

If you think she could do better than she is on the Wellness then maybe try changing things. You could look for something similar to ProPlan but you like better ingredient wise. Just try things out a while. 

The 'best' dog food is not always the best for your dog. My dogs all do TERRIBLE on Orijen. Beau does best on foods I've been told are too grainy. But it's what he does best on.


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## Angel's_mom (May 26, 2010)

How about trying something like Blue Buffalo, Diamond Naturals, something along those lines? 

My dog ate my MIL's dog's Nutro lamb and rice like it was candy when they came to visit. But I had my last dog on Nutro lamb and rice, and she ate my neighbor's dog's Pedigree like it was candy. Maybe it's just because it's something different. But if you like her weight better on the Pro Plan, I'd try switching her food.


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## BarefootLena (Oct 18, 2009)

Thank you to everyone who replied. I've decided to get a small bag of Pro Plan, and see how Kimber eats it at home. I'm don't want to give up the Wellness, but if combining the two will help her in the weight department, I'm willing to try it. I've tried offering her Blue Buffalo and Chicken Soup in the past, but she turned her nose up at them. Our PetSmart has a wide selection of Pro Plan products, including a performance line. If I can find a small bag of that, we'll try it, but if not I'll try the food my MIL's GSD is on. I'll keep you posted on what we discover.


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## Jacksons Mom (Mar 12, 2010)

BarefootLena said:


> Thank you to everyone who replied. I've decided to get a small bag of Pro Plan, and see how Kimber eats it at home. I'm don't want to give up the Wellness, but if combining the two will help her in the weight department, I'm willing to try it. I've tried offering her Blue Buffalo and Chicken Soup in the past, but she turned her nose up at them. Our PetSmart has a wide selection of Pro Plan products, including a performance line. If I can find a small bag of that, we'll try it, but if not I'll try the food my MIL's GSD is on. I'll keep you posted on what we discover.


Good luck! I know how the food challenge can be, and finding the right food for your dog! Let us know how it goes.


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## Angel's_mom (May 26, 2010)

Also, as far as the weight goes, I thought of a couple more things. My dog gained weight on TOTW Wetlands formula. She didn't need to though. LOL. AND Earthborn Holistic has like 717 calories per cup. My dog loves it, but I just mix it in with her Wellness Core. She had a sample bag of TOTW Prairie and ate it like it was the first meal she'd had in days.


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## Fresh Paint (Jul 27, 2010)

Angel's_mom said:


> Also, as far as the weight goes, I thought of a couple more things. My dog gained weight on TOTW Wetlands formula. She didn't need to though. LOL. AND Earthborn Holistic has like 717 calories per cup. My dog loves it, but I just mix it in with her Wellness Core. She had a sample bag of TOTW Prairie and ate it like it was the first meal she'd had in days.


Dog's are funny like that!  But, ya gotta love 'em!


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## kimrisa (Jan 9, 2010)

It's not just you. My E. Bulldog had loose poop wih All Natural foods (wellness, c. natural, Fromm, Natural Balance LID.) The only food that gave him good poop was Puria One. He gained well and his coat and energy were great on the food. Now, unfortunately he's having bad face rashes (maybe from juvenile acne or perhaps the corn byproducts) so I'm looking to give a higher end food another shot. Unfortunately there is no easy answer...

GOOD LUCK!


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