# Wellness Core- new grain free food!



## luvntzus (Mar 16, 2007)

I'm REALLY excited about this food!  I've been wanting to feed a grain free food for awhile, but I'm not comfortable with the very high protein and fat in most grain free foods. EVO and Nature's Variety Instinct both have 42% protein, 22% fat. Timberwolf Organics has 2 grain free formulas that have moderate protein and fat, but Wild and Natural smells like cow manure and Ocean Blue is fishy, so both of those are out for me.  

Core has 34% protein, 14% fat. I think those are great percentages. Much better than the average 24-26% protein which I think is a little on the low side and 42% which IMO is TOO high. The ingredients in Core are awesome too! Besides the ingredients that _cannot_ be in a food that I feed, I look for one that has fruits, veggies, probiotics and yucca schidigera. The fact that it has glucosamine is a real plus; I think that can benefit any dog. 

So, I ordered a bag online; the stores around here that carry Wellness don't have it yet because it's so new.

Here's a link to the page on Wellness' site:
http://www.oldmotherhubbard.com/wellness/dog_wellness_grain_index.html

And the ingredients:
Deboned Turkey, Deboned Chicken, Turkey Meal, Chicken Meal, Potatoes, Dried Ground Potato, Tomato Pomace, Natural Chicken Flavor, Canola Oil, Chicken Liver, Salmon Oil, Flaxseed, Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Kale, Broccoli, Spinach, Parsley, Apples, Blueberries, Vitamins & Minerals, Chicory Root Extract, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Chondroitin Sulfate, Dried Lactobacillus plantarum, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Products, Rosemary Extract.


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## BoxMeIn21 (Apr 10, 2007)

Ah! You beat me to it...I was wondering when they were going to get around to this.


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## TheChinClique (Jul 6, 2007)

Hmm...has this been out for awhile for cats then? I know I saw "Wellness Core" at the local whole food pet supply store. Looked pretty good but my cat prefers Orijen, as do the dogs


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## luvntzus (Mar 16, 2007)

Yup, they came out with the one for cats a few months before the one for dogs. I have no idea why!!


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## Lucky_13 (Jul 4, 2007)

how much is this food? i like that it has a lot of fruits and veggies in it.


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## luvntzus (Mar 16, 2007)

Lucky_13 said:


> how much is this food? i like that it has a lot of fruits and veggies in it.


Me too.  It's pretty reasonably priced if you have a small dog- $8.99 for a 4 lb. bag.


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## TomN (Jul 1, 2007)

Anyone know when this Core formula will be available to it's dealers?

Ingredients look impressive although I am a little alarmed at the extremely high Calcium (2%) and Phosphorus (1.4%) levels. The standard requirment for adult dogs is 1.2% and .9% respectfully. Anyone have info on any possible long term negative affects from diets with high levels of each.? I know from a large breed puppy view, this would not be wise. What about healthy adults?


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## briteday (Feb 10, 2007)

My understanding (biochemist, but not specifically dogs) is that mature dogs can regulate calcium in the intestines to normal levels. However puppies cannot do the same. 

I would also question feeding this particular food to a large breed puppy. However, there are so many large breed puppy foods out there that I would hope someone with those breeds would do enough research to find the right food.


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## BoxMeIn21 (Apr 10, 2007)

TomN said:


> Anyone know when this Core formula will be available to it's dealers?
> 
> Ingredients look impressive although I am a little alarmed at the extremely high Calcium (2%) and Phosphorus (1.4%) levels. The standard requirment for adult dogs is 1.2% and .9% respectfully. Anyone have info on any possible long term negative affects from diets with high levels of each.? I know from a large breed puppy view, this would not be wise. What about healthy adults?


The feeding recommendations for CORE are for one year and up.
The calcium, phosphorus, protein question is something I have wondered about for a bit, but I keep finding conflicting information. At one point, I found studies (way old) that implicated high protein and calcium in a number of growth and bone development disorders in dogs. More recent studies have disproved this...BUT then that begs whole RAW question, raw diets, from what I can tell, despite having higher amounts of all three, don't seem to make pups grow fast, in fact more slow and steady.


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## TomN (Jul 1, 2007)

> I keep finding conflicting information. At one point, I found studies (way old) that implicated high protein and calcium in a number of growth and bone development disorders in dogs.


Same here. Most of what I'm seeing listed pertains to joint issues with growing puppies, especially large breed. Have yet to find anything that lists anything long term in regards to adults. 

Correction... the one area I did come across that seems to present a case against a high cal/phos levels in adult dogs, are animals that are in beginning to advanced stages of renal failure. referring mainly to high phosphorus.


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## briteday (Feb 10, 2007)

Since phosphorus is mainly found in the meat (vs. bone) then a diet high in phosphorus is also high in protein. If an animal (including humans) have any kind of renal insufficiency they have a more difficult time processing protein in the kidneys. It creates much more work for the kidneys so therefore the kidneys burn out sooner.


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## luvntzus (Mar 16, 2007)

I've been feeding CORE to my 2 year old Shih Tzu for about a week now and so far I'm thrilled with the results!  He has the smallest poops ever and I'm feeding him the same amount of food. I'm thinking that means he's absorbing more of the nutrients. I'll have to wait and see if there are any changes in his coat, body condition, etc. It's too early to see any differences in those areas.


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