Wellness vs. Wellness Core

Wellness, many years ago, had the same problem Canidae just went through.  They changed their ingredients, and not for the better I didn't think (I was using it at the time in my rotation).  Many people had trouble with their dogs getting stomach problems and urinary tract infections after the change.  My dogs were all fine but it spooked me and I haven't used it since then.

Core, on the other hand, has had very few people who had problems with it, that I've heard, all else being equal (ie, the dogs aren't sensitive or super-picky).  It was one of the foods Ben was able to eat, which spoke for its quality control practices.

The two are very different products.  Taste of the Wild is more of an interchangeable product with Core.  Ben was able to go back and forth between those two with no problem. 

Only Petco here stocks Core, but our big feed store has Taste of the Wild. They must have received it recently because it's the first time I noticed it. I haven't heard a whole lot about it, though...just the few posts about it on here.

I have just switched from Wellness (Blue Bag) to Core.  The reason I didn't start Core right away was because Morrison was obviously still growing.

Now that we are switching over I have noticed that Monroe is pooping a LOT less - I was actually worried for a couple of days.  They seem to have a good amount of energy, acting normally and really like the food.  I'm glad we are switching and, yes, I do seem to be using a lot less food.

I just wish that Core had the bigger chunks that Wellness does.  It's nice to actually watch them CHEW their food.

I'm so happy about their weights on Core. Everyone is trim, and for my couch potatoes, that's amazing.

My dogs went to the bathroom A LOT when they were eating the regular Wellness.

     Towards the end of last summer up until December, I was using Wellness just for puppy. I have to say, they pups had a very even growth rate on this food, coat was in good condition, came in very thick. It was pricey but they looked great. Only con, as someone else mentioned was the volume of poop - which was usually soft and very foul smelling. Still, otherwise they were doing well so I decided to switch the adults to CORE & just see how that went. On paper it looks great, not so much the ingredients but moreso with the controlled calcium:phosohorous ratio. 
     With CORE, there were problems from the beginning. I noticed a few of the dogs were more lethargic than usual, they ate - did their business and either kenneled up or came inside to lounge on the couch. For all the inactivity, you'd think they would gain weight but most didn't. No one was very skinny on it but I did have to increase the amount fed from what I'd been using previously. I was not happy with coats. For the price they wanted for a 26lb bag, I would expect to not have to supplement, but coats were dried out. One bitch had two bald spots from scratching that only recently cleared up. The last 2-3 days we fed CORE, I noticed there was something out of sorts with my 5yo male, who was healthy as a horse, very playful for his age. He sleeps in my bedroom, on an old blanket by my bed. Usually he wakes me up @ the crack of dawn but the last few days he was on the food, I could not wake him up in the morning. I'd pick him up and he would open his eyes but wouldn't get up until several minutes later. Long story short, this dog, and then two days later my 8yo male, both had hypoglycemic seizures! I had not realized this at the time, and am VERY lucky both these dogs came through with no residual effects. Both dogs saw the Vet, both had low blood sugar & one also had elevated BUN/cholesterol levels and were slightly dehydrated. They drank/urinated up a storm with this feed, so maybe that played a role in the dehydration. The 5yo male had a blood sugar level of 39 after the incident - was re tested 3.5 weeks later on a low protein feed. Kidney values were normal and he had a blood sugar level of 89!!!!!
     Now, we NEVER had any incident like this with the Wellness puppy feed, and we used that for 4+ months. The CORE, the dogs were on for maybe 2 weeks. If Wellness was the last food on earth I'd go for their regular adult formula & stay away from the grain free. I am still kicking myself for putting the dogs thru the ringer with it ;(  It's now on my 3 worst foods ever list along w/ Canidae & Eukanuba.

I love the Core food. The three of them do awesome on it, eat it with gusto (even Zipper my slow eater), are in great shape, and have great stools. I switch foods after every large bag (lasts about 2 months for three dogs), but it's one that I love to use on rotation.