Wellness Core

[RockysMom]

I finally had to admit that Rocky may be allergic to grains.
He is itchy (no rash....just itchy all over) and no matter what I do, his ears are red........both signs of grain allergies right??  

I bought a bag of Wellness Core Turkey and Chicken and some bison and blueberry biscuits (can't remember the name and the package isn't here).  Now life gets interesting as our big guy isn't allergic to anything and they are on different foods.....and whenever someone else gets something different.....he wants it even if he hates it!     Ditto for the treats!!

Any comments about Wellness Core?  He loves the food and the treats so I'm pretty happy about that because he has gotten a bit fussy about food lately.

[blanche]

I haven't had good success with Wellness Core--some of my fosters didn't like it.  And I'd be careful of poultry as a protein source since it is one of the proteins that often dogs react to.  

I like Orijen fish, Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diet (there are several types), have also heard good things about Before Grains.  I'd be inclined to stay away from chicken, turkey and beef.

[Candace]

I use the Wellness Core Fish variety, for my fosters. They have all liked it and done well.
Make sure those biscuits don't have too much filler. A couple of my guys don't do well with rice in their diet.
I looked up the ingredients and Wellness Core does not have egg in it. Orijen listed chicken and egg in their fish variety, which surprised me. Blanche, what does it say on the bag?

[RockysMom]

Thanks ladies!
I did look for biscuits with the fewest ingredients and there is no rice in them (I seemed to remember someone - Blanche I think - mentioning that rice is in fact a grain and some dogs react to it as well).  I guess what I'll do is try this for a month or six weeks and if he is no better, then switch to the fish formula.

I'll keep a diary of the ingredients in everything he eats and start slowly changing them to try to determine exactly what he is reacting to.  Wish me luck!

He really does love the Wellness Core food.  Which is surprising as he is not particularly motivated by food (I KNOW....strange for a pug!)

I really do appreciate the advice!

[blanche]

Blanche, what does it say on the bag?

Not a clue--I don't have the bag any longer

And I haven't been as anal about eggs since Maude died--she couldn't have them and neither can Tank, but he never eats kibble.

[lmcpug]

I will add something Angela,

Pugsley was really suffering with allergies this year, the poor guy was one whacked out wiggle pug, wiggle on the carpet, wiggle on the chairs, wiggle on mom and even tried to wiggle on Bubba for relief, needless to say the "Bubba wiggle" was not looked upon with favour by Bub's
I did, but wasn't equating it too the kibble, but it wasn't till Mom and :lol:  due I'm sure to the fact that it is not dignified

I still think that Be4Grains is one of the top quality kibbles and Orijen too, however certain ingredients can have adverse reactions in certain puggies. So it is a mtter of trial and error, unfortunately, one kibble might be fine for one puggy but not for another!

Try one for about 2 - 3 months, if within that time you see no reactions out of the ordinary you may be okay and sometimes a reaction may take longer to come out, in the case of Pugsley, who has been on it since the beginning of last summer; but be vigilante,
wise words to remember, even for myself

Lori

[Pam]

Sully is on Wellness Core also and has not had any problems with it.  I thought maybe it was his food making him itchy but since the fish oil his itching has stopped a wee bit.  I believe that his was due to seasonal allergies

[RockysMom]

Thanks to everyone for your advice and suggestions.
I will give this food 2-3 months and see how he does.  I know from my nursing experience that it really does take months to clear the allergens from the human body (from what I've heard here, it is true of dogs too).  So I"ll just go slowly and not make any rapid changes and try to figure out what he is reacting to.

Right now we're doing the gradual switch to Wellness Core so he doesnt' get gastric upset from the switch.  Then I'll start the diary to track his symptoms.

[clummy]

Blanche, what does it say on the bag?

Not a clue--I don't have the bag any longer

And I haven't been as anal about eggs since Maude died--she couldn't have them and neither can Tank, but he never eats kibble.

I have a trial size bag of the Orijen 6 fresh fish formula and it does not list chicken or egg but does have marigold and dandelion, which surprised me little.