Wellness Core

Wellness Core Puppy review

Name: Wellness Core Puppy
Brand: Wellness Core

75.2/100Excellent

DryPuppy

Flavour

Two grain-free puppy recipes with the same build and different details. The turkey and chicken bag reaches our Excellent band and Ocean Salmon sits a step behind in Good. Each declares its lead meat fresh and dehydrated, which keeps the meat share honest after cooking.

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Our view

Likely to suit

Puppies of every size, from the smallest breeds up to giant
A cereal-free home: peas and potato do the binding
Joint ingredients written into the recipe, with glucosamine and chondroitin named on each
A prebiotic pairing of chicory root and yeast extract on both lists
Taurine at 1500 mg/kg in each recipe

Worth watching

Calcium printed on only one label, which matters most for a pup destined to be big
Potato protein high among the meat entries on both
Fish in both bags, and mixed herbs as a broad heading while triggers are being pinned down

Written by our editorial team. Independent guidance, not veterinary advice.

How this scores

How we score

75.2/100Excellent

Protein and processingGood

Nutritional balanceOutstanding

TransparencyOutstanding

ValueExcellent

The details

Dog fit

Both are listed for puppies of every size. For a large breed pup, talk calcium through with your vet before choosing either as the everyday bowl.

Food type

Dry

Life stage

Puppy

Breed size

Toy, Small, Medium, Large, Giant

Main protein

Turkey

The score, in context

Wellness Core Puppy 75.2
Ocean Salmon 67.2

Two recipes across Excellent and Good. Typical dry food: Good.

The turkey and chicken bag pushes a band clear of the typical puppy food, and the salmon bag sits level with it; smaller things, not one weak spot, keep both from climbing further.

What's in it

Turkey: fresh turkey, dehydrated turkey32%16% each, so half arrives already dried.
Chicken: dehydrated chicken, chicken fat, chicken gravy30%16%, 8% and 6%. A second bird.
Peas
Potato proteinA plant protein we would rather see lower down.
Beet pulp4%A gentle, well tolerated fibre.
Linseed, dried potatoes, salmon oil3%, no figure, 1%
LignocellulosePurified fibre, bulk and little besides.
Yeast extract, dried chicory root0.5% eachThe prebiotic pairing.
Carrots, apples, broccoli, spinach, tomatoes, blueberries, cranberries, peppermintSeasoning, not substance.
Glucosamine HCl, chondroitin sulphate, yucca, mixed herbs100 mg/kg each

Vitamins A, D3 and E with taurine at 1500 mg, and zinc, iron, copper, manganese and iodine as standard salts, each dosed per kilo.

Calcium converts to 1.98% of dry matter, a little above where large breed growth is usually pitched. Ask your vet before rearing a big pup on it.

Named ingredients

Turkey 32% (Fresh Turkey 16%, Dehydrated Turkey 16%), Chicken 30% (Dehydrated Chicken 16%, Chicken Fat 8%, Chicken Gravy 6%), Peas, Potato Protein, Beet Pulp 4%, Linseed 3%, Dried Potatoes, Salmon Oil 1%, Lignocellulose, Carrots, Apples, Yeast Extract (source of mannan oligosaccharides) 0.5%, Dried Chicory Root (source of Fructo- oligo-saccharides and Inulin) 0.5%, Broccoli, Spinach, Tomatoes 0.01%, Blueberries 0.01%, Cranberries, Dried Peppermint, D-Glucosamine Hydrochloride 100 mg/kg, Chondroitin Sulphate 100 mg/kg, Yucca Schidigera, Mixed Herbs (Dried Rosemary, Dried Turmeric, Dried Citrus, Dried Eugenia).

Against the range

Meat: Turkey 32%, chicken 30%; Salmon 33.5% and whitefish 10% in the other bag.
Protein, dry matter: 40.7%; 37.0% on the salmon.
Carbohydrate, dry matter: 27.6%; 32.0% on the salmon.
Calcium: Printed, 1.98% of dry matter; Not printed on the salmon.

The fuller label and the stronger recipe of the two.

Two grain-free growth recipes built to one plan. The lead animal appears twice, fresh and dehydrated, so half the declared share reaches the kibble much as printed. Peas and dried potatoes bind, beet pulp at 4% brings the fibre, and potato protein sits high on both lists.

The tail is shared: chicory root and yeast extract as prebiotics, glucosamine and chondroitin, trace fruit and vegetables, and a mixed herb heading. Taurine is dosed at 1500 mg/kg on both. Only the turkey and chicken label prints a calcium figure.

Nutritional analysis

Declared analysis

Energy

359 kcal/100g

Protein

37%

Fat

17%

Fibre

3.8%

Ash

Moisture

Dry weight

Protein

40.7%

Fat

18.7%

Fibre

4.2%

Ash

8.8%

Carbs

27.6%

As-fed composition

Estimated breakdown of the finished product by ingredient category, from the declared ingredient list and ingoing weights. These are estimates, not measurements.

Meat

56%

Added water

Carbs

28%

Veg

3.4%

Oils

Other

5.6%

Pricing & size