Wellness Core

Wellness Core Puppy Large Breed review

Name: Wellness Core Puppy Large Breed
Brand: Wellness Core

73.5/100Excellent

DryPuppy

An Excellent-band growth food for large breed pups that keeps to one bird and leans on it hard: chicken is 61% of the recipe across five weighed entries. The gap is calcium. On a large breed puppy bag that is the number it is usually judged on, and the label does not print it.

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Our view

Likely to suit

Large breed pups, the only size the maker lists
Pups that do well on chicken, the sole meat on the label
A grain-free household. Peas at 20% and dried potatoes do the binding
Starting joint cover early, with glucosamine and chondroitin each at 100 mg/kg
Pups that do well on prebiotics: chicory root and yeast extract at 0.5% each

Worth watching

No calcium figure anywhere on the pack. Ask the maker for it directly
Salmon oil at 2%, which keeps it off a fish-free elimination diet
Moisture not declared, so the dry matter figures rest on our 8% assumption
Mixed herbs, the one broad entry on a specific list

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

How this scores

How we score

73.5/100Excellent

Protein and processingGood

Nutritional balanceExcellent

TransparencyOutstanding

ValueExcellent

The details

Dog fit

Listed for large breed puppies only. Get the calcium figure from the maker before a big-framed pup grows on it.

Food type

Dry

Life stage

Puppy

Breed size

Large

Main protein

Chicken

The score, in context

Wellness Core Puppy Large Breed 73.5

All one Excellent. Typical dry food: Good.

The itemised chicken earns the position, and the missing calcium line is what holds it back on a food sold for large breed growth.

What's in it

Fresh chicken, dehydrated chicken25%, 20%The dehydrated share counts for most, its water already gone.
Chicken fat, dried chicken protein, chicken gravy6%, 5%, 5%Fat for energy, protein concentrate, gravy for taste. Chicken totals 61%.
Peas20%With the potatoes, the whole starch side. No cereal.
Dried potatoes
Beet pulp4%Mild, well tolerated fibre.
Linseed3%Plant omega 3.
Salmon oil2%Marine omega 3, and the one non-chicken animal ingredient.
Carrots, apples, broccoli, tomatoes, spinach, cranberries, blueberries0.01% cranberries
Dried chicory root, yeast extract0.5% eachFOS, inulin and MOS to feed the gut bacteria.
Glucosamine, chondroitin, yucca, mixed herbs100 mg/kg joint pairMixed herbs is rosemary, turmeric, citrus and eugenia.

Taurine at 1500 mg and L-Carnitine at 150 mg join vitamins A, D3 and E, with zinc, iron, copper and manganese as sulphates.

No calcium figure on the label, on a food written for large breed growth. Ask the maker for it.

Named ingredients

Chicken 61% (Fresh Chicken 25%, Dehydrated Chicken 20%, Chicken Fat 6%, Dried Chicken Protein 5%, Chicken Gravy 5%), Peas 20%, Dried Potatoes, Beet Pulp 4%, Linseed 3%, Salmon Oil 2%, Carrots, Apples, Dried Chicory Root 0.5% (source of Fructo-oligo-saccharides and Inulin), Yeast Extract (source of mannan-oligosaccharides) 0.5%, Broccoli, Tomatoes, Spinach, Cranberries 0.01%, Blueberries, 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

Nutritional analysis

Declared analysis

Energy

369.7 kcal/100g

Protein

34%

Fat

15%

Fibre

3.5%

Ash

Dry weight

Protein

37%

Fat

16.3%

Fibre

3.8%

Ash

7.6%

Carbs

35.3%

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

28.3%

Veg

4.8%

Oils

Other

3.9%

Pricing & size