Wellness Core makes dogs stink?

[BigBayHanoMare]

Car sick ball of adorableness is currently on Wellness Core Grain-Free Puppy formula, but GOOD GOD THE FARTS. And her BMs smell even more awful than when I first got her and she was on Hills Ideal Balance (I did the slow switch-over to Wellness). Is this a “thing” with this particular line? A friend was over last night and happened to be standing downwind post-poop and I thought she was going to keel over–which I nearly do several times a day when picking it up.

Is it just a matter of being too rich? A coworker had his dog on Wellness Core and had to switch the dog because he and his wife couldn’t take the flatulence either. I want to give my pup the best, but not if it’s too much for her little belly! I think Blue Buffalo might be too much for her, too. I could go back to the Hills but…

[Preposterous_Ponies]

I’m having the same problem with Go! Grain Free Puppy. She smells like a stinky fish dog. Interested to see the comments.

[TrotTrotPumpkn]

My dog (well he was a puppy then) didn’t have gas on Wellness Core. I wasn’t happy with his coat or “bloom” on it though.

Maybe your dog is just more sensitive to change. I would try feeding a probiotic for awhile and see if that helps.

[BigBayHanoMare]

I wonder if her being small has anything to do with it. The Wellness Core Puppy has 36% protein, and the Core line has a minimum of 34% protein (which includes the Small Breed formula, too). I did the slow-switchover from Hill’s Ideal Balance Puppy, which she was on when I adopted her, to the Core, and it was almost immediate the effects of the Core post-switch.

I put her back on the Ideal Balance for now; it still has a lot of protein but not as much as Core. I will probably switch her to Wellness Complete when she’s ready to be off the puppy formula, or maybe try the Wellness Complete puppy, but I hate to keep switching her even if it is slow. I feel like that may not help her out!

[wendy]

Protein doesn’t make dogs gassy, and besides, wellness care has a fairly low protein content as far as high quality dog foods go- it even brags about it being low, they go around saying their food is “balanced” because of its lower protein level. 30% protein is the absolute minimum you should accept as a suitable kibble for a carnivore like a dog- anything less isn’t sufficient to meet your dog’s protein needs.

Usually when dogs (and people) get gassy it’s because they can’t digest some component of a food, like beans or corn.

I have heard that a lot of dogs get gassy on Wellness core. If you look at their ingredients on the original and fish formula, peas are prominently featured. Many dogs struggle to digest legumes- unfortunately, peas and chickpeas and lentils and beans have become “The new corn” for dog food companies. Dog food companies used to load up foods with corn as cheap source of protein, but consumers stopped buying foods with corn in them. So now the dog food companies are using legumes for the same purpose and will continue to do so until consumers get wise to the scam. Dogs should be fed meat, not beans.

If your dog is gassy on wellness core, I suggest trying a grain-free food without any peas or legumes in it and see what happens.

[kasjordan]

I would also switch up the protein source. I would do either or though first, not both. That way you will know if it’s the grains/legumes or if it was the meat source that was getting the reaction. My dog can’t do corn- it will go right through him. He can do chicken or beef but will be awfully gassy on either. Fish and grain free is the ticket for him, no problems whatsoever.

[BigBayHanoMare]

That’s very interesting, wendy! I will definitely take that into consideration and start researching dog food brands without legumes or peas.

[VFT]

I think Wendy is correct about what is causing your pups gas. My pup is on the Wellness Core Puppy too and I have never noticed her fart ever. Her poop doesn’t smell especially offensive either.

[BigBayHanoMare]

I’m in shock at just how many high quality dog foods have peas in them. I was thinking of switching to Fromm as their puppy formula has no peas in it, and they have an adult formula that also doesn’t have peas in it, but I read a pretty horrifying thread on Dog Food Advisor that made me really nervous about using that brand. It starts back in 2013 and has been continually updated, right up until now.

This is so complicated.

[Roxyllsk]

I had good luck with my puppy on Wellness Complete Puppy. The Core gave her diarrhea even after a slow switch. Now she’s getting Wellness Complete regular adult, and no stomach upsets either.

I had the same problem with the Blue Buffalo puppy. I think maybe it’s too rich for her.

[Casey09]

My puppy had similar issues, and had giardiasis. If you have not had a current fecal test on her, it might not be a bad idea.
Besides that, there is no one perfect food for every dog. There are comparable brands that make large breed puppy formulas. My own dogs eat different brands because they just don’t both do well on the same food. Luckily I live near a little boutique store that carries a lot of different brands and I am able to do that.

[BadKarma]

I feed my puppy Wellness Core as well. She was fed Royal Canin before I brought her home. She had stinky gas for the first few months I had her, but hasn’t had it for quite a while now.

If it were me I would still keep her on Wellness.

[myleetlepony]

[QUOTE=BigBayHanoMare;7959902]
I’m in shock at just how many high quality dog foods have peas in them. I was thinking of switching to Fromm as their puppy formula has no peas in it, and they have an adult formula that also doesn’t have peas in it, but I read a pretty horrifying thread on Dog Food Advisor that made me really nervous about using that brand. It starts back in 2013 and has been continually updated, right up until now.

This is so complicated. :([/QUOTE]

I have fed Fromm off and on over 6-7 years to both cats and dogs and have not had a problem.

First, no food product is immune to having issues, including things that are outside their control (ie stories of the mold in the bag…was there a puncture? where did the person keep the bag and in what conditions; was it humid in the store warehouse, etc…)

I read the thread you linked to, and the thing that stood out with me the most is that people were switching from crap foods (Bil-Jac???) and Evangers to Fromm without transitioning when their dogs got sick. When you go from low quality to high quality, you HAVE to have a transition period or your animal will get sick. They do not have the enzymes and bacteria available to digest the better foods. And likely, a dog going from high quality to low quality is likely to have the same problems.

Just something to keep in the back of your mind. I would whole heartedly say give Fromm a try.

[BigBayHanoMare]

I think I’m going to try her on the Fromm. The Puppy Gold formula doesn’t have peas, but it doesn’t have a lot of protein either (27%).

Is a week of slow switchover enough transition time?

[BigBayHanoMare]

[QUOTE=Casey09;7960107]
My puppy had similar issues, and had giardiasis. If you have not had a current fecal test on her, it might not be a bad idea.
Besides that, there is no one perfect food for every dog. There are comparable brands that make large breed puppy formulas. My own dogs eat different brands because they just don’t both do well on the same food. Luckily I live near a little boutique store that carries a lot of different brands and I am able to do that.[/QUOTE]

Sorry, Casey09, I didn’t mean to skip this over! Her most recently fecal was a month ago and it was fine.

So I’m thinking of trying the Fromm as well as Nature’s Logic. Both very high quality foods. I guess it will just be trial and error and seeing how she blooms!

[Casey09]

That sounds good. I am one to go online and read reviews and any information I can dig up as well. I feed my adult dog Fromm Beef Frittata Veg, and honestly that is the only food he has really done well on (other than Fromm Large Breed Puppy). I’ve tried several others, and he had digestive issues on all of those. I found that information on Fromm as well and got worried, but one thing I’ve been gradually learning is that you have to be especially careful about online dog food reviews. Yes, if there is a problem with the food you want to know about it. However, so many dog food reviews are more of, “I fed my dog X brand and he got diarrhea.” You don’t know from reading that how the person transitioned the dog to a new food, whether or not the dog could have eaten something else entirely, or if it is simply an issue with a particular food not agreeing with a particular dog.
I have two dogs that died of old age and one younger dog that eats Orijen. I tried that with my male, and he did really poorly on that brand. He just had a lot of gas as well as very loose stools (not to give you TMI). I had transitioned him carefully and kept him on that food for a while to see if it would clear up, and it didn’t. I also tried Instinct and had the same results. My own personal theory is that perhaps he has some sort of an allergy, but who knows.
My current puppy I tried on Fromm Large Breed puppy, which my male did so well on. She did not do well on that food. She had the giardia, which cleared up with meds, and she still was not doing as well as I wanted her to on that food. I called and the vet tech suggested that it was too rich, but she was also pretty itchy so I decided to try grain free instead of the vet tech’s suggestion of going with a food with more grain. I tried Go Large Breed puppy and saw improvement. I am now trying Orijen Large Breed puppy for variety, and she is doing better still. All of this has left me to conclude that dog food is individualized.

[BigBayHanoMare]

I’m going to call my vet today when they open and ask if the regular fecal covers giardia; someone told me it might not. I have to drop off a pee sample to test for a possible UTI or bladder infection, and if my puppy isn’t bound up from surgery yesterday (hernia repair), I’ll drop off a stool sample to be tested for that. All of her original testing from Puerto Rico was negative, though…

Before I try Fromm, I’m going to try Nature’s Logic. It was recommended to me on another board and is grain-free, as well as no peas/legumes and tapioca (no cheap veggie fillers of any kind)–all of their formulas are like that. Plus, they went an extra step and all of their ingredients are certified by the FDA to be organic and human-grade; that’s a lot of work AND money to put forth from a dog food company!

Say a little prayer/do some jingling for us…Miss Joy is feeling 1000% better today and wants to bounce off the walls, a no-no for her recovery! It’s going to be a LONG week of calm and quiet for he!

[BigBayHanoMare]

An update for you all.

I switched the puppy over to Nature’s Logic Venison, and started noticing that when it got to be 75% NL/25% Core, she was getting seriously disinterested in her food. She turned her nose up at it this morning. SIGH!!! I’m worried I’m going to create a picky eater with all this switching.

Not to mention, if she isn’t eating this stuff now, doing another slow switchover is going to be really hard.

[BigBayHanoMare]

One more update!

After the Nature’s Logic debacle, I immediately went out and bought another bag of Wellness since I knew she would eat it; I bought a few cans of the wet Core as well to entice her and she LOOOOVED the wet stuff. Because it was kind of a fast switch, and she was on an antibiotic for a suspected UTI, I started adding plain Greek yogurt then plain goat’s milk kefir to help her tummy. Then I decided to just go for it and I switched her to Stella & Chewy’s and she is THRIVING! Her coat gleams and she looks so healthy. Since I rehydrate the freeze-dried patties with water, I make sure she has lots of chew things (puppy Nylabone, beef and bison tendons, bully sticks, antlers, etc.). I still add the kefir as we aren’t off the Rx yet, but she is doing so well!

I started her with the chicken formula and we’ll begin rotating the proteins in a few weeks. Hopefully she likes the venison better in the S&C instead of kibble! Nature’s Logic was kind enough to send me samples of other kibble flavors but she wasn’t enthused with them. Eventually I want to switch her to prey model raw, but for now, the Stella & Chewy’s is good enough!