Wellness Logo

Wellness Information

Wellness Pet Food is a major pet food brand in the United States was founded in 1997 and is owned and produced by WellPet LLC.

WellPet LLC is a large pet product conglomerate that owns several other pet food brands. Examples include Old Mother Hubbard, Eagle Pack, Holistic Select, and Sojos.

The company’s headquarters are in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, and they have several manufacturing facilities across the United States, including Mishawaka, Indiana. Decatur, Arkansaw, and South St. Paul, Minnesota.

They also have a facility in Europe which is located in Veendam in the Netherlands.

Wellness Facilities

Like several other prominent pet food brands, Wellness also has a charitable organization known as the Wellness Foundation.

This charitable organization distributes funding to several pet-related causes across the United States, and you can learn more about it here.

Wellness Pet Food is one of the most available brands in the United States and would be found at almost all large pet retailers, such as PetSmart and Petco, as well as many small independent retailers.

If you can’t find Wellness from a local store, it is also available from many of the large online sellers, such as Chewy and Amazon.

Wellness Product Range

Dog Food

Wellness has an extremely large range of dog food products, one of the largest in North America.

This Product range includes almost every niche and sub-variety you could imagine, and it would be impressive to find a dog who couldn’t be fed Wellness food.

Examples of some of the different food types Wellness produces include puppy food, senior dog food, dog food for small and large breeds, raw dog food, wet dog food, and more.

We will also mention that Wellness dog food recipes are split into several sub-brands like CORE, Complete Health, and Simple.

The CORE recipes are the most premium choices and have more impressive nutritional value where, whereas some of the other sub-brands are the most cost-effective.

Wellness Brands

Cat Food

While some brands have an uneven balance between their dog food range and their cat food range, Wellness has a huge range of both.

This includes many of the same niche recipes for cats, such as kitten food, senior cat food, indoor cat food, and food for cats with health issues.

Wellness cat food range also includes many of the same sub-brands available for dogs, such as CORE and Complete Health.

Wellness Nutrition

Dog Food

Given the extremely large range of dog food products that Wellness produces, the nutrition they provide varies dramatically.

However, despite this variety, the nutrition provided by Wellness dog food recipes is usually above-average when compared to other similar brands.

However, there are some recipes that could be described as below-average or average, and there are others that could be described as significantly above average.

For this reason, it’s important to evaluate the nutrition of the recipe you are considering and not the brand as a whole.

Below is an example of a Wellness recipe that provides above-average nutrition.

Wellness Core Ocean Formula Calorie Breakdown Chart

As you can see, the sum of protein and fat in this recipe makes up almost 70% of its nutritional content, whereas carbohydrates are just above 30%.

If you’d like to learn more about canine nutrition, we’d highly recommend you read our Dog Food Guide for a detailed overview and discussion.

Cat Food

Similar to their dog food range, the nutrition provided by Wellness cat food recipes varies significantly between their different product ranges and recipes.

Despite this, most Wellness cat food recipes provide above-average nutrition when compared to other brands.

You can see an example of the nutrition provided by a Wellness dry cat food recipe below.

Wellness Cat Nutrition Example

As you can see above, the sum of protein and fat in this recipe is 67%, which is a significant sum, whereas the carbohydrate proportion is 33%.

While far from high compared to other options, it is still notable, and given that cats are obligate carnivores, it is far higher than ideal.

To learn more about feline nutrition and what it means to be an obligate carnivore, check out our Cat Food Guide.

Wellness Ingredients

High-Quality Meat & Fish Ingredients

  • Chicken
  • Turkey
  • Duck
  • Lamb
  • Beef
  • Venison
  • Whitefish
  • Salmon
  • Herring

Given Wellness’s extremely large product range, it will come as no surprise that they use a huge variety of meat and fish ingredients in their recipes. Some of these are listed above.

While each ingredient has its advantages, they are all excellent sources of animal or fish-based protein and fat. This should be at the core of every dog’s and cat’s diet.

Other Notable Ingredients

Wellness has a large number of grain-inclusive recipes, and they choose to use a variety of grains within these recipes. Examples of grains that can be found in Wellness recipes include Oatmeal, Barley, and Quinoa.

While the popularity and nutrition provided by grains vary, most of the grains used by Wellness are considered to be some of the best available.

This is because they are not heavily processed and include additional nutrition such as fiber and micronutrients. For example, read more about Barley in our article Barley In Dog Food.

Peas, Chickpeas, and Lentils are all legumes and are some of the most common plant-based ingredients found in pet food.

This is because they are relatively inexpensive and can provide high levels of nutrition, including plant-based protein.

However, there has been growing concern about a link between increased rates of canine heart disease and high legume use in dog food.

You can read more about this in our article Best Dog Foods Without Peas.

Peas Close Up

Sadly, Wellness also uses some legume by-products in its recipes, including Pea Protein.

By-products like Pea Protein are often used in pet food recipes to boost the overall level of protein without splashing out on higher-cost animal-based ingredients.

For this reason, many in the industry do not approve of its use, especially in higher quantities.

You can learn more about Pea Protein and other Pea By-Products in our article Peas, Pea Protein, Pea Flour, and Pea Fiber in Dog Food.

Tomato Pomace is added to pet food to provide soluble fiber. Soluble fiber can be important to some pets to ensure they have regular digestion and stools.

Tomato Pomace provides little nutrition beyond its fiber content. Learn more about Tomato Pomace in our article, Tomato Pomace as a Pet Food Ingredient?.

Chicken Fat is a regular addition to pet food recipes, and its primary purposes are to boost the overall level of animal-based in a recipe and to improve palatability and flavor.

While many focus on nutrition and ingredients, palatability is also incredibly important; if a pet does not eat the food, it can not benefit from its contents.

Chicken Fat is highly effective at this task and is a relatively cost-effective option. You can read more about Chicken Fat in our article Chicken Fat In Dog Food.

Chicken Hen

Flaxseed is another extremely common ingredient and is found throughout the industry, from smaller to massive brands.

Flaxseed is best known for being a dense plant-based source of the Omega 3 Fatty Acids. These fatty acids are well-known and can provide several benefits to pets, such as improving the condition of their skin, coat, and fur.

However, Flaxseed has some additional health benefits that are less well-known, and you can read about these in our article Flaxseed In Dog Food.

Flax

Lastly, some Wellness recipes contain a small portion of Canola Oil which is a common vegetable oil used in human foods.

While the Canola Oil does add some fat content to the recipe, it’s likely that its purpose is as a binding agent to aid in holding the ingredients of the recipe together.

While this may not sound important, without binding agents, pet food will not be in uniform shapes and sizes and may be more difficult to eat.

You can read more about the use of Canola Oil in pet food recipes in our article Canola Oil In Dog Food.

Canola Plant

Wellness Animal Testing

We have no information on whether Wellness participates in invasive or laboratory-style testing of animals.

However, given the size and age of the brand, it’s likely that they perform some form of feeding trials to test their products.

Many pet food brands do not disclose what type of testing they participate in, largely because they fear backlash or questions from their customers.

We strongly believe that invasive or laboratory-style testing of animals is a cruel and outdated practice and one which we hope will see a significant decline in the coming years.

Wellness Recalls

Based on our research (FDA, AVMA, DogFoodAdvisor), we have information that leads us to believe that Wellness products have been recalled multiple times and are, therefore, not a recall-free pet food brand.

In total, we could find information on five separate instances where Wellness products were recalled. Please see below for more details.

March 17, 2017 – The most recent of Wellness’s recalls were in relation to elevated levels of a naturally-occurring beef thyroid hormone. The recipe in question for this recall was Wellness 95% Beef Topper.

This was an extremely unusual recall, and it is true that most consumers would not be familiar with the effects of a high level of beef thyroid hormones.

Despite this, Wellness displayed caution to their customer base in issuing a recall and warned them to be vigilant for symptoms such as increased thirst or urination and weight loss.

You can read the FDA’s announcement of this recall here.

February 10, 2017 – The second most recent recall from Wellness concerned the presence of foreign material in some non-WellPet products manufactured in the same facility as Wellness canned cat food.

Foreign material is a concerning and serious issue, and Wellness did the right thing by recalling all related products.

If this material is large enough, it could cause a choking hazard or other damage to a cat’s digestive system. It may not also be adequately sanitized and could introduce pathogens.

This recall included quite a few wet/canned cat food recipes, including the ones below.

Wellness Canned Cat 12.5 oz Chicken & Herring 04 AUG 2019
Wellness Canned Cat 12.5 oz Chicken 03 AUG 2019 & 04 AUG 2019
Wellness Canned Cat 12.5 oz Chicken & Lobster 04 AUG 2019
Wellness Canned Cat 12.5 oz Turkey & Salmon 05 AUG 2019
Wellness Canned Cat 12.5 oz Turkey 04 AUG 2019 & 05 AUG 2019
Wellness Canned Cat 12.5 oz Beef & Chicken 05 AUG 2019
Wellness Canned Cat 12.5 oz Beef & Salmon 05 AUG 2019

Wellness has a dedicated update page on its website regarding this recall which you can find here.

October 30, 2012 – Going much further back in Wellness’s history, we found evidence of another recall in 2012, and this recall was due to the moisture content in a dog food recipe that was higher than expected.

While wet dog food recipes have huge portions of moisture, dry dog food recipes tend to be far lower and at typically only 8-12% moisture.

The main risk of high moisture content in dry dog food is that it can cause mold and other dangerous growth.

This mold could then lead to illness if consumed by the dog, especially in large enough quantities. While most dog owners would notice this while portioning their dog’s food, some may not, especially if it isn’t hugely visible.

Thankfully this particular recall only affected a single small breed dog food recipe.

Wellness Small Breed Adult Health – 12 lbs – Best By August 18, 2013

May 4, 2012 – Just a few months prior, in 2012, Wellness issued another voluntary recall related to possible Salmonella contamination.

While some of Wellness’s other recalls have been for far more obscure reasons, Salmonella contamination is one of the most common causes.

The recall was by the discovery of Salmonella in another brand’s recipe produced at the same facility.

Recalls due to possible Salmonella contamination are one of the most common types of recall. This is because almost all dog food is tested for Salmonella before it is distributed.

Thankfully, the scope of this recall was small and only affected a single large-breed dog food recipe.

Wellness Complete Health Super5Mix Large Breed Puppy – 15 lbs, 30 lbs, & 5oz sample bags – Best By Jan 9, 2013 – Jan 11, 2013.

February 28, 2011 – Lastly, the earliest Wellness recall we could find information on for Wellness regarded insufficient levels of Thiamine in some of their cat food recipes.

While the majority of recipes tested with sufficient levels of Thiamine, some did not, and Wellness did a voluntary recall as a precaution.

Thiamine is a critical component of a cat’s diet, and consuming low levels of it for a sustained period can cause adverse effects such as decreased appetite, vomiting, and weight loss.

Wellness Canned Cat Food (all sizes) – Best By 14 April 2013 – 30 September 2013

Wellness Canned Cat Food Chicken & Herring (all sizes) – Best By 10 November 2013 or 17 November 2013

Best of Wellness

Core Ocean Review

Wellness Core Ocean Packaging


From Wellness’s core range, there are several high-quality dry dog food recipes worth considering, but the above Ocean recipe has been our favorite for some time.

Thanks to a large portion of several fish ingredients, including Whitefish, Herring Meal, Salmon Meal, and Menhaden Fish Meal, the recipe provide a huge proportion of high-quality protein and fat.

The levels present are a minimum of 34% protein and 15% fat which are far above the average for a dry dog food recipe.

The recipe then uses a small portion of several plant-based ingredients, including Peas, Lentils, and Ground Potatoes, and these ingredients provide a modest proportion of carbohydrates and fiber.

Core Pate Beef, Venison & Lamb Review

Wellness Core Beef, Venison & Lamb Wet

The Core range from Wellness isn’t just limited to dry dog food. There is also a wide selection of wet dog food recipes to choose from, including the above Beef, Venison, & Lamb Formula.

This unusual mix of red meat ingredients is sure to make this recipe extremely appealing to many dogs.

The inclusion of organ meat ingredients such as Beef Liver and Pork Liver will also amplify the taste further.

This combination of meat and organ ingredients combine to an impressive 12% protein and 8% fat which is extremely high for a wet dog food recipe.

Outside of these meat ingredients, the recipe only contains a very tiny portion of plant-based ingredients, including Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Kale, Broccoli, and more.

Original + 100% Raw Turkey Review

Wellness Core RawRev Original

Core 95% Chicken & Salmon Review

Wellness Core 95 Chicken & Salmon Cat

Wellness Featured Articles

Best Dog Foods Without Peas

Best Dog Food At Tractor Supply

Best Dog Food With Whitefish

Best Senior Dog Food

Best Dog Food At PetSmart

Best Puppy Food

Best Canned Dog Food

Best Dog Food For Dalmatians

Wellness Full Products Range

Dry Dog Food

Complete Health

Lamb & Barley

Whitefish & Sweet Potato

Senior

Deboned Chicken & Oatmeal

Healthy Weight

Puppy

Turkey & Oatmeal

Small Breed Puppy

Small Breed Healthy Weight

Small Breed Senior

Toy Breed

Small Breed Whitefish, Salmon Meal, & Peas

Large Breed Adult

Large Breed Puppy

Complete Health Grain Free

Deboned Chicken & Chicken Meal

Whitefish & Menhaden Fish Meal

Lamb & Lamb Meal

Puppy

Small Breed

Large Breed

Core

Original

Puppy

Ocean

Wild Game

Lamb

Reduced Fat

Senior

Small Breed Original

Small Breed Puppy

Small Breed Healthy Weight

Large Breed

Large Breed Puppy

Core RawRev

Original + 100% Raw Turkey

Small Breed + 100% Raw Turkey

Wild Game + 100% Raw Lamb

Puppy Original + 100% Raw Turkey

Healthy Weight + 100% Raw Turkey

Core Wholesome Grains

Original

Ocean

Small Breed

Puppy

Core RawRev Wholesome Grains

Original + 100% Raw Turkey

Ocean + 100% Raw Fish

Small Breed + 100% Raw Turkey

Puppy + 100% Raw Turkey

Core Six

Cage Free Duck

Free Range Lamb

Sustainably Sourced Salmon

Small Breed Sustainably Sourced Salmon

Complete Health Limited Ingredient

Salmon & Potato

Deboned Turkey & Potato

Simple

Duck & Oatmeal

Lamb & Oatmeal

Simple Grain Free

Salmon & Potato

Turkey & Potato

Small Breed

Healthy Weight

Core Air-Dried

Original

Ocean

Puppy

Wet Dog Food

Complete Health Pate

Chicken & Sweet Potato

Lamb & Sweet Potato

Duck & Sweet Potato

Just For Puppy

Senior

Turkey & Sweet Potato

Complete Health Limited Ingredient

Turkey & Potato

Homestyle Stews

Grain Free Beef Stew With Carrots & Potatoes

Grain Free Chicken Stew With Peas & Carrots

Turkey Stew With Barley & Carrots

Grain Free Turkey & Duck Stew With Sweet Potatoes & Cranberries

Lamb & Beef Stew With Brown Rice And Apples

Venison & Salmon Stew With Potatoes & Carrots

Petite Entrees

Roasted Chicken, Carrots & Red Peppers in Gravy

Tender Turkey, Green Beans & White Sweet Potatoes in Gravy

Roasted Beef, Carrots & Red Peppers in Gravy

Roasted Chicken, Beef, Carrots & Green Beans in Gravy

Tender Chicken, Green Beans & Carrots

Roasted Turkey, Duck, Carrots & Peas

Braised Beef, Salmon, Green Beans & Red Peppers

Roasted Lamb, Peas & White Sweet Potatoes

Braised Lamb, Venison, White Sweet Potatoes & Carrots

Roasted Chicken, Beef, Green Beans & Red Peppers

Tender Chicken, Turkey, Carrots & Green Beans

Roasted Chicken, Duck, Peas & Carrots

Core Pate

Turkey, Chicken Liver, And Turkey Liver

Whitefish, Salmon, & Herring

Puppy

Beef, Venison & Lamb

Weight Management

Turkey, Pork Liver & Duck

Core Hearty Cuts

Beef & Venison

Turkey & Duck

Whitefish & Salmon

Chicken & Turkey

Core Chunky Centers

Beef, Lamb and White Sweet Potato

Chicken, Chicken Liver and Spinach

Turkey, Duck and White Sweet Potato

Salmon, Tuna and Spinach

Lamb, Turkey and Kale

Tuna, Chicken and Kale

Core 95%

95% Chicken with Broccoli

95% Turkey with Spinach

95% Beef with Carrots

Core Small Breed Mini Meals

Pâté Chicken Entrée

Shredded Chicken & Turkey Dinner in Gravy

Shredded Chicken & Lamb Entrée in Gravy

Chunky Chicken & Chicken Liver

Chunky Chicken & Tuna

Pate Beef & Chicken Dinner

Simply Pate

Turkey & Potato

Duck & Oatmeal

Lamb & Oatmeal

Dry Cat Food

Complete Health Grain Free

Adult Deboned Chicken & Chicken Meal

Kitten Deboned Chicken & Chicken Meal

Indoor Salmon & Herring

Indoor Deboned Chicken & Chicken Meal

Indoor Healthy Weight Chicken

Adult Salmon & Salmon Meal

Senior Recipe Deboned Chicken & Chicken Meal

Complete Health With Wholesome Grains

Adult Salmon & Salmon Meal

Adult Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal & Rice

Indoor Deboned Chicken & Chicken Meal

Hairball Chicken Meal & Rice

Core

Original Deboned Turkey, Turkey Meal & Chicken Meal

Kitten Deboned Turkey, Turkey Meal & Deboned Chicken

Adult Turkey, Turkey Meal & Duck

Indoor Deboned Chicken, Turkey and Chicken Meals

Indoor Salmon & Herring

Core RawRev

Original + 100% Raw Turkey

Indoor + 100% Raw Turkey

Wet/Canned Cat Food

Complete Health Pate

Chicken & Herring

Turkey & Salmon

Chicken

Beef & Chicken

Turkey

Chicken & Lobster

Salmon & Trout

Kitten

Beef & Salmon

Complete Health Gravies

Chicken Dinner

Turkey Dinner

Tuna Dinner

Salmon Dinner

Complete Health Minced

Tuna Dinner

Turkey Entree

Chicken Dinner

Salmon Dinner

Turkey & Salmon Entrée

Complete Health Sliced

Turkey Entree

Salmon Entree

Chicken Entree

Turkey & Salmon Dinner

Complete Health Morsels

Tuna Entrée

Turkey & Salmon Entrée

Turkey Dinner

Salmon Dinner

Chicken Entree

Healthy Indulgence

Chicken & Turkey

Tuna & Shrimp

Chicken & Chicken Liver

Tuna

Chicken & Salmon

Salmon & Tuna

Turkey & Duck

Chicken & Turkey

Chicken & Turkey

Tuna & Mackerel

Core Pate

Chicken, Turkey & Chicken Liver

Whitefish, Salmon & Herring

Kitten: Chicken & Turkey

Beef, Venison & Lamb

Indoor Chicken & Chicken Liver

Turkey & Duck

Core Tiny Tasters

Chicken & Beef

Chicken & Turkey

Chicken

Duck

Tuna & Salmon

Tuna

Core 95%

95% Beef & Chicken

95% Chicken

95% Chicken & Salmon

95% Turkey

Core Hearty Cuts

Chicken & Turkey

Chicken & Tuna

Whitefish & Salmon

Indoor Chicken & Turkey

Core Signature Selects

Shredded Chicken & Turkey

Shredded Chicken & Chicken Liver

Shredded Chicken & Beef

Flaked Skipjack Tuna & Shrimp

Flaked Skipjack Tuna & Salmon

Chunky Chicken & Turkey

Chunky Chicken & Salmon

Chunky Beef & Chicken