Wellness pet food is the finest quality pet food available, in my opinion, and I am a long time holistic veterinarian who uses it for my own pet, and for other pets in the past. Wellness foods are wheat, corn, soy, additive and preservative free. They are ideal holistic nutrition for healthy pets as well as pets needing a restricted diet for food sensitivities of any kind, and never include potentially problematic ingredients. This is the case with my beloved rescue dog who as a puppy had to have such a specific restricted healthy diet that if she ate anything else she would be vomiting and having diarrhea for a week, needing fluid therapy. As much as I didn't like it, she had to be on constant medications and probiotics for her first couple years of life, before finally being healthy enough to be tapered off of these.. She initially was saved as a puppy from these repeated bouts of illness by Iams Prime Naturals and then Iams Sensitive Naturals, but when these became hard to find, after extensive research into nutrition and the available options, I found Wellness, and that has been what has kept her healthy and happy ever since. I liked the quality and standards of ingredients so much that I switched all my other pets including cats to Wellness as well.
Wellness does offer grain free versions also, but in my opinion and that of most veterinarians, grain free foods for pets are a fad with no real nutritional or biological basis, anymore than the fad in people. Dogs and cats are not wild animals and even cats are not obligate carnivores who eat no other types of foods besides meats. There is simply no scientific basis for this unfortunate fad, and I don't believe these foods are as well balanced as the original formulations of a high quality top of the line holistic food like Wellness, which is tested and certified at every step of development and production for the health and well-being of the pets who will be fed this food. Sure, cheap pet food with corn and chicken by products are not healthy by any stretch of the imagination, but easily digested carbohydrates from healthy sources like barley and rice, and sometimes potato, are important for a well balanced diet for our pets and for the digestion and assimilation of all the good healthy nutrients in high quality foods like Wellness.
I will mention one more thing - even though this is "small breed" version of this food, and I have a 20 lb dog, I feed her the regular size kibble because the pieces of this are so small they are smaller than most cat food kibble. Larger pieces involve some chewing which is essential for dental health. Very few dogs would be small enough to need kibble this size. I personally buy it to use as treats for my dog because it is easy to use and she loves it, and it is very hard to find treats that meet the strict standards of quality needed to keep her healthy. Also, she has a treat-dispensing ball toy which can be set to a smaller opening for smaller pieces, and the "small breed" kibble fits perfectly into that toy for maximum enjoyment.
In summary, I can say that I as a holistic veterinarian prefer Wellness food to even proprietary foods sold only by veterinarians. I think the quality and the standards of their ingredients cannot be matched by any other food. I will always feed it to my dog,(but the regular kibble for her regular meals, not the "small breed"), for the rest of her life, and also to any other pets I acquire. And it's good to have the "small breed" tiny kibble available to use for treats and her toys. Holistic nutrition when it leads to healthy high quality food such as this cannot be beat. Cannot highly recommend enough!!
Deboned Turkey, Chicken Meal, Oatmeal, Salmon Meal, Barley, Ground Brown Rice, Oats, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Tomato Pomace, Menhaden Fish Meal, Tomatoes, Pea Fiber, Salmon Oil, Natural Chicken Flavor, Carrots, Spinach, Potassium Chloride, Ground Flaxseed, Salt, Sweet Potatoes, Blueberries, Apples, Choline Chloride, Mixed Tocopherols added to preserve freshness, Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate, Chicory Root Extract, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Taurine, Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Calcium Carbonate, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Iron Proteinate, Vitamin A Supplement, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Copper Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Manganese Sulfate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Sodium Selenite, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Biotin, Calcium Iodate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid, Dried Lactobacillus plantarum Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus casei Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product, Rosemary Extract, Green Tea Extract, Spearmint Extract. This is a naturally preserved product.
