LisaCC Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 (edited) I have recently switched Sam over to Wellness Healthy Weight. I am very surprised and happy with this product. As some already know my 11 yr old Lab Sam has stomach issues (very interesting case of inflammatory bowel disease) that almost killed him when he was 8 as he had lost more than a 3rd of his body weight including a lot of his temporalis muscle that he has never regained. We tried every food on the market, prescription diets and special raw diets advised by vets and specialists but he could not digest any of it. Then for some very odd reason he had been able to digest Pedigree Light and Mature! Yes a poor food but literally the only thing that he wouldn't just poo out and it let him put on weight (but a diet food ) and he put on 5kgs the week he was to be put down!!! A damn miracle as the vets call him. And since being on it he has never reverted (although he still gets weighed and monitored very regularly). But for some reason we haven't been able to get this food in town anymore (something to do with the local supplier). So we took a risky chance and switched to Wellness with approval from vets and a very slow introduction and very regular weigh in. So far so good :) He has only dropped 300g since starting and the vets are putting that down to the high heats we have been having and not the food. If it was the food we would be seeing what we did last time (about 2-5kg per week). I am utterly amazed that this has not had any negative effects. Also Im not sure if this is because of the food or his exercises (or both) but we have also noticed a change in his activity levels which has deteriorated recently with his arthritis and diagnosis of Degenerative Myelopathy. He is running around a little more and wanting to speed walk and is lagging less on our afternoon walks, also having more than 3 throws of fetch before laying down . The last few weeks have been so stressful waiting, watching and hoping he doesn't go down hill. But so far so good. A BIG thank you to the lovely man at Petbarn who gave us a free bag of Wellness to test him out on! EDIT: got his weight loss wrong oops. Edited January 9, 2013 by LisaCC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Crazy Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 So pleased you have had great sucess so far with Wellness dog food. I hadn't heard of it till I noticed it in pet barn the other day. Every dog is different & some like yours are unfortunate to be ill so it is finding one that works is half the battle. Hope Sam continues to stay healthy :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheridan Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 That's terrific. Wellness didn't do anything for my Grumpy and I switched him over to Holistic Select Anchovy and Salmon but it just goes to show that the best food for a dog is the food the dog does best on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Her Majesty Dogmad Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 Is Wellness wheat free? That might explain the improvement in his activities. I've been on wheat free for 2 weeks and ate somethign with wheat in it yesterday and really noticed some arthritic pain flaring up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tara8430 Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 That's good news for Sam Lisa, glad you found something that works for him. Getting food right came be so frustrating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Labradork Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 That's fantastic :) I have considered buying Wellness, but it is too expensive for me to have it delivered and you can only get it from Pet Barn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 Ive had a number of fosters on Wellness and have been very happy with it, my current puppy though is having runny bum on it though so I think a bit rich for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxerB Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 Have switched to raw/barf/prey model recently, but before that was using only wellness for my Boxer pup and very happy with it. Other than some stinky gas it was great for his energy/coat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktig Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 I've recently switched my mini schnauzer over to wellness and am so far (fingers crossed I don't want to jinx anything) noticing a reduction in the everyday scratching he does. He never does himself damage and I don't know that he's allergic to anything as such, but he's always been an 'itchy' sort of dog and so far so good. I've also noticed an improvement in his coat and just overall energy. Plus he LOVES it, especially the whitefish flavour :) Very happy so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaCC Posted January 10, 2013 Author Share Posted January 10, 2013 Thanks for the well wishes everyone, I'm glad others have had success with it as well. I had heard some bad things about it, but over all I think it is a pretty good food. Dogmad I'm not actually sure if this one is wheat free, It doesn't advertise to be. They do have a grain free range but the product Sam is on is not part of that and does seem to have a large amount of grains. It only has natural preservatives though, that might be making a difference Here is the ingredient list for Wellness Healthy Weight. Some of the ranges are very different. Deboned Chicken, Ground Barley, Rice Bran, Chicken Meal, Ground Brown Rice, Tomato Pomace, Natural Chicken Flavor, Rye Flour, Oatmeal, Oat Fiber, Whitefish, Tomatoes, Canola Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a natural source of Vitamin E), Ground Millet, Carrots, Spinach, Sweet Potatoes, Apples, Blueberries, Calcium Carbonate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Ground Flaxseed, Vitamins [beta-Carotene, Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Vitamin A Supplement, Niacin, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B-12 Supplement], Minerals [Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Proteinate, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite], Choline Chloride, Taurine, Mixed Tocopherols (a natural preservative), Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Chondroitin Sulfate, Chicory Root Extract, Garlic Powder, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Green Tea Extract, Dried Lactobacillus plantarum, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation products, Rosemary Extract. This is a naturally preserved product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaCC Posted January 10, 2013 Author Share Posted January 10, 2013 Actually Dogmad I just found this on the petbarn website. So you are right, wheat free guaranteed OUR PROMISE - No Meat By-Products, No Wheat, No Corn, No Soy, No Artificial Flavours, No Artificial Preservatives Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaCC Posted January 12, 2013 Author Share Posted January 12, 2013 Exciting day! After being on just Wellness (no old food at all mixed in) for a few days Sam just had his first perfect looking poo in about 5 years!!! Thats about as exciting as it can get for a sick dog lover Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Glad that it is working for your dog :) I tried my cat that had IBD on it and had a small improvement but not much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheridan Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 That's great news. It's always great when you find a food that works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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