Grain-free, high-protein kibble

Mr Pickles is 16. When he was 15, he had a bout of pancreatitis. Trying to find the best options via Google, a few people recommended this food. I’m so glad! He is doing amazing on this food and he loves it!!! And it’s kept him at a perfect weight!

We switched to a fish based food for our seizure prone dog that did not do well on red meat based foods. His episodes all but stopped immediately after the switch

I am a dog owner and dog trainer with a thirst for knowledge. When I first started hunting for a great dog food I did my research and began with Blue Buffalo. I tried a number of premium brands and formulas before this came out and nothing, including the regular line by this brand, can hold a candle to CORE. It's not the most affordable, but at least in MN, I can't find a better price for this. If you can get the subscribe and save discount this food is a steal!My dogs are constantly observed as extremely healthy by vets and trainers alike. They have noticeably softer coats since switching them to CORE and less skin issues. I also no longer deal with frequent gas - something several premium brands caused.If you're still not sold, here are some guiding principles for why this food is great and how to shop for quality dog food. Everyone has a budget, but try to find one you can afford with the best of these:- The first ingredients should always be meat. Just like human labels, the first ingredients comprise the largest quantities within the product.- Lamb and then chicken tend to be most digestible for most dogs.- Meal is like a protein powder made by rendering down a stew-like mixture to maximum potency. It contains more protein than meat alone by eliminating water per ounce. That said, not all meal is created equal. Make sure the source is specified. Simply saying "poultry meal" can mean it came from any source they could find and usually that means varying degrees of quality.- Avoid grains as they can irritate many dogs stomachs. You want potatoes, oats, and/or brown rice for fiber and carbs. If you see "brewers rice" on a label, it shouldn't be in the top five ingredients (or at all for me). It's a cheaply obtained processed carb and a filler.- Flaxseed and fish oils are great for skin and coat. I used to supplement my dog food with salmon oil in winter, but it hasn't been necessary since they started this food. Mentioning the source of the fish oil indicates its quality, just like the meal source.- I like a food with few antioxidant ingredients in it, such as blueberries and broccoli. Healthy for us, healthy for them. That's just my opinion though. I treat with the fresh stuff when I can.- That list of vitamins at the end? It's your dog's daily multi vitamin. Glucosamine is important to joint health for any size, age, or weight. This product has natural preservatives, which is my preference where possible for their diet and my own.- Protein percentage! Vets say stay above 15% for a normal adult dog; my goal is closer to 25% or 30%. If your dog is very active, that should be your goal too; however, even if your dog isn't that active a higher protein content is fine. Early research used to claim it could cause renal failure, but that research has long been debunked.Don't believe me? Do the research yourself. Don't trust the word of food reps, breeders, or even many vets. Most haven't paid attention to nutrition science, it's advances, or have an agenda of their own. Even a well meaning vet may not know some of this and be operating on outdated common knowledge.Never transition your dog's food all at once. Pay attention to their unique reaction to a new food over the first few weeks at 100% of it. Pay attention to their stool and frequency of bowl movements. Watch for weight fluctuations. New food means you may have to increase or decrease their volume per meal. Each dog has unique needs and sensitivities, just like we do, so even a great food may not be great for your dog.I hope this helps!

Well, my dog really likes this food. She prances around for it and gets very excited for meal time. She has been on it for about two months now, and has lost about a pound. She doesn't act hungry on this food like she has with other "diet" foods, so that's a good thing. So there are the good points. The bad is that this food constipates her, even with the Wellness Core Weight Management canned mixed in. The longer she has been on it, the worse the constipation has gotten. My dog Charlotte used to go 3-5 times a day (though 4 or 5 times is a bit excessive), and now she's lucky if she goes once and she strains. I checked, and her poo is exceedingly hard. Out of curiosity, I mixed some regular (with grain) wet food into the kibble for her breakfast and dinner one day, and the next day she was able to have a normal poo. My other dog is doing great on the Wellness Simple Grain-free food, but all dogs are different and I guess grain-free just doesn't work for my female dog. This food is also fairly high in calories for a "diet" food, so my dog gets a VERY small portion. This is good for my wallet, and while my dog isn't acting hungry, she finishes her much smaller portion much earlier than my other dog finishes his food. Dogs are kind of like jealous toddlers, so I have to watch and make sure she doesn't harass my male dog while he's still finishin up his meal.I give a three star rating in the middle because there are pros and cons for this food for my pets, but I do not think its a bad food. It just hasn't been an ideal fit for my dog.EDIT 11/9/2014: my dog has now lost three pounds on this food, and that's the fastest she has ever lost weight on any food. I've upped the food by a star for that. It still makes her constipated unless I add a spoon of wet food that includes grains. Due to this diet success that has NEVER happened for her before, I will keep her on this food (with a bit of wet food) until her weight loss goal is achieved. At that point, I will re-evaluate keeping her on this food or switching to one with grains, like the Wellness Complete Health Healthy Weight.

My two little ones love this food, didn't know the pieces was a little bigger than I wanted, quality is yummy, found something new they really like, my little ones are very active considering one is 16 yr old nd the other is 3 yr old, we found something they love eating

I have an Aussie that is a picky eater and I can truthfully say, she loves this food!

Clean and healthy

My dogs have been eating this dog for for over 20 years. It’s a high quality, nutritious food that my dogs love