From Wellness puppy to adult, but which kind...Core or Super 5?
I have been searching through the various blog posts and haven't been able to quite find what I am looking for. So here we go. It is another food blog (I know there is a bunch of them and if anyone can point me to the right one if this has been discussed before, I would appreciate a link) :-)
Bailey is almost 9-months old. She is on Wellness puppy food. She is doing really well on it, and I am not planing on switching away from Wellness. However, I do want to start her on one of the Wellness adult formulas, which brings me to my question. Which Wellness adult formula? I have been researching Wellness Core a lot, and I really like the sound of it. Two worries I have about it though.
1-Is it too early to start her on Core? I have read various blogs on the internet discussing just this question. The opinions seem to be split. Half say that it should be okay for a 9-months old and the other half say NO. The no sayers rely on the fact that the Core package itself states for dogs 12-months and up, but when trying to explain further they state that it is too high in protein. BUT, aren't there other puppy foods out there that are higher in protein than Core??? Is there any other reason why it would only be for dogs 12 months and up?
2-Is she active enough for a high protein food?
We walk her every day (currently only about 20-30 minutes since we are taking our senior dog with us, and he can't take much more than that), but increasing her walk time wouldn't be that big of an issue. I can take her in the morning by herself. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesdays her walk is her only main form of exercise. We do play in the yard with her for about 30 minutes (chasing frisbees, balls and bubbles), plus Bailey has her own little exercise routine in the morning after breakfast. She runs laps around the yard for about 10 minutes (she does this all by herself. I hear her when I get ready in the morning. I have no idea how she got started with this). Currently on Thursdays, she goes sheep herding. We are out and about for about 3 hours, but she doesn't partake in herding the entire time. She gets two turns with the sheep. But we walk around the area during the time she is not with the sheep. On Fridays, I usually take her to the doggie park or the beach, and we stay until she gets tired (1-2 hours). On Saturdays, we have a one hour agility class. Sometimes we go to the doggie park after. On Sundays we either go to the park for a few hours or on a pack walk with 20 other dogs. (usually a 2 mile hike).
Writing this out, it seems like a lot, but I am not sure, so any input would be greatly appreciated.
I don't want to take Bailey from puppy to an adult Super5Mix and then to Core. If we go with Core, I would keep her on puppy for another three months and then make the switch.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Avyon on
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We moved from traditional dog food to wellness after actually reading a discussion on here about how important dog food quality is.
We did the nine month thing and it worked out fine for Roxi. Charlie gets it just because that's what we buy and can't afford to buy two different brands at the moment.
We went from Wellness to Core because reading online I found out that its really good for active dogs and Roxi does A-Lot. (daily runs, herding, agility, play time) But truthfully Wellness would probably be good for your pup. If you do more activities with her then I would move to Core. To be honest Charlie is doing fine on Core even though he isn't as active as Roxi. He does have a fatty bubble on his chest but we don't know if that started before we got him, if its genetic or the food.. It hasn't gotten bigger or anything so I don't think so...
Our next step might be the raw food diet but I'm still reading up on it lol.
Oh! and they get fed three times a day. 1/2 a cup per feeding except Roxi who gets a full cup at lunch.
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Permalink Reply by Geri & Sidney on
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We gave Sidney Core for a little while, the Ocean, which he loved. But while he's active, he's not super-active. If he was training for agility or herding, I might have kept him on core, but he's a therapy dog. He takes 2 good long hikes (3-5 miles) a week and takes shorter walks two other times in the week, but I don't think that's enough to be on Core. He's on Super5 now and doing great.
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Permalink Reply by Miri, Bailey and Cali on
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Thanks for the reply...I am still not quite sure. I am leaning strongly towards the Core. I might give it a try, and see how she does. I will increase Bailey's energy a bit with extra walk and some more fetch time in the yard. Shouldn't be too hard. She loves fetching anything that moves.
If anyone else has any experience with CORE or Super5, I would love to hear about it.
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Permalink Reply by Kelly on
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I fed Gibson Just for Puppy until he was 5 months old and that is when I switched him to Super5Mix. He was doing great on both, but his weight concerned me (those corgi's love to eat!). I switched him to the reduced fat version of Core when he was around 15months old because 1) I felt it was the healthiest food in our price range and 2) It's amount of protein and fiber was much higher than non-grain free reduced fat foods (to keep him full w/less food!). And actually, Wellness Core has a much lower amount of protein than other grain free foods so you don't have to worry AS much about activity levels as you would w/EVO or Orijen. They still recommend that the dog is over the age of 1 though... I would suggest switching to Super5Mix and then transitioning over to Core when your pup is a little older (if you choose to go grain free). Hope that helps :)
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It sure does help. Thanks so much...
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Permalink Reply by Alice on
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I was told that CORE is too high in protein for a growing pup so I would not give it just yet (maybe wait until age 2). Two much protein can cause them to grow too quickly and promote issues such as Pano (this is true of Corgis and large breed dogs). Plus, unless you have a very active or working dog, that much protein is not necessary. There will be a lot of difference of opinion on this but many other pet owners and Corgi breeders believe this to be true and it makes sense so I followed this rule with my own puppy. One thing I didn't learn until after the fact was that Corgi puppies should be on adult food by 6 months of age if not sooner. We didn't switch Finnigan until 8 months and he didn't grow much after that so I think he was growing too fast and topped off too soon.
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