Wellness Core Large Puppy Original Dry Dog Food review

Name: Wellness Core Large Puppy Original Dry Dog Food
Brand: Wellness Core

Dry Puppy Grain free Hypoallergenic Natural Sensitive stomach Joint care Fussy eaters Skin and coat Digestion

Very good

A genuinely strong dry food. 61% declared meat content leads the label. Feeding it costs about 96p a day for a typical adult dog - the breakdown below shows exactly what that buys.

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Label last checked July 27, 2026

Image © Wellness Core

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Top 28%scores higher than 72% of rated foodsacross all 3530 foods we've scored

Very goodscore bandthe dot marks where it sits among every food we've rated

£0.96per day for a 15 kg dogcheaper than 42% of dry foods

61%declared meat content

Where the points went

The full breakdown, exactly as the algorithm scored it. How our rating works

Ingredient quality

Weighted ingredient quality 80/100 across 19 ingredients (declared percentages used for 7, position estimates for the rest).

31.9 / 40

Label clarity

Vague category terms on the label (dried citrus) - naming points withheld; percentages cover 91% of the recipe (+5.4); meat sources named (+2); recipe reads as a fixed formula (+2).

9.4 / 15

Additives

No artificial colours, flavours, controversial preservatives or added sugars found.

10 / 10

Red flags

No red-flag ingredients.

0 / 0

Meat content

Declared meat content 61%.

15 / 15

Nutritional balance

Estimated carbohydrate 35% dry matter (moderate); fat 16.3% DM in the healthy band; moisture not declared - 8% assumed for the dry-matter maths; fibre 3.8% DM (+2); ash 7.6% DM - sensible mineral load (+2); functional extras: omega-3 source, joint support, named botanicals, pre/probiotics (+2).

9.1 / 10

Processing

Assumed extruded kibble (standard high-heat process).

6 / 10

ODF Score

Algorithm v1.4.0 · scored July 28, 2026 · full methodology public

81 / 100

Our analysis

Breaking the 81 down: the biggest single loss is ingredient quality, where it takes 31.9 of a possible 40. Its strongest showing is declared meat content at 15 of 15.

The label declares 61% meat, which is unusually specific - most brands never print a figure at all, and the ingredient list is only partly specific.

At about 96p a day to feed a 15kg dog, the question is not whether it is cheap but whether the label justifies the price - and on our scoring, it broadly does.

Ingredients

Straight from the label, grouped by role - every ingredient is coloured by our published classification and links to its full page.

Good qualityAcceptable / watch the amountRed flagGeneric / neutralOutlined = first five on the label

Feeding & cost

What a bag actually costs to feed - worked out per dog, not per pack.

Pack size	RRP	Per kg
10 kg	-	-
20 kg	-	-

How heavy is your dog?

A typical 15 kg adult dog needs about 201 g a day = £0.96 / day, £29.18 / month.

How we work this out

Energy: an adult dog at rest needs about 95 × weight^0.75 kcal a day (the FEDIAF maintenance formula - a 15 kg dog works out near 725 kcal).
Portion: divide that by this food's energy density, 360 kcal/100g, to get the grams above - a denser food needs fewer grams.
Cost: multiply the grams by this food's price, £4.76 / kg, for the daily cost, then by 30.4 days for the month.

Estimates scale to your dog's weight and the food's calorie density - a denser food needs fewer grams. A rough guide; always follow the pack. This is a puppy food, but the figures above are for an adult dog at maintenance - the same reference we use on every food so costs stay comparable. A growing puppy needs roughly twice the energy for its weight, so feed to the pack, not to this. Try the full feeding calculator

Nutrition

Declared analysis converted to a dry-matter basis, so wet and dry foods compare fairly.

Protein

37 % DM

Directory average: 28.2

Fat

16.3 % DM

Directory average: 14.9

Est. carbs

35.3 % DM

Directory average: 45.1

Fibre

3.8 % DM

Directory average: 3.7

Ash

7.6 % DM

Directory average: 7.9

Moisture isn't declared on this label - dry-matter figures assume 8% (typical for a dry food) and are marked estimated.

Carbohydrates are estimated: 100% minus protein, fat, fibre, ash and moisture.

Similar foods that score higher

Same type and life stage, better ODF Score, comparable price per day.

EdenEden 80/20 Puppy Cuisine90

£1.36 / day approx.See review

AkelaAkela 80:20 Fish Feast89

£1.10 / day approx.See review

AkelaAkela 80:20 Free-Range Chicken89

£1.18 / day approx.See review

AkelaAkela 80:20 Scottish Salmon89

£1.07 / day approx.See review

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This is label analysis, not veterinary advice - if your dog has a health condition, talk to your vet before switching foods.