Wholehearted Dog Food Review

Reviewed By Kim •  Updated: 08/25/22 •  6 min read
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Wholehearted Dog Food Review

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As a pet parent, you want to do everything possible to keep your dog happy and healthy. That means regular checkups with the vet, providing your fur baby with exercise, and ensuring he has high-quality dog food to eat. With so many dog food brands to choose from, it can be challenging to find the right one for your dog.

In this article, we’ll take a look at Wholehearted dog food. We share information about this brand to help you learn if this is a good choice for your canine companion. Let’s get started!

What is Wholehearted Dog Food?

Wholehearted dog food is a private label brand put out by Petco. Petco is one of the leading pet brands in the US and they take pride in offering high-quality pet supplies, services, and more. They launched the Wholehearted brand in 2016 with the goal of providing customers with dog food that’s nutritious and affordable. Each of their offerings is grain-free and is fit for all breeds of dogs at every life stage. The brand offers both canned wet food and dry kibble.

When you read the reviews for this brand, you may notice it ranks about 4.0 stars out of 5. We’ll take a closer look at the dog food recipes to see why this ranking isn’t higher for Wholehearted dog food.

The Best Wholehearted Dog Food Recipes

Wholehearted dog food by Petco is a product that comes at an affordable price. This brand of dog food can be bought through Amazon; however, you may find higher prices in those product listings.

Here are the best Wholehearted Dog Food Brands

Wholehearted Adult Large-Breed

Wholehearted Grain Free All Life Stages

Wholehearted Adult Small-Breed

Wholehearted Grain Free Senior

Who Makes Wholehearted Dog Food Products?

Petco is the creator and manufacturer of Wholehearted dog food. This company has been in business for over 50 years. The company can be found in over 1470 locations across the US, Mexico, & Puerto Rico. The company has a vision of “Healthier pets, happier people, and a better world.”

They started the Wholehearted dog food brand in 2016 as a way to offer their customers high-quality dog food at an affordable price.

What Kind of Dogs is Wholehearted Better For?

Wholehearted offers over 50 products in dry and wet dog foods. And they’re a good option for all breeds and sizes of dogs at all life stages. The brand also offers more specialized food options for dogs that have specific health issues, such as sensitive digestive tracts, skin & coat care, weight control, and more.

You’ll find a broad range of flavors and meat sources such as chicken, beef, salmon, duck, and lamb. So, even dogs that are picky eaters should be able to find something they like! Most of the brand’s offerings are grain free, with no added wheat or corn. So, if your dog has allergies, digestive issues, or skin irritation, this may be a great choice for him.

What are the Main Ingredients in Wholehearted Dog Food?

Wholehearted dog food uses fresh ingredients with each recipe they offer. Most of the recipes list meat as the first ingredient. And they don’t include low-quality meat by-products or fillers in any of their recipes.

The brand’s recipes that include grains use whole grain rice, cracked pearl barley, and rice bran. Their grain-free recipes contain peas, chickpeas, lentils, pea flour, and sweet potatoes. The rest of their ingredients include minerals, vitamins, amino acids, omega fatty acids, glucosamine, and chondroitin.

Possible Problem Ingredients

Wholehearted’s grain-free recipes include pea, potato, lentils, and legumes right after the first ingredient. However, a recent study has found that these ingredients can be linked to a canine heart condition called dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). The study even sparked an alert from the FDA.

Some dog breeds are more prone to develop DCM; however, there’s been an increase in the number of dog breeds that don’t usually develop this condition.

The FDA is currently investigating how grain-free dog food may be linked to these issues in dogs. It’s thought that the problem may be due to a lack of taurine, which is a necessary amino acid. Dogs can produce their own taurine, but only if they eat a balanced diet.

Most grain-free dog foods do not supply this vital ingredient. What’s more, the ingredients (see above) may even block the absorption of taurine in dogs. While some of Wholehearted’s recipes do include taurine, the amino acid may not be absorbed in dogs due to the other ingredients in the dog food.

Wholehearted Dog Food Review

Recall History of Wholehearted Dog Food

Since the Wholehearted dog food brand was launched in 2016, there have been no product recalls.

Best Wholehearted Dog Food Recipes

Here are the Wholehearted dog food recipes that are rated the best:

Wholehearted Adult Large-Breed Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe with Whole Grains Dry Dog Food

This Wholehearted recipe contains chicken as the first ingredient. The dog food recipe is geared toward large dog breeds and does meet the nutritional requirements of these dogs. They also offer a version of this dog food for small dog breeds.

In addition, this recipe also contains glucosamine and chondroitin, which are both necessary to support a dog’s joints. Hip dysplasia and other joint conditions are common in large dog breeds.

Wholehearted Grain Free All Life Stages Beef & Pea Dry Dog Food

This is a grain-free recipe that meets the needs of most dog breeds and all life stages. Real beef is listed as the main ingredient. Other ingredients include omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, and probiotics, along with antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals to keep dogs healthy.

This recipe does not contain corn, wheat, soy, or grains.

Wholehearted All Breed Chicken and Brown Rice Formula Dry Puppy Food

The brand’s puppy food is suitable for puppies of all dog breeds. This puppy food contains all the nutrients that a puppy needs to grow up strong and healthy.

Summing It Up

As you can see, Wholehearted dog food recipes are a great choice for most dogs. The main concern is that some of the ingredients can block the absorption of much-needed taurine in dogs. And taurine is not always added to the recipes.

Otherwise, Wholehearted dog food is a great brand of dog food you can buy at an affordable price.

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Kim

Kim is a talented author, who loves animals especially dogs. She engaged in writing books and articles relating to animals a decade ago. Kim resides in Chicago with her husband and son. The family is the proud owner of a dog and a parrot (Jack and Lily). Kim wanted more than these two pets, but her husband put his foot down... She often visits elementary schools to talk to the kids about what she learned about pets and how they could learn from them.