James Wellbeloved Reviews 5.267

Been a loyal JW customer for the last 5 years (Fish & Rice), but saw that the packaging had changed. Looking closer, JW have also changed the ingredients to include Poultry Fat. My Retriever is chicken intolerant and we spent lots of time in the vets when he was a puppy trying to understand the issue so for JW to add Poultry fat into the Fish & Rice recipe is appalling. You don't need to look far to see that lots of dogs have been negatively impacted by this change so we will be switching dog food ASAP. Terrible from JW.

Very disappointed with the latest purchase of James Wellbeloved turkey dry senior cat food. I have been feeding my 12 year old cat this for years and now he won’t touch the new bag that cost me £17.49 from Pets at Home, apparently not only has the packaging changed, the recipe has also. So goodbye to James Wellbeloved and now looking for new brand of cat food.
EDIT: Just to say after a couple of weeks persevering Seb is not eating James Wellbeloved again!
EDIT: Have now had to stop feeding Seb JWB even though he started eating JWB again, he is being constantly sick - sometimes three times a day, something in the new recipe obviously doesn’t agree with him. After trying various other brands have switched to Scrumbles gut health for senior cats, fingers crossed it will agree with Seb!

Bought our usual JW Salmon and Rice only to find a recipe change with the addition of poultry fat and non specific fish protein added to the new recipe. The result is one dog who is now itched herself a bald spot and one dog who I sick and has diarrhoea. £100 wasted. After many years on this dog food will have to find a replacement brand. JW are you going to refund me?

I am a regular buyer over 6yrs for my large Airedale, she has had runny pooh and turns her nose up at this hyperallergenic lamb. I was bit concerned as shape change with hole in it, but now read Reviews claiming the same problem! Alarmed to find change in menu, now seeking other brands, this is so disgraceful as my dogs stomach is sensitive, and unbelievable you could put loyal customers dogs through this!! Shame on you.

‘Was’ the preferred dry food for our dog, however after a farce of a recent subscription order which shows shipped, then when i contacted by chat was told it was out of stock and not shipped by which time I had run out and had to drive to buy more, I am still chasing the refund up nearly 2 weeks later via PayPal as customer service do not respond, will be looking at another brand after this issue after reading comments on ingredient change.

Been using James wellbeloved for years without issue and dog has always thrived. It seems they've changed the recipe and loads of dogs are getting sick from it. It's also down into the 50%s on AADF. I've just swapped to darf which is a similar price, yet has ratings in the 80%s. It seems it has become a cheap dog food, yet still at a premium price.

My 10month puppy has been sick every day for the past 2 weeks, in and out of the vets, spending over a £1000 to work out what was wrong. We finally had to change his food and the sickness has stopped! Thought we would check to see if anyone else has had an issue and it seems that due to a change in ingredients a ridiculous high amount of pets have been extremely poorly - can’t believe it! Poor pets, a horrible time for owners.

Recipe change with no notification to customers or on packaging.

Bought a bag of James Wellbeloved lamb & rice. I thought the kibble shape was different but did not see any notification on the bag to indicate a change to recipe. My dog had a soft stool this evening which is very unlike her and upon research have found many other examples of people and their pets in the same boat.

Disappointing and angry! Extremely poor from James Wellbeloved - if changing the recipe, let us know so we can phase in the new good gently for our pets!

EDIT: RESPONSE FROM
JAMES WELLBELOVED CONFIRMING RECIPE CHANGE BELOW:

“Thank you for contacting JAMES WELLBELOVED!

We are sorry to hear about the experience you and your furry friend have had with our product and please rest assured that your feedback and experience will be documented for the interest of the Quality Team.

There have been some minor changes to the recipe your pet knows and loves.

The changes made are as listed below:

1. Lower white and brown rice content
2. Oats and Barley will be listed as 2nd and 3rd Grain
3. Kibble size has been simplified
4. Replacement of protein specific fats coating the kibble to poultry fat

These changes has been applied to all of the dry dog and cat food range.

Our aim is always to provide the best high-quality nutrition for pets whilst also providing best value for pet parents.As such, we adjust our recipes from time to time, always balancing a range of factors including, for example, taste and nutritional profile, ingredient quality and availability. We´ve put over 30 years of knowledge, love and care into every one of our delicious recipes and still exclude common allergens such as: Beef, Pork, Soya, Eggs, Dairy and Wheat.

Please rest assured that these recipe changes should not in advers effects as sickness, diarrhoea or an allergy or intolerance flare up.

When pets experience a sensitivity to a food source this is due to the protein present in the food, so even with the inclusion of poultry fat in our recipes instead of a protein specific fat it should not result in an adverse reaction as fats and oils do not contain any protein. However please notice that eventhough our recipes are designed to be hypoallergenic, our products can not be used as a substitute of prescription diet for pets with severe sensitivities or allergies. If you are concerned then we would advise to speak to your vet.

We hope your furry friend is doing well now and hope this helps!”

Change in ingredients means an increase in poultry fats across the range. Dog can no longer stomach the food and regularly vomits now.

JWB did not make customers aware of the change and as a result they’ve cheapened the product.

Think of it like what Sports Direct did to Karrimor.

Cheap, nasty product and yet another loss of customer.

It’s worthwhile the business finds out which team of idiots pushed this idea and sack them. It offered a short term saving but the building mass of poor reviews is now preparing them for future losses.

We should also consider the ethics of the message put out by the company. The supplier - Pets at Home put out a message regarding a change in the protein content. Neither Pets at Home nor JWB explicitly informed customers that poultry fat was the replacement ingredient, changing the ratios.

Having used JW for both our dogs over the years, I thought nothing of the fact that the chicken and rice kibble had changed shape. Within a couple of days our dog was having diarrhoea (to the point of squirty dirty watery faeces), vomiting, wouldn't eat, lethargic. This went on for a week and a half. We were late going on our UK holiday due to her being poorly, a vet visit needed for anti sickness injection, tablets, pain killers. I put her on a bland diet of chicken and white fish and she started improving. At no point have they informed us of a change, neither did PAH where our subscription comes from. We had sleepless nights and tears as well as ruined summer holiday as our dog has a soft tissue sarcoma and we wrongly assumed she had deteriorated. Shame on you. I will be taking this further.

I’ve been a loyal James Wellbeloved customer for years, specifically using their Fish & Rice Adult Dry Dog Food for my dog with a very sensitive stomach. We chose this brand because of its promise to avoid common allergens and offer a simple, safe formula.

However, without any clear notice or transparency, the company changed the ingredients — adding poultry fat — which caused my dog to become unwell and require a veterinary visit. The new packaging did not state “new recipe” or “updated ingredients,” nor was this change clearly communicated to subscribers like myself. Even the biscuit shape changed, yet nothing was marked to indicate a reformulation.

I still have two unopened bags and one partially used, which are now unusable for my dog. The stress of managing her sudden illness, coupled with having to urgently find a suitable replacement diet, was extremely upsetting and costly.

I’ve since contacted the company multiple times, received delayed and templated responses, and have only been partially refunded for the order. It’s even more concerning that I’ve found many other reviews online reporting similar issues, particularly around poultry fat being added without warning — affecting other dogs in the same way.

We’ve now switched to Harrington- just 6 Salmon, and it’s been fantastic. No reactions, much happier tummy, and great customer support. I’d definitely recommend giving them a try if you're in the same boat.

For a brand trusted by owners of dogs with allergies and sensitivities, this level of communication is unacceptable. I have escalated the matter to Citizens Advice, Trading Standards, and have made them aware of this as a potentially misleading business practice.

Pet owners deserve better transparency — especially when it concerns our pets' health.

They have changed the makeup of the food without making it public. This has caused our dog to have stomach problems. Will not be using again.

James Wellbeloved asked for my contact details, which I provided, you will be surprised to read that no contact has been made.

That’s fine, I will make sure as many people as possible are aware of the cavalier attitude to pet health that this company now adopt

My dog loves the food but their subscription 'service' leaves a lot to be desired. On a few occasions they have not delivered without explanation, which completely negates the point of setting up the subscription.

As I write, I am waiting again for a delivery, no explanation given, so again we are going to need to source it ourselves.

Recipe changed for dog food and the car food has suddenly jumped in price by £20 for 10KG bags so my subscription order was "out of stock" at the old price.

Avoid

New recipe on the adult fish and rice now contains poultry fat which has made my dog ill, due to her having an intolerance to chicken, hence why she was having fish dog food the old recipe was great no problems, new recipe no good. I am no longer a customer of James Wellbeloved. Changing recipe just so they get more profit, well they won’t get profit from me any more.

Don't usually review much but credit where it's due...our 4 month old working cocker spaniel hasn't had a solid poo since we picked him up at 8 weeks, vets found nothing wrong, changed to other brand but came across the chicken and rice for puppy/Junior..wow so impressed he's had his first solid poo after just days of being on this and he's seems calmer..so impressed I would definitely recommend for anyone to try this with their pup who has a dodgy tummy.

We’ve had our two labs on the lamb and rice for years as it’s the only food that Rosie can tolerate without bad gas 💨

Rosie has a degenerative brain condition and we know we have to make a tough decision sometime, but a couple of weeks ago she went into a sudden decline. We thought her time was up.

Then my husband had an idea as he had noticed a change in their food and that they didn’t seem as keen on it. After a little research he found out that the recipe had changed.

Now we have them both on a far better food made by a company local to us, and Rosie is a different dog. Far happier and lively again!

Well done JW, you nearly caused us to put down a dog that still has plenty of life left in her! Just because you want to save some money with a change to lower quality ingredients! And to not inform us of the recipe change is disgraceful!

James Wellbelove needs to sort PETS AT HOME out, I ordered a 15kg bag of Dog food 2 weeks later I've still not had it delivered. I've had to transition him over to another brand. How many more customers will you lose before you see how bad pets at home delivery service is?

James Wellbeloved have taken the decision to include poultry fat in all their products. No communication on the packaging - along with many others (google it) i now have 2 dogs with very poorly tummies and who are losing weight while i now have to quickly move them to a new food, a process that should be done slowly and properly.

Extremely disappointed with a brand i have used for 7 years+. Complete lack of concern for welfare and i now have an unusable £50+ bag of food.

Change of recipe (with NO communication) has severely affected by boy's tummy. He has been in and out of hospital with unrelated health issues so this is the last thing he needed and meant that after just a few meals with the new turkey kibble (he has been on James Wellbeloved since a puppy) he was back to the vets. Not only have I had to throw away a 10kg bag I have had several trips to the vet as any changes need to be closely monitored.