Wysong Review: Dog Food Stores

Wysong has been feeding dogs a holistic canine diet since 1979. Their tagline proudly proclaims that they offer "the thinking person's pet food", because of how carefully-crafted and nutritionally sound their products are. As you might have guessed, there are no other brands offered through Wysong's online store.

3 categories of dog food

There are three main categories of dog food you'll find here: Natural Dry (traditional kibble-style), Canned, and True Non-Thermal Freezedried. Interestingly, most of the dog food sold by Wysong is suitable for both dogs and cats (and even ferrets). Let's take a look at a sample of some of those products, to give you an idea of what you'll see when you visit the online store:

• Epigen 90: if you're already feeding your dog a grain-free kibble, this is the equivalent. It's starch-free and has a high percentage of meat content, as well as pro- and pre-biotics, enzymes, vitamins, and minerals. It's priced at $31.09 for a 5-lb bag, $112.99 for a 20-lb box, and $223.98 for a 40-lb case.
• Archetype Chicken: this is Wysong's original raw dog/cat food diet. It's never heated above 118°F but is rather freeze dried raw. It also contains plant nutrients, nutraceuticals, pre- and pro-biotics, vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients; you'll see things like barley grass, chia seed, plums, and carrots on the ingredient list. It also comes in quail and rabbit varieties. Prices for Archetype Chicken are $21.89 for a 7.5-oz bag or $238.79 for a 12-pack, but both were backordered at the time of our evaluation.
• Canned dog food: Wysong makes varieties for adult dogs, senior dogs, and also their Epigen line. However, all canned food was on backorder when we visited. Expect to pay prices starting at $4.79 for a 12.5 oz can.

Cut corners as a frequent buyer

If you're looking to save a bit of money, pay attention to the "$0.50 credit corners" on your 5-lb. bags of Wysong dog food. When you've saved up at least 20 of them, you can mail them into Wysong for a coupon as part of their frequent buyer program. Just indicate if you're planning on redeeming that coupon directly with Wysong or with another retailer.

Save 10% with auto-ship

Another way to get a discount is by setting up your Wysong order with auto-ship. It'll get you a 10% discount on every delivery.

Customer feedback is mediocre

Reputation-wise, Wysong doesn't come out looking so great. For starters, the Better Business Bureau gives the company an "F" rating; however, given that it's for failing to respond to a grand total of two complaints that have been filed with the BBB in the last three years, that doesn't seem like much cause for concern. And, the ratings for the dog food itself are relatively mixed - but we had to go to third-party retailers of Wysong products just to find them, because there aren't any provided on the brand's own website. Some customers are devoted to Wysong; they love the multi-purpose nature of the food (not having to buy something separate for their dogs and cats... or ferrets) and say that it's a big hit. Others complain that their pets don't find the food to be very appetizing, or that there seem to be unannounced formula changes that don't sit well with their pets' digestive systems.

Below-average refund policy

And, that could be a problem, considering that Wysong doesn't allow for returns on opened packages of food. You might find a different policy in place if you shop at a third-party retailer of Wysong products (like the #1 dog food store on our list), but the 30-day return window when you buy directly from Wysong only applies to unopened items. They put it like this: "Since Wysong does not specifically formulate for taste, smell, consistency, color or other factors unrelated to healthful nutrition, these factors would not be considered a quality issue justifying credit for the return of opened or partially used products." Okay then!

Not our favorite dog food

Wysong is definitely a niche product: you've got to be really committed to their approach to feeding your dog if you're willing to pay those prices (and face the possibility of your pupper's favorite food being out of stock the next time you run out). And, it's a risky experiment to try Wysong with no refunds allowed on opened packages; rival dog food stores make it a lot easier (and less costly) to take a chance on something new. If all other dog food options have failed and you're desperate for something that your dog will actually eat, you could give Wysong a try - but you might want to get it from a third-party retailer for better availability and more customer-friendly policies.

On the Wysong website