Merrick Dog Food (Canned)

Get a book on natural health for pets. You can easily make food for them without added ingredients. Pitcairn has recipes in his book. I found that our greyhounds don’t tolerate dry kibble with grains, but they love home made oatmeal as well as brown rice. In a pinch, I include a slice of organic whole grain bread. So I use half and half: dry kibble and veggies and beef, etc.

My dogs like Merrick, but I am starting to worry about the quality control. I wonder if they have employees that think it is funny to put stuff in the food? Also, I have found apple seeds in the Wild Buffalo Grill on several occasions so I feel that their coring process needs improvement. It stopped for a while and I am seeing them again.

I have found an appleseed in one of our cans also. I guess I should have called them. It was a couple of months ago.

Lololololololllolololol that’s gross but at least you know that’s its “all natural” chicken this way and not some “chicken by-product”

Anyone know what the ash content of the food is? I am concerned about ash content that is too high. Thanks!

Rufus LOVES all the varieties of Merrick canned food but I am concerned with the Wingaling flavor as it does contain an entire chicken wing with the bone still in it.

You would think that if their machinery was falling apart, they would notice.  And any remodeling/construction should not be taking place in food processing areas while food is being made.  To my way of thinking, that means that their “ingredients” are contaminated with this stuff or someone is deliberately putting it in there.

Heatheragratton,
This is the fourth  such incedent I’ve heard from Merrick in so many years. First it was metal I.D. tags in the Wingaling. Then there was blue plastic in a couple different varieties of canned. Then there was the wire brads found in one of the dry foods and now this. I’ve got five can of 96% grain free pork left. When thats gone there will be no more Merrick in my house again……Brothers and Abady. Then I know what I’m getting!

 We contacted them a month ago. A rep came by the house here (sent out by the pet store that we purchased the food from), and saw the plastic. Merrick has asked us to forward them the plastic down to the states (we are in canada) so that it will help them in investigating the situation. They have offered to send us coupons – haven’t seen those yet, but the big concern for us is that they hopefully will take this seriously when looking into it. The way I see it, it has to be the result of some renovation work or someone planted it. There is no other way a two inch piece of plastic would land in a can. We believe that Merrick will look into it – we HOPE – as we are still feeding the six cases of cans we have on hand to our big St Bernard. However, I was hoping to get the word out – I saw a post about another consumer who discovered an identical plastic piece…seems way too weird that her and I are the only ones who will/have seen this? Just hoping no animals ingest it…it was knife sharp at the tip. Really, really weird and really a close call for us and our dog.

We found a large chunk of sharp thick plastic in the bottom of a can of Merrick last month. Merrick is aware, as well as the customer rep who came to our house to examine the can. I see that another consumer found an identical – although much smaller piece in her Merrick a few weeks earlier than our discovery. Please check the can contents carefully. Our st bernard could have wolfed this down if we hadn’t heard it strike the steel bowl. Merrick is stating that they are investigating this. I wonder if a renovation is contributing to the plastic pieces – also saw a man found nails in the dry food? Anyway, we still feed our dog Merrick as she loves it and we like that there are no ingredients from overseas, but this was a bit of a shocker. Dog lovers keep your eyes open!

You’re very welcome! If you will look at your first post, you will see that you replied to me not the OP, so I gave you my response. I replied to the question that was asked, politely. If you’re hoping for brownie points by acting like an 8 yr old, OK, but if you hope people will take your advice seriously, you need to answer like a grown up.

She wasn’t asking how to convince her dog to eat W/D. She was asking about the best food for her dog.

If you’re really considering raw, get on the Darwin’s thread and check it out.  It is very low carb., with no filler ingredients.  You can make homemade raw, but there is a lot to learn to do it right, so starting out with a premade balanced raw gives you time to research.  There are a lot of great people here that can answer any questions you may come up with.  Good luck!

READ THE NEW MERRICK LABLES. 

They have changed the ingredients!  Sadly I do not think they are single protien foods, anymore, at least not the types I have fed. 

Other changes I have noticed is the 96% bufflao now is buffalo plus turkey. 

The Wild buffalo used to have barley and fish meal, both have been removed and it now has Yukon potato instead. It was once Low glycemic certified by The Glycemic Research Institute but that is no longer shown on the can so I suspect that the potato has caused it to no longer be low glycemic?

I think Olive oil has been dropped and now canola oil is being used.

I am not convinced the changes are for the better. I would really like to see  Dog Food Advisor do new analysis, I don’t think the old ones are valid anymore.

Some of Merrick’s canned foods before reformulation were certified low glycemic.  I’m not sure about now. The dates and foods are listed at gripefoods.com.  They haven’t certified any new ones yet.

I have a 9 year old miniature daschund who is diabetic is this food ok for him? He is currently on the W/D and is turning his nose up at it.

I haven’t used the new Merrick 96% ones yet. Hound & Gatos also has single proteins but you’d have to ask them what kind of liver they use.  ZiwiPeak is chicken free as well. Taste of the Wild has chicken free cans also. Wellness has 95% meats as well as the Stews which some don’t contain chicken.  I use the Wellness stews right now. Thick and chunky.

I haven’t tried those yet.  Are they loaf/pate form or chunks?

Has anyone else noticed that the ingredients in this Merrick line have changed?  I’ve been using this for years mixed with kibble for my dogs.  I prefer using single proteins at a time rather than a mix (which is why I don’t fee Merrick’s dry as they add chicken meal or salmon meal to every formula).  I rotate my dogs but one had a particular reaction to chicken and another to beef.  The Mediterranean Banquet lists lamb on the label but now has beef in it as well.  When I talked to the Merrick customer service rep months ago she said they were changing to fresher and more local ingredients.  I’m so disappointed that they have changed the formulas as well.  The ingredients changed and the price went up.  I liked the fact that Merrick was not a pate, but I may have to search for a different brand.

Thank you, Melissa!   They did great on the duck, and all the dry and canned Merrick.  I feel good about it.

The only bad thing is that they are so crazy about the Merrick dog food that NOW they are running around wanting to have another meal, like right now, haha, and are following me to the kitchen every time I go in there because they want more Merrick food, lol.

Suzanne-

I would not worry about the pancreatitis-all dogs are different and what one can handle for fat etc(or may have genetic predisposition) may not be the same as another.

 My crew loves duck-duck anything- canned, fresh, raw, dry-they love the duckie! One will not eat the canned buffalo, but he is a picky little freak so I am not surprised : )

Thanks, Kelly.  I’m staying with the Merrick, because I think it is excellent food.  I’m glad you mentioned that about the Buffalo.  I will watch mine for any upset stomach, and they really liked the chicken based dry food and did well with that.  I fed the canned duck today, something they have never had before.  I never particularly thought of duck as a food dogs would be crazy about, haha, but if they like it and it’s healthy I’ll  feed it unless I hear otherwise.   If the canned buffalo is a problem I will be disappointed, since I have several cases of that

Dear Anne and Kelly,

I really admire and appreciate you as such great and loving caretakers of your wonderful dogs.  I wish there were more like you in the world.

All my dogs are rescued, and some are very old and some are young.  I have tried the best dog food for years for them.  Some were near death when I got them.

They are on Merrick at this time, and I plan to stay with this food so long as they are doing so well and like it so much.  They have had no problems at all with this food.  I have to watch them closely for what they get into OUTSIDE when they go out for their bathroom trips.   They can get into mischief with acorns, and I even saw two mushrooms today that can be dangerous.   If they started having problems with Merrick I would start looking for something else.  I have tried all the best, and rely a lot on the grades of the food here, and stay only with the best of the level 5 food.   I’m not real fond of food with heavy vegetables and berries, though, so I watch that.  Right now I am using the dry Merrick , mixed with canned Merrick, and am watching to see which ones they like of that, and just ordered new canned and am this time staying with the old school nutrician with 96% Buffalo meat in the canned, and am trying the 96% Duck in the canned, too, and I feel good about this.   Don’t know how they will like the Duck, but they love the Buffalo meat, and I mix it with the dry food.

God bless you and your furry children!

Hi Anne,

I don’t know the first thing about pancreatitis, but my American Bulldog is fighting lymphoma and has struggled with his appetite and digestive issues. He too only wanted to eat plain chicken or turkey. I have found that if I blend (or food process) a mix of cooked meat (majority), eggs (cooked or raw, shell and all for calcium/phosphorous), raw goats milk (Answers brand), pumpkin/sweet potato, green beans/broccoli, blueberries, fish oil supplement, and water, that he will lap it up. For a probiotic, I have been giving him MegaFood brand MegaFlora, which is a human grade probiotic and he seems to be responding well. There is also a mix called Complete Probiotics for Pets, as well as one called Digestive Enzymes for Pets, on the Healthy Pets website that I believe a lot of people on here use. Here’s a link: 

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/products.aspx
 
There are many folks on here with a lot of knowledge, so I’m sure someone else will chime in with more info. Good luck to you and your babies! Sounds like you have fought very hard for them! 

I have been reading and writing in this review of dog food for a while, trying to find the best food for my dogs.  I have tried all the best brands, canned and dry.  I have had food shipped and have bought food at PetSmart.   My dogs would eat, but didn’t really like the food that much, and left a lot of food in their bowls.  I ordered Merrick, canned and dry, and had it shipped. 

My dogs started getting excited when I opened the cans, so I knew they could already smell the aroma of the food.  I feed dry mixed with canned, and my dogs are so happy, and every one of them has eaten every bite of this Merrick food, and they love it.  In other words, they “clean their bowls”, and they have not had any bad reaction to the food, no upset stomachs, they are just healthy, happy dogs. 

My dogs are all rescued from horrible situations, and they deserve the best.  They are large dogs and small dogs. 
In my opinion Merrick is the best!  

I am happy with Merrick food and love that my dogs are so happy and thrilled with their food. 

I’m really looking forward to my store getting the new Merrick line of foods, as they are doing away with things like Turducken and Grandma’s-whatever. 
Congrats on finding a good food that works for your dogs.

 Check out their website for the products they’ll be carrying (http://www.merrickpetcare.com/merrick-products.php). The gimmicky named foods are all gone. Their Whole Earth line is the only one that has multiple meat sources in their foods, unlike thing like Turducken had.

That is not true. As someone who works for a pet supply store I can assure you many of the flavors are staying. They are changing ALL canned flavors to grain free. The ones being discontinued are: New Zealand, Susie’s Shepherd Pie, Campfire Trout, Harvest Moon, Burger Pie & Sweety Fries. The rest are staying and they are adding Small Breed varieties to every flavor. 

I have used Merrick cans over the years with success, but I’m kinda disappointed in the new changes.  The Grammy’s Pot Pie, Thanksgiving Day and Wilderness Blend didn’t have carageenan in them and now it seems all the cans do!  Not too sure about the new dry formulas yet, either.  Looks like I’ll be sticking to Weruva. 

Blazaglory-

You burnt it ONCE? As in, you have cooked it stove top more than the one time? Yuck!

I’ve been feeding Wellness Core Reduced Fat Dry to my little Chiweenie for 2 years along with Merrick 5-Star Canned Food as a topper…she is VERY healthy and everyone (including the vet) compliments her on her soft and shiny coat and bright eyes….she has no digestive or urinary problems whatsoever and her breath is so sweet, never stinky …I think this is the BEST food combination one can give their dogs. 

Smothered Comfort* Sorry. They do say though that  ”THIS SPECIAL COOKING PROCESS MAKES THE BONE MUSHY AND SAFE FOR YOUR DOG TO ENJOY. Feel free to serve whole or to break apart the chicken and soft bones for ease of pet consumption.”

We add Merrick wet food to our dog’s dry food, which is Acana. Tonight while feeding my dog I found a sharp cooked chicken bone in the Merrick Southern Comfort can. I phone their customer service line and it closes at 5pm, so I will be phoning back tomorrow.

Orijen is a canned food and you fed your dog Merrick canned. Don’t see how you can really compare your dogs reaction to a dry versus canned.

 My dogs have been eating the Merrick for the past year and have loved it. Merrick’s variety and noticeably top-notch ingredients (you can see that it is real meat, veg etc) are also great. We haven’t tried Evo for the dogs, but did previously for the cat and have since moved on to a different brand. Give Merrick’s a try. Wingaling is our dogs’ favourite.

I use the BG cans as toppers with the BG dry foods. But to mix things up I’m going to start using these as toppers since they have a larger variety of flavors. Although from a cost perspective at my local Petco theses cost the same at the BG cans.

The problem may be feeding your puppy, puppy foord.  proteins are much higher.  I switched mine to regular Orijen, and then to the Acane and his stool firmed right up.  Large breeds grow quickly and too much protein may be the issue.

 I had the same problem with my puppy on Orijen Puppy. Turned out that he had an intolerance to chicken. He had exactly the same syptoms as your dog. I switched him to Acana pacifica and all the symptoms subsided (he loves his food). I would try switching him to a food that does not have chicken (or eggs) and see if the symptoms subside.

Wow… I just opened my first can of merrick dog food . I got campers delight . I could not believe how quickly my dog ate it !! She was on orijen and wouldn’t eat it unless she was hand fed !! After I put it in her bowl and in a minute she licked the bowl clean i will never use another canned food !!!!

I am currently using a puppy food that seems to be available online only anymore so I was looking for a food that I can get easliy enough in a store. I choose the Merrick brand.. my pups love it… problem…13oz can.. half the weight is liquid it is not a solid can of dog food as others are so it takes pretty much a whole can to feed 2 (8lb) puppies. This is the first food where I saw it said to shake before opening. Another thing I was a little worried about in the Wingalongs it actually has chicken wingz with the bones included. Of course the bones we very soft but I removed them since I was afraid my pups would have a hard time digesting this and have problems outside which we have already experienced with another brand of food(I think this was my error as I gave them other meat other then chicken which is all they have had since I got them) So back to the drawing board since the price of this food based on a high liquid content will not be cost affective. They loved eating it tho!   

My 4 month old Siberian husky is on orijen large puppy. Unfortuneatly it is giving her gas , loose stool and she will only eat when it is hand fed to her ! Would a canned food be good choice for a finicky dog ? This is probably the best canned food I have available to me . Also because she is on a chicken based food, should I start with a chicken based can food ? Thank you for help and suggestions

The Merrick cans come in different consistencies.  Grammys Pot Pie, Thanksgiving Day Dinner are not big chunks.  I’ve also used Wilderness and Campire Trout as these have the chunks but are quite soft.  You would be able to smush them with a fork.  This site has some photos, but not sure how up to date they are.  http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showcat.php?cat=12&stype=1&si=merrick&perpage=12&sort=8&stype=&limit=&cat=12&ppuser=

I wanted to add that I do plan on trying some of the dehydrated raw food too as part of his rotation. I know there are cheaper routes to go, but when I got my dog I knew I was making him a financial priority for the length of his life. He doesn’t come above any human in my family, of course, but I made a commitment to his health and well-being.

Monika, these canned foods above are rated “all life stage” which means they are appropriate for puppies. Also, I’m not so sure calcium is a big concern with small-breed puppies. I wouldn’t hesitate to use this high protein/low carb product.

Good luck!

Still haven’t been able to find the exact video I was looking for — however there are MANY others out there.. I was amused by this find and wanted to share it —

A book on Amazon titled “The Little Cyanide Cookbook; Delicious Recipes Rich in Vitamin B17″ http://www.amazon.com/Cyanide-Cookbook-Delicious-Recipes-Vitamin/dp/0912986379

I hope she does get back to you. Thanks so much for checking up on this, and for all the work you put into this site.

One thing I have noticed, as I am going through the Merrick ingredients right now, is that most of their recipes contain “whole apples”. I’m assuming that whole means they just throw apples into the vat with the rest of the stuff, without coring or cutting them up. Apple seeds can be very dangerous as they contain cyanide. Look it up on aspca.org, it’s listed on their poisonous plants pages.

Mike, I have heard lately from multiple resources that just feeding a dog dry kibble doesn’t give them enough moisture content and can lead eventually to kidney failure.

We were originally feeding our 5 month old Retriever Taste of The Wild dry but because of her soft stool, and research, we have switched.

I am now feeding her Acana Wild Prarie dry kibble, topped with Merrick canned food and Stella & Chewy’s patties… I feel like the variety is great and we know if she isn’t getting enough nutrients from one source, she will be getting it from another.

Am I wrong? Is mixing these foods giving her too much nutrients or protein?

We are debating switching her over to an all raw food diet when she is full grown. The Mercola Healthy Pets has been very informative but I have been making myself crazy trying to find the best commercial food to give my dog at this time.

Amicus is made by Horizon which makes non-small breed formula too. http://www.horizonpetfood.com/

Oh…more thing. Maybe adding digestive enzymes will help also so he doesn’t deplete his own enzyme stores trying to digest.
http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/digestive-enzymes-for-pet.aspx

Sandy,

Thanks for straighting me out. I assumed that the protein/fat on the dashboard was pre moisture removal….what was i thinking, lol.

I am leaning toward buying the Wysong Epigen which has 68% protein, 13% fat and 11% carbs. I want to keep Millies fat level intake at or below 15% for her pancreatitis issues and the super low carbs is an added bonus for her blood surgars, however, i have re-thought the very high protein content and now have a little concern because of the varying opinions. One thing to note is that Millie has never had kidney problems….. Your opinion on this food selection and the protein level would be greatly appreciated.

Regards
Brad Hamilton

Brad,

Dogswell Nutrisca is certified low glycemic along with several flavors of Merrick canned. Also Amicus boasts to be low glycemic as well. It uses lentils instead of potato as its main carbohydrate. Also, there’s Blue Buffalo Wilderness Healthy Weight, and Core Reduced Fat. Wellness Small Breed Healthy Weight is low fat but grain inclusive as is Acana Light & Fit.

Thanks so much Sandy for your input. The website you provided was very helpfull which had a great article on pancreatitis and related diet information.

I did consider the homemade food but the cost and the time constraints just wouldn’t work for my wife and i, however, we found three brands that we are considering….(dry) Origen, Evo and Wysong. These brands appear to have the lowest fat/carb numbers which are critical for Millies pancreatitis/ diabetes issues. The protein levels are moderate to high, but i did read the article on this website that is of the opinion that a high protein diet is not related to kidney issues…. but my vet doesn’t agree….oh well….i feel comfortable with the higher protein levels.

I do have one question on the caculation of carbs for dry food. Is seems that the water content is not being deducted in the “Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content” chart. Am i missing something?

Thanks again for your help.

Regards
Brad Hamilton

Mike, My dog Millie (8 yr. old Dachshund), was recently diagnosed with diabetes after two severe bouts of pancreatitus and is receiving insulin shots daily to control her blood sugars. We are currently feeding her Royal Canin Veterinary Diet (Diabetic HF 18, dry kibble) and Hills Prescription Diet w/d (canned) in a half & half mixture twice a day. We are looking for a better quality of food for her and understand that low fat is essential for controling reoccurances of pancreatitus as well as moderate to low protein for kidney health. We would greatly appreciate your opinion on potential combos of wet/dry.

Regards,
Brad Hamilton

Mike, thank you for this website. I am having a toss up between the Merrick Smothered Comfort wet dog food for my white mini poodle or the Variety Pet Foods Southwestern Cookout wet dog food. I really love the Merrick food, but it comes in chunks with gravy, and my dog tends to lick the gravy and leave the chunks behind with all chunks in gravy type foods. The Southwestern Cookout is a canned dog food, but not chunks in gravy. Could you please give me your opinion on this food? Is there any item that you would consider a RED item? Would you rate it 5 stars? Here is the ingrediant list: Chicken, Chicken Broth, Poultry Liver, Cracked Barley, Ground Brown Rice, Whole Brown Rice, Carrots, Chicken Meal, Sweet Potatoes, Potatoes, Peas, Egg Product, Guar Gum, Flaxseed Meal, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Salt, Carrageenan Gum, Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Sodium Selenite, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Copper Amino Acid Complex, Calcium Iodate, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Choline Chloride, Folic Acid, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Biotin, Ascorbic Acid.

I greatly appreciate your help and opinion!

I use to use Angel Eyes on our Bichon. His eyes cleared up when I removed kibble with tomato pomace from his diet. Then, when I removed kibble and added commercial raw, they became gorgeous. No more Angel Eyes. May be coincidence, but he sure is handsome! : )

Hi Mike, My 1 yr old black and white Springer Spaniel sometimes gets these reddish – brown stains around his lower muzzle, when he has them he is always rubbing his jaw/mouth on the carpet like it’s itchy.He does not have this problem on all foods. It only occurs when he is fed a food that contains beet pulp.I realize that beet pulp is white,but maybe it causes an allergic reaction in some dogs?? I don’t really know for sure. I guess my question is, Has anyone had this problem or does anyone actually know what could be causing this? Maybe a Candida overgrowth??

My dog had a can of this food awhile back when he was a puppy and loved it. It had a whole chicken thigh in it.
He scarfed it down in about a minute and now I see since I’ve discovered this site it receives a 5 star rating.
He’s eating the Nutro Grain Free Dry dog food regularly now, he likes it and I don’t want to change that.
Just wondering if it would be OK to occasionally give him a can of this now and then for a special treat?

Has anyone else noticed a difference in the texture of the Granny’s Pot Pie the last few months. It used to be chunky, full of vegetables and chicken. Most I buy now is soupy, grainy like it has sand in it, and a few chunks of chicken. My dog used to love it, now smells it and walks away. I just sent Merrick an e-mail to see if they are making it differently. Tired of dumping it in the garbage.

The last several times I purchased Merrick canned food from the local Petco, I found MOLD growing inside the cans, notably mold on the chunks of many different varieties. I always check cans for possible dents; none of these cans were dented. Please be extremely careful and look at the “chunks” inside the dog food, check for dark blue/black spots.

Sean-

It may just not agree with your dogs. I have been feeding the Merrick as a topper for a year, and have never had a problem with any of the dogs. Each dog responds differently, so who knows? I would return any that you have and buy from a different batch/lot number and see if that helps at all.

I have 2 small dogs, and a can of either merrick or weruva will last in the fridge for almost a week with a lid on top. They get mostly innova dry food with a spoonful of the wet. I’ve never had a can go bad. Don’t worry if you dog doesn’t finish it in 3 days.

I ran across Dogfoodadvisor.com by accident and read the ingredients for the Eukanuba dog food I was feeding my dog. I was shocked. Since then I have switched him over to Merrick brand dog food and I’m hoping they continue to use quality ingredients in their dog food. So, far the food seems to be agreeing with him and he has a very sensitive stomach. Knock on wood! I have been purchasing different varities of their bones and treats for almost 2 years now and have been satisfied. Thanks for having a website like this to keep us consumers informed. How often do you test the food once it’s been tested already?

My dogs were on Merrick for years. Several months ago they started with horrendous gas and then mucousy diarrhea–it was awful. Took a long time to narrow it down to the Merrick; they’d been on it so long I felt something else was the at fault. Merrick did tell me they changed the formula. I also asked about the rendering plant next to the manufacturing plant; the Merrick phone person said that was true but they didn’t use the rendered products in the dog food. Hello?????

I’m on my second bag of California Natural grain free and the same problems just started; the gas was not so bad but the diarrhea is. Just discovered Proctor & Gamble bought the company in May, 2010, not a surprise given their testing and other immoral practices.

Price is no guarantee that you’re not poisoning your dogs. It’s all about $$$ for these companies.

I have to say I am so glad I visited your site today! I have been wondering if the switch from the Nutro Ultra to Merrick was worth the extra $.20 cents and now I am thinking it is.

I have two Basset Hounds ages 10 and 6 who always seem to be hungry eating the Nutro. One is a little overweight, so she eats the weight mgt. They each eat a can of wet with 2 cups of dry and that seems like a lot of food. They are also shedding quite a bit even with brushing…thinking this is food quality related?

I am wondering if the switch to Merrick will help with them feeling a little more full? I would love some feedback and/or advice.

Mike or Jonathan or anyone else out there …A question …I used the dog food calculator on this site and look at the dog food bags for feeding quantities. I can’t find what the definition of what an ACTIVE dog is . My dog goes on daily 2 1/2 mile walks and up to 4 mile walks when the weather is good . Is that considered ACTIVE or is ACTIVE more for working or hunting dogs ? She is a 64 lb Boxer and has gained 5 lbs since we got her from rescue in October . She is by no means fat .

My 5 month old Golden Retriever absolutely loves all of the Merrick canned dog foods. I originally only gave him puppy plate, but after speaking with our vet, and the folks at Merrick, we have included all other varieties in his diet. All of the Merrick products are formulated to meet every stage of life. One side note on that is they don’t recommend feeding Senior Medley to a puppy, or puppy plate to a senior dog, as the fat contents are either too much or too little. My husband and I agreed that we would never feed “people” food to our dog, but feeding him Merrick is the closest you can get! Human grade ingredients and made in the USA!!! Brauts n Tots is his favorite and I will never feed him any other brand!!

Hi…Some Merrick recipes list beef broth as their first ingredient.. Does this mean that not all their canned food is 5 stars?

I just opened the first can of Merrick I’ve ever purchased for my little Keisha and I swear this looks more appetizing than most prepackaged human foods available. I bought the “Turducken” and she loves it, although I admit there hasn’t been a canned food she didn’t love including Mighty Dog which she was on when we got her last October. But at least I know that this and the other 3, 4, and 5 star foods we give her are much healthier for her than the Mighty Dog. She remains a very active, lively, lovable ball of energy with a beautiful curly coat of hair. (We think she’s a maltese/poodle mix) Hope everyone has as much success with this site’s information as I’ve had.

For another perspective on your “Broths are nutritionally worthless,” I refer you and your readers to Susan Thixton’s 10/29/10 article on broths on her web site “http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/make-your-pet-a-healthy-broth.html”

I had two goldens who have been on HALO brand dog food. On Sept.5-2010, the older of the two (8) became sick and within a couple of hours passed away. They said it was hemolytic anemia, he was a perfectly healthy dog. I do not know why this happened but since it did, I decided to do research for a new pet food. I switched my remaining golden to MERRICK. I am still weaning him off of halo. My concern is loose stool since I began the switch. I mix a little of the canned food with the dry. Is there something I should do different with the food, or is it just this type of food?

So glad to revisit these comments and see the bone issue addressed. I was horrified when I found a bone in a can. I didn’t want to have to find a new food when she’s eating so well with this.

Hi Mike , want to ask is “natural caramel color” harmful to dogs???? Is it real natural?

Paniller-

The bones are edible without issue. If want to see for youself, take one between your fingers and squeeze-you will end up with mush between them. I was concerned as well and once I saw that , fed it as found in the can-

Kevin-

I have had canned food in the fridge(with cover) for three days without issue-since one dog eats a 1/3 can per day mixed with his dry. I have never left it unrefridgerated nor longer than that. I did forget and leave one out at room temp for several hours and immediately threw the entire contents out as I was concerned with bacteria growth etc

I swear, this stuff almost looks edible to me. Doing the math, it only came to $8 more a month than canned food half the price for his size, so I decided not to cheap out. I waste more than that on a scratch off lottery ticket, so why not my dog?

He loved it, despite being a picky eater. He used to only eat ground up stuff, but will eat these chunks/gravy mixes. Maybe it was a phase from him getting settled. He gained a bit of weight and I had to cut portion size. Not sure if these are more filling with protein, or it was winter weight.

The ingredients are all recognizable. The wingaling actually had a few chicken wings in it. Another with chicken has 2 nearly full thighs. The little italy was mini meatballs in gravy. Most had little cuts of beef and a few veggies. There were named species for fish, no “byproducts,” etc. The turducken’s ingredients started with “turkey, duck, chicken.” then I believe a broth. That’s a relief.

The only downside I’ve seen, is they include the bone on the chicken wings, drumstick, thigh, etc. It’s nice seeing that to confirm real edible meat, but it’s something I have to pick out. Unless it’s safe to give them? I know he’d love it, but I’d be afraid of choking.

Hi Mike. I’ve just switched to Performatrin Ultra canned and noticed that only the dry is reviewed. Any chance of a review of the canned product?
Also, the product we switched from is the Royal Canin
Medi-cal vet diet both canned and dry. Are you familiar with those?

Thanks.

@Steve Huff – A good source I’ve found for less expensive, high quality dog food is my local feed store. My husband and I are living off one income for the time being, and I’m able to buy a four star kibble (Precise Formula) for as much as I’d pay for Purina at Wal-Mart. I like to change it up for them, and am a big fan of these Merrick 5-Star canned foods. And they LOOOOOVE them.

A couple of times a week I’ll even scramble some eggs and add to their kibble. Mike is right, diet rotation seems to keep my pups very happy and healthy.

Anyway, just thought I’d share some budget-friendly choices that have served my family well.

My finicky little eater absolutely loves the Merrick canned offerings. Grammy’s Chicken Pot Pie looks like ‘real’ pot pie filling, and I’ve never had trouble spotting the chunks o’ meat in any of the cans we’ve opened. So far Chloe has liked every flavor we’ve tried in the line, and my two cats adore the canned cat foods.
6 thumbs up (if pets had thumbs, that is)

Wow. My dog is a completely different dog since I switched him over to this food. I had the pickiest eater. Merrick has the most flavors and not only is it nutritionally outstanding it taste the best by far. Merrick dry deserves 5 stars as well. Simpily flawless