[TJ]

I’m looking at switching from Science Diet to either Merricks Grain Free or Wellness Core dog foods. Has anyone had experience with these brands and are there any big differences?
The ingredients and price seem about the same and my only concern would be Merricks past recall history along with the rebranding/packaging as of late although they are rated 5 stars.

Which would you recommend and what would be an easier transition?

[Tina]

Merrick is a great food but my neighbors dog was on it and he had bad gas and very loose stool for weeks. I’m a Wellness fan and Wellness CORE is one of the best. My dogs had free samples of Merrick and just that alone caused them to have gas. Merrick is also very hard to find unless you have a Petco close to you.

[Sarah Y]

Personally, I don’t think you can go wrong. I have give my dogs both in the past. I ended up going with Merrick before grain because my beagle seemed to like it a little more. Both are quality foods. I think Merrick has only had treat recalls and that’s been 3 or 4 years.

[cindy q]

I never tried Wellness but my 6mos old standard poodle and my 8 year old toy poodle are on merrick & they love it. I just switched from Blue Buffalo Wilderness. Merrick does give the puppy gas, but so did Blue Buffalo.

[Jackie T]

I suggest try a small bag to see if your pup likes it, I bought a bag of wellness core
last week and my dogs wouldn’t touch it.

[Mom2Cavs]

I have fed both Merrick and Wellness. I am a Wellness fan. I used to be a Merrick fan until I had some discrepancies in the kibble between bags and some “weird” stuff in a few cans of their food. I won’t buy them anymore, sorry to say. However, this is just me. Others feed it and love it. I don’t use Wellness kibble, atm, because the size and shape is too big for one of my Cavaliers. I may try the kibble again soon because they do have some new small breed formulas coming out. I feed the canned daily.

[pugmomsandy]

I have used both brands too and would include both of them in a rotation. I don’t feed any brand exclusively.

[theBCnut]

I wouldn’t switch from SD to either of those straight away, unless you plan on transitioning really, really slow. I would go to NutriSource or another 4 star first, or maybe Earthborn, then move on to one of them. Then I would try the other, as well as some other foods.

[TJ]

Thats what I was afraid of as well, so would the 5 stars be too big of a jump in ingredients and overall richness which would upset their stomachs more. Has anyone experienced that? I was planning on buying a small bag of either one and slowly transitioning them over the course of a couple weeks off of SD completely

[theBCnut]

It’s a problem for some dogs. You can add pure canned pumpkin, probiotic, and digestive enzymes to ease transition. Or you can just go at a much slower pace, like plan on taking a month. You may find that your dog has no problems changing at all. Just watch his poop, if it starts getting soft slow down a bit. If it stays good, then everything is A-OK.

[ama0704]

I’ve never fed our dogs Merrick, but used to feed them Wellness and Wellness CORE (dry and canned). Switched to Fromm Family 4 Star dry varieties a year ago and they love them all. I mix a bit of wet Wellness CORE each meal.

[Author]

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