Merrick dog food
October 29, 2010
Filed under Dog Food Reviews, Merrick
Merrick Dog Food Review
Merrick dog food products are formulated based on the company’s mission statement “comfort for the soul”. The Merrick Pet Foods, Inc. is a family-owned business that started out as a manufacturer of natural dog treats. Merrick claims that all their products have undergone a very simple process to ensure that the nutrients are retained as much as possible without the addition of artificial colors, preservatives, or flavors.
It was only in 2003 that Merrick started a dry dog food line originally composed of six different formulas. They have added one dry dog food formula to the six original ones. Merrick’s existing dry dog food gourmets include Campfire Trout Feast, Cowboy Cookout, Grammy’s Pot Pie, Puppy Plate, Senior Medley, Turducken, and Wilderness Blend. All these formulas have been tailored to meet AAFCO nutrient profiles required for all life stages.
We recommend Merrick’s dog foods and believe that they produce some of the highest quality formulas available. While it is an expensive option, we believe that that quality warrants the higher price.
The main ingredients of Merrick dog food products contain a major protein source that combines fresh or raw meat with a specific meat concentrate. A Merrick dog food formula may contain one or two of the following meat sources—buffalo, chicken, trout, beef, salmon meal, lamb meal, turkey meal, chicken meal, and pork meal.
In formulating their rations, they paired up a raw meat source with a specific meat concentrate to maintain the protein levels of the dog food. Fresh meat sources such as buffalo, chicken, beef, or trout contain high levels (approximately 80%) of water which evaporates upon processing leaving only a fraction of the original raw ingredient. Meat meals are considered meat concentrates that contain almost 300% protein than raw meat sources. It is good to note that the meat meals used Merrick dog food products are specified and not like some dog food products that use generic meat meals. Sources of ingredients are very important in order to determine the quality of the dog food.
The fish meals are said to be ethoxyquin-free. Ethoxyquin is considered a dangerous food additive. Trout and fish meals contain high levels of omega-3 fatty acids which are essential in many physiological processes of the body and to maintain healthy hair coats.
The carbohydrate component of Merrick’s dog food formulas is comprised of pearled barley, oat meal, and ground rice. These are whole grains which are also excellent sources of fiber and B-vitamins. Oatmeal is made from coarsely ground oats and is mostly gluten-free. Gluten-rich ingredients in dog food have been linked to allergies in dogs.
Probiotics have been added to infuse beneficial microorganisms into the dog food. Chelated minerals are also present for easy absorption and utilization of essential amino acids.
Customer Reviews
Many dog owners like the fact that Merrick dog food products do not contain common food allergens such as corn, wheat or soy. There are many dog owners who shifted their dogs’ diet to Merrick to alleviate and/or get rid of food-based allergies.
Most negative feedbacks are centered on digestive disturbances that a dog may have when switching dog food brands. Some owners reported their dogs having loose stools and emitting foul-smelling gas. This is especially true for dogs with sensitive digestive systems.
We strongly support Merrick dog food and believe that this is one of the better dog food brands for your dog. Their updated formulas are a welcomed improvement and the company continues on a great path.
Merrick Dog Food Reviews
Merrick dog food formulas:
- Merrick Grammys Pot Pie dog food – Updated Formula and Review (10/29/10)
- Merrick Wilderness dog food – Updated Formula and Review (10/29/10)
- Merrick Puppy Plate dog food – Updated Formula and Review (10/29/10)
- Merrick Senior Medley dog food – Updated Formula and Review (10/29/10)
- Merrick Turduken dog food
- Merrick Campfire trout dog food
- Merrick Cowboy Cook Out dog food
Merrick Dog Food Consumer Rating
| Title | Votes | Rating | Review |
| Merrick Grammys Pot Pie dog food | 66 | 6.3 | -1.0 |
| Merrick Puppy Plate dog food | 78 | 6.9 | -1.0 |
| Merrick Senior Medley dog food | 29 | 6.0 | -1.0 |
| Merrick Turduken dog food | 41 | 7.4 | -1.0 |
| Merrick Wilderness Blend Dog Food | 37 | 6.9 | -1.0 |
| Merrick dog food | 3 | 7.7 | -1.0 |
I am having a problem with the product at my local pets supermarket. The bags I have purchased lately no longer have a vacume seal. I dont know where the damage is being done. I have four large dogs and go through food fairly fast but if its stale they dont like it. It is not just the great ingredients that lead me to buy this brand. I really like the zipper in the bag that maintains freshness. I am hoping this forum will help me get the problem corrected. I really dont want to go through the hassel of changing their food again, but I will. For all the cost of the food I really must insist that it is fresh. Even with the new formula my dogs still like their wildrness blend.
For my Welsh Springer, I’ve had a hard time finding a good food that will keep his colitis from flaring up and I could not keep weight on him. He’s been on Merrick cans for 4 years now and he shows no signs of colitis, the runs have finally stopped. He’s put on the most weight in he 12 yrs, finally matching the breed standard. He looks great and his coat is shinny and soft. I would definitely recommend this food above all else.
I feed my poodle solid gold and his coat is amazingly dark and rich. Im sure its mostly genetics but I like to think spending an extra buck on his food is paying off. I am positive it will help his health years down the road though.
made the switch; recently i made the switch to merrick for my 2 year old beautiful cocker spaniel..i choose the pot pie dry food and bought several cans to make it more iteresting…she also gets roasted chicken and vegatables added in a few times aweek as well….so far she seems to love it…people call her a calendar girl all the time she could be your new spokes model………
I have an english bulldog “pablo”.and pablo was a very fussy eater.We tried so many kinds of natural and rich food but nothing seemed to invite him to eat and was loosing lots of weight.he also has a skin condition that leads him to loose lots of hair.This condition is permanent for the rest of his life.so we would have to give him meds every month.which is not good for his immune system.We decided to see if we could go with other options.But since we tried merrick food “cowboy cookout” dry food,he eats like a pig,hair has started to grow back.almost no more hairless red spots and a few pounds on my baby!
couldn’t be more happier with that food!
we have two beagles that have been on merrick since we got them from shelters. they are healthy, their coats are shiny and they LOVE merrick. we give them dry with a teaspoon of canned twice a day and they are the picture of health. yes, it costs a good bit, but the rewards are worth it. it is made in texas and
not overseas, somewhere. try it, see what you think.
My dog loves Merrick dog food but it does give them awful gas, but when it come to nutritious food I will live with the gas.
HELLO ALL MY FELLOW MERRIVK USERS
/,,,,,, OOH WAIT IMMEDIATELY SHES HAD TONS MORE ENERGY TOO I HAD HER ON SALMON CUZ IT WAS THE ONLY THING SHE DIDNT PUKE OR HAD DIA WITH IT STOPPED HER SHEDDING AND HER COAT WAS GLISTENING BUT SHE WAS CONSTANTLY EVERY FEW MINS WAS SCRATCHING BITING HER SKIN ESP FEET CHEWING HER SKIN AND HER SKIN WAS VERY PINK (NOT SUPPOSE TO BE PINK SUPPOSE TO BE REG WHITE–ISH) PINK BELLYS MEAN ALLERGY) WELL NOW HER BELLY IS WHITE HOWEVER HER COAT ISNT SHINY ANYMORE AND SHES SHEDDING AGAIN 
( SO IM BETWIX AND BETWEEN DO U GIVE HER FOOD SHE DOESNT GOBBLES DOWN AND HAVE A GORGEOUS COAT AND SKIN BUT ITCH HER LIFE AWAY) OR VICE VERSER UUUGHHH LOL WHY I FEEL IM GOING NUTS…WELL I AM FEEDING HER A VERY GOOD DRY FOOD WITH THE WET MERRICK WHICH PROMISES GOREOUS SKIN AND DOESNT HAVE ALL THE YAK IN IT SOY CORN WHEAT MEAT BY PRODUCTS(YUK GROSS CANT BELIEVE PEOPLE GIVE THEIR DOGGIES MEAT BY PRODUCTS) 
*( SO HOPEFULLY THAT WILL GET HER COAT AND SKIN BACK LOOKING GREAT! YES I SAID I WAS GOING AND YAPPED AGAIN DO U FEEL SORRY FOR MY FAMILY LOL ME TOO!!
;o)
WELL YOU CANT GO BY ME AT ALL I WILL PUT IN A REAL REVIEW NEXT WEEK. BUT I WANTED YOU ALL TO KNOW YOUR REVIEWS HAVE MADE A LITTLE AFRAID TO START TRYING MERRICK. 1 REASON SOME SOUNDED UNHAPPY BUT GAVE 4 STARS?? THEN OTHERS WHO RAVED ABOUT IT GAVE 2-3 STARS? I WAS SO CONFUSED ALSO BECAUSE…..THEY ARE A FAMILY COMPANYI THOUGHT IT WAS LIKE EVANGERS FOOD (FAMILY OWNED) AND THEY LOST THEIR LICENCE TO SELL OUT OF STATE BECAUSE OF SAFETY PROBLEMS)
BUT IT WAS SOOOO HARD TO RESIST THE GREAT SAYINGS THEY HAVE WITH HIS FOOD LOVE ALL THE NAMES THEY GIVE THE FOOD GIVES YA A WARM COZY FEELING…BUT….AFTER TRYING LITERALLY OVER 20 DIFF BRANDS BECAUSE MY LITTLE BEAGLE GIRL HAS ALLERGIES IVE ;
LITTERALLY FELT LIKE I WAS GOING NUTS!! FEELING LIKE CRYING MANY TIMES! I WOULD GET ALL HAPPY SHE’D BE LOVING A FOOD…TO ONLY 4 DAYS LATER NEVER WANTING IT AGAIN! OR BUY SOMETHING AND DIDNT WANT FROM THE START AND YOU’D TRY EVERYTHING TO NO AVAIL..THEN TO SCOUR THE NET “AGAIN” READING EVERY INGRDIANT (ITS AMAZING THE JUNK IN SOME FOODS!) OR I’D FIND ONE READ ABOUT IT SOUNDS GREAT THEN THE DANG MANUFACTURERS HAD TO RUIN BY PUTTING CHICKEN IN EVERYTHINB!!!! MOST DOGS R ALLERGIC TO CHICKEN SO A LOT I NEVER COULD HAVE BECAUSE OF THAT. I LOVE THE FOODS THAT HAVE ONLY “ONE” PROTEIN CUZ LIKE EVEN WITH MERRICK IM LOOKING FOR LAMB AND BUFFALO BUT EVERYONE BUT 2 HAD TO ADD OTHER PROTEINS WITH THEM LAMB OR BUFFALO SO NOW I COULDNT BUY!! WELL I COULD GO ON FOREVER WITH ALLLL THE PROBS I HAD. THEN IN MY LOCA; PET STORE MY MERRICK CAUGHT MY EYE BECAUSE IT WAS SO DIFF LIKED THE CHUNKS…GRAVY ETC ALL THE OTHER FOODS ARE MUSH BUT………..PICS OF IT SHOWED ALL FRESH VEGGIES! JUST LOOKED SO YUMMY LOL SO BOUGHT! (THE NEW ZEALAND LAMB) BOY WAS I SURPRISED WHENI OPENED THE CAN!!!!! IT DEF HAD CHUNKS AND GRAVY BUT………..NO VEGGIES!!! IT DID “NOT” LOOK AT ALL LIKE THE PICS ON THE CAN! THAT WAS VERY DISAPPOINTING! I GUESS IT “USED” TO HAVE DRIED VEGGIES IN IT BUT CHANGED THE FORMULA TO MASHING THE VEGGIES RIGHT INTO THE CHUNKS OF LAMB???!!! REMINDED ME OF THE PREMADE MEATBALLS IN THE GROCERY STORE THAT LOOKED FAKE!! I WAS SOOOOO UPSET…….HOWEVER……SINCE I ALREADY BOUGHT IT FOR $2.10 AND ALREADY OPENED IT I FIGURED MIGHT AS WELL GIVE TO HER (WITH ANOTHER BRAND HARD FOOD MIXED WITH THE GRAVY, BECAUSE…… GRRR…. ANOTHER THING I DIDNT LIKE…..THEY DONT HAVE MANY DIFF DRY FOOD TO PICK FROM THERES LIKE 3 CHICKEN ONES UMMM ALLERGY RIDDEN AND THEY DIDNT HAVE “ONE” WITH LAMB IN IT UNLESS U BOUGHT THE ONE WITH SALMON AND VENISON IN IT TOO!! 3 PROTEINS 2 OF WHICH SHES ALLERGIC TO… AS MANY MANY MANY OTHER DOGGIES R TOO. WHY A BAD IDEA TO USE MORE THEN 1 PROTEIN IN A FOOD! IM PICKEY I LIKE WHEN U CAN BUY MATCHING DOG FOOD DRY AND WET TOGETHER. THAT WAS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE UNLESS UR DOG EATS BEEF IT WAS THE ONLY ONE THAT HAD A MATCHING DRY WITH WET….. WELL ANYWAAYS ENOUGH OF MY PICKYNESS LOL. BUT ALLLLL THIS ASIDE OF EVERYTHING I COMPLAINED ABOUT IN THIS NOVEL OF A REVIEW LOL……I DECIDED TO GIVE TO MY BEAGLE SOPHIE WHO WOULD GO DAYS W/O EATING CUZ SHE HATED EVERYTHING (EXCEPT TREATS) OR SHE SUFFERED FROM ALLERGY TO IT…..I POURED THE CAN OUT AND THE CHUNKS ARE BIG (WELL FOR HER BECAUSE WHEN SHE DOES EAT SHE DOESNT TAKE TIME TO CHEW HER FOOD JUST SWALLOWS IT WHOLE ALMOST) SO I PUT ON A PAPERPLATE TO CUT THEM IN HALF….SHE WAS STANDING BY ME WATCHING WHAT I WAS DOING….SHE ALWAYS GOT EXCITED FOOD WAS COMING TILL I PUT IT DOWN IN FRONT OF HER LOL…..WELL ACCIDENTLY WHILE CUTTING THE CHUNKS IN HALF I DROPPED ONE WHOLE ONE.WELL…..!!!!!!!!! SHE GOBBLED IT DOWN AND AND HER TAIL WAS WAGGING SO FAST IT WAS LIKE A WIND STORM HAHA AND SNIFFING FRANTICALLY UP BY WHERE I WAS CUTTING SO I HANDED HER ANOTHER CHUNK AND LIKE I SAID SHES SO EXCITED HARDLY CHEWED IT SO I FINISHED CUTTING THEM UP AND PUT DOWN THE BOWL….OMG IN LESS THEN A MINUTE IM NOT KIDDING THE FOOD WAS G O N E !!! SOOOOO I PUT ALL MY DISAPPOINTMENTS ABOUT MERRICK OUT THE WINDOW THIS IS WHAT SHES GETTING NOW LOL NOW SHE LOOKS FWD TO EVERYTIME TO EAT SHE HASNT DONE THAT SINCE 6 MOS OLD! (SHES JUST A YEAR)..I KNOW I COULDNT HAVE MADE THIS LOOOOONG REVIEW MUCH SHHHHHORTER LOL BUT HEY I HOPE I HOPE JUST ONE PERSON IN THEIR DECISION TO EITHER GO THROUGH IT OR NOT! I JUST PRAY I CAN COME BACK HERE IN A WEEK AND SAYS SHES STILL ON IT…NOT ALLERGIC TO IT OR JUST STARTS SNOBBING IT!! THANKS FOR YOUR TIME AND PATIENCE GUYS I KNOW I LOOOVE READING LONG REVIEWS INSTEAD OF ONES THAT JUST WRITE ONE LINE!
P.S. FOR THE REVIEWER WHO WORRIED IF MERRICK HAS THAT GROSS STUFF IN IT—DEAD CAT AND DOGS NAME TAGS AND FEET FEATHERS BEAKS ETC ETC…NO MERRICK IS NOT ONE OF THOSE FOODS WHEN YOU READ A LABEL THAT SAYS MEAT-BY-PRODUCTS THAT HAS ALL THE STUFF I JUST LISTED AND THEN SOME AND MERRICK DEF DOESNT SAY MEAT BY PRODUCTS. GOOGLE MEAT BY PRODUCTS HAVE A VOMIT BAG NEXT TO U THOUGH!!
OK GUYS CHECK BACK NEXT WEEK TO SEE IF MY SOPHIE TOLERATED MERRICKS FOOD IM HOPEFUL!!!
AND MERRICK….PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE BRING BACK THE WHOLE VEGGGIES INSTEAD OF MASHING THEM IN THE FOOD!!! YOULL GET BACK YOUR OLD CUTOMERS AND GAIN MORE TOO! THANKS HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!
all my dogs and cat love merrick! they have so many good choices and variety that they really need, i couldn’t imagine eating the same thing every day and merrick makes it easy to mix it up. their food is very high quality as well.
I live very near the Merrick plant and happen to know a man who takes care of the dogs who test it. When the company tries a new food, they feed it to some dogs (who live in a beautiful setting that is open to the public), and then analyze the waste.
If you are ever in Hereford, Texas you should go by the Merrick plant and see for yourself and then you wouldn’t be worried about the by-products.
CINDY.. YOU DIDNT MENTION IF YOU FEED MERRICK TO YOUR PETS?? YES IT DOESNT SAY MEAT BY PRODUCTS ON THE CAN SO I KNEW THEY DONT SERVE THAT JUNK. HOWEVER THEY DO HAVE AN INGREDIANT THAT NO OTHER DOG FOOD DOES AND ITS NOTA GOOD INGREDIANT AT ALL. I DONT KNOW HOW TO SPELL IT BUT ITS NEAR THE BOTTOM AND STARTS OFF ETH.,.TONS OF OTHER DOG FOODS ALL SAY AND…WE DONT USE ETH!! I THINK ITS BLOOD USED TO PERSERVE THE FOOD!! EEEKKKK!
I have been using the MERRICK PUPPY PLATE for two months now for our female beagle pup.
This is a really great food. She has a lot of energy, soft, shiny coat and well formed stools. I also do not have to feed a lot, so for the price it does last longer than the conventional foods.
I am very happy with this product!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DAWN, TURN OFF THE CAPS AND I MIGHT READ YOUR POSTS……………..
I feed my Jack Rat Merrick Dog Food, but read about the review on Merrick which says “We do like this food, but we feel you can get the same, if not better dog food for cheaper”.
Question: What better dog food for cheaper are you’re referring to?
Gracie, our cookapoo, seems to love Merrick’s; however, I was disappointed to hear there was a recall on their treat products for possible salmanella contamination. I feel this if not tolerable for a high-quality product. Am I misinformed?