# Fromms 4 star vs Merricks kibble (change from Innova Adult)



## Midnight351 (Sep 10, 2010)

Hello,
I am new here but frequent other dog, cat and pet nutrition forums. I really like what I've read and love that there are people out there that educate themselves on what goes in their pets food bowls. I am a vet tech and have converted many clients to better diets that have helped with the many routine problems that plague our pets ie skin allergies, ear infections, tummy upsets ect. 
Anyways, I have a 10 yo shepherd husky mix that is about 54#. He is in great health, though slowing down a bit due to age. He still can walk miles and loves hikes in the Pacific Northwest. Well he has been on Innova adult dry with a variety of high quality canned foods. I rotate the cans but haven't really rotated the innova dry as it is what helped him with his mild flaky skin. he looks great on it, but now that Natura has been bought out I am looking for alternatives just in case the inevitable happens ie a degrade in the quality of the food. I have been spending about $32 on a 15# bag of food which lasts about a month for him. My budget for the dry food is max $40 a month. i would love to feed something like orijen but 1 it is out of my budget and 2 he doesn't do well with grain free. So am am looking for high quality grain in food that will fit my budget. So far I have looked at Merricks dry foods. They have different varieties that can be fed on a rotation without tummy upset. I am also looking at Fromms 4 star foods, which look really good. Others like Natures Variety Prairie ect. are viable options too. I have several high quality holistic pet stores available so can get these foods pretty easily. I had looked at blue Buffalo, but the senior food looks to low in protein and fat. I also looked at Wellness but it is pretty expensive for what it is. I think the quality downgraded since it got into the big box stores but I could be mistaken. The price is still high though. I don't really want a senior food though as the last time I tried that my dogs coats got really dry and brittle. I just feed less of an adult or all stages food and we are fine.
Anyways love the site and looking forward to opinions on what to do for my doggy.

Thanks,

Becky


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## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

Welcome Becky! I'm also in Western Washington. Where about are you located? This forum really seems to have a high showing from Washington State!

I'd love to see pics of your pup. He's a combo of some beautiful breeds. :wink::biggrin:

Richelle


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

Fromms 4 star vs Merricks kibble!! Both are pretty good dog foods and both are made IN HOUSE a great plus.

Fromm Large Breed Adult Gold Dog Food

Duck, Chicken Meal, Chicken, Oatmeal, Pearled Barley, Brown Rice, White Rice, Tomato Pomace, Whole Egg, Menhaden Fish Meal, Lamb, Potato, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid), Cheese, Salmon Oil (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Flaxseed, Brewers Dried Yeast, Alfalfa Meal, Carrots, Lettuce, Celery, Lecithin, Chicken Cartilage, Calcium Sulfate, Salt, Potassium Chloride, DL-Methionine, Chicory Root Extract, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Bifidobacterium Longum, Lactobacillus Plantarum, Enterococcous Faecium, Vitamin A, D3, E, B12 Supplements, Choline Chloride, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Riboflavin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Biotin, Zinc Sulfate, Iron Carbonate, Manganous Oxide, Copper Oxide, Cobalt Carbonate, Calcium Iodate, Sorbic Acid, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Sodium Selenite.

Merrick Turduken dog food

Organic Chicken, Oatmeal, Barley, Turkey meal, Duck, Whole Brown Rice, Canola Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols – a source of Natural Vitamin E and Ascorbic Acid, a source of Vitamin C), Flaxseed, Potatoes, Carrots, Peas, Dried Chicken Liver, Whole Apples, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Lysine, Guar Gum, Choline Chloride, Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Whole Blueberries, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Whole Clove Garlic, Chondroitin Sulfate, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Dried Chicken, Chicory Root, Marigold Extract, Lactobacillus Plantarum, Enterococcus Faecium, Lactobacillus Casei, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Natural Celery Flavor, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Vitamin E Supplement, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Natural Color (tumeric), Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Copper Amino Acid Complex, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D3, Niacin, Lecithin, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Cobalt Amino Acid Complex, Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate, Sodium Selenite

I would choose Fromms. Much more meat..
Edmonds!!!!!!!!!


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

Between the two, I'd go with Fromm! 
Much more meat content, which Merrick is lacking. Merrick is a decent quality food, but Fromm just has that little extra meat content to get my vote over Merrick.


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## 3feathers (Oct 29, 2008)

Welcome to the board!! I would also love to see a picture!
From my personal experience of feeding both Fromm and Merrick....my dogs did better on Fromm. So, my vote is for Fromm! :wink:


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## ruckusluvr (Oct 28, 2009)

i was researching about Fromm yesterday actually. to my horror i read in many many places that it was a food MADE in china, yet distributed in the USA. 

in that case, i wouldnt recommend it. because i feel like their standards are lower than ours as far as what to feed dogs, and what goes in dog food.
but honestly, who am i to say that....

but it also takes away from american workers too, if that is the case. true?


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

In my quest to persuade my cat to eat a better kibble, I checked out this food and found info on it being made in China as well. However, this is what is on their web site:

"Where is your product made? 
All of our dry pet food and treats are made in the USA at our own USDA-inspected plant in Wisconsin. Our current can foods are made in the USA at a USDA-inspected plant in South Dakota with 100% human food ingredients". 

Apparently a couple of years ago, their canned food was manufactured at a human food processing facility in China, but they received so many complaints that they relocated it back to a canning facility in the US. 

If my cat would eat it, I wouldn't hesitate to feed it to her.

ETA - sorry, didn't see the other post which already clarified this topic!


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## ajcstr (May 24, 2010)

Couple things which may or may not make a difference as I have used both foods:

1) Merrick kibble is twice the size of Fromm (in case dog has a preference for one or the other)
2) Merrick kibble uses canola oil which some people don't like
3) Fromm has a frequent buyers program - get 11th bag free if one of the stores near you participates.

As I say, I use both, so I think either would be great. One thing to mention also is both companies supposedly use BPA free can linings which is a plus.


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (May 19, 2009)

We feed Cody the Fromm 4 star duck and have been very very pleased. Fromm has never been involved with a recall, which is not true of Merrick. For that reason alone, I would choose Fromm. Please study their website (Fromm Family Foods - Gourmet Pet Food, Naturally Holistic) or call them about questions. Their dry food, as stated before is made IN THEIR OWN plant, canned food WAS made in China before all the melamine tragedy. They pulled their canned food ( although it was not one affected) and had no canned food for months while they made arrangements to have it made here in the US and up to their standards.


From the Fromm site


> Dry Preparation
> 
> All of our dry pet foods are manufactured at our own USDA-certified plant in Wisconsin where we utilize ingredients like fresh sweet potatoes, apples, cranberries, cheddar cheese, and other fresh produce from local markets in the area. The fresh hand-trimmed meat and fish we use is ordered as needed depending on what recipe is being made that particular day. We accept nothing less than the choicest cuts of meat and fish and each delivery is thoroughly inspected to make certain it meets our stern quality standards.


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## bdb5853 (May 21, 2010)

I would very much like to tour some of these kibble plants. I am not saying that the information provided is not correct.... however.....

My daughter works for a large agricultural company that processes turkeys. Her plant is one of the largest in the world and they process 26,000 turkeys a day from off loading from the truck, to being packaged and sent to stores on their refrigerated trucks.

We toured this plant with her. It is an amazing operation. However, at every station, you would see bruises, tumors, otherwise inedible for human consumption waste trimmed off these birds. It goes into buckets under the assembly line. I asked if that was thrown away and she said no, it goes to the dog food companies. 

So when your expensive dog food has turkey as the main ingredient (or beef, or chicken or lamb) be AWARE that yes - it is turkey. But it is the parts that you probably wouldn't want. No, it's not heads and feathers as one of the dog food companies advertised. That is a by-product. But it is tumors, and bruises, and hematomas, and other parts of the bird that are NOT FIT for human consumption.

And those fruits and veggies? Don't think they are the beautiful apples and blueberries that you see at your local grocery store. They are the bruised, the mashed, the worm ridden. They are the DISCARDS. And this is what goes into the pet food.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

i have nothing to add, except i'm from washington too.  welcome.


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