Merrick

[RaisingRiver]

River's had soft runs the last 2 weeks. We're on our 2nd bag of Canidae Lamb, switched from Canidae all stages to try to bulk up the dogs. Worked fine for Diesel, but River still thin and now runs.

 

So based on suggestions on this board, I found a local petstore that has both Merrick & Timberwolf dry (also Canidae- I was getting from diff local store). Also carries IVO, etc.

 

Anyway, I'll be trying Merrick's Grammy's Pot Pie dry tonight. Has little potatoe, apple, carrot & peas bits in with the kibble, it's kinda cute.

[Jack & Co.]

Jack hasn't had any of the Merrick canned dog food, but he adores their chewies. Many of their snacks come individually wrapped, like the pig snouts, and he is especially fond of the cow tails and esophaguses (esophagi???). I have to get them at a pet store where I get my Chicken Soup so I usually stock up when I go.

[MaggieDog]

I like Merrick canned foods a lot - the dry was a bit pricy for me and now we don't live near any place that carries it.

[Guest WoobiesMom]

Woobie's stool is always kind of loose, I've incorporated Science Diet to his Nutros which has firmed it up a tiny bit. I've read here that unsweetened canned pumpkin will help firm them up. I keep forgetting to pick some up when I go to the grocery.

[RaisingRiver]

I do have some pumpkin on hand. But I really want to fix the problem and it can only be her food.

[BustopherJones]

As everyone knows, Missy is battling cancer. Our vet had us add Merrick can foods to her Royal Canin prescription kibble (along with Innova Senior canned food) to provide maximum nourishment. Merrick is without question the premier food, although it is also VERY expensive; but Missy loves it, and that is all that counts. You will find that Merrick comes in a wide variety of combinations, including the Granny's Pot Pie; at last count, there were 18 different flavors (including one specifically for puppies, and one for seniors). The food looks so appetizing that I have been tempted (I said "tempted", not "actually done it") to taste it myself; sometimes, I think that Missy eats better than most people...

 

Sidebar: Canidae and Timberwolf are also excellent foods; it is just that my vet believes that Innova, Merrick, and Royal Canin are the best commercially-available foods, and we abide by her recommendations.

[RaisingRiver]

Last night was her first meal & River ate breakfast this morning with eagerness. Sometimes she skips it - uninterested. So that's a good sign too.

[Lenajo]

Have you done an elimination diet with Riven? Sometimes the allergy/food intolerance is not what you'd expect. For example I have one dog that is allergic to rice. You would get bursts of "better but not quite" with her for several weeks on a new food with a novel protein and then back to the same old response.

 

For Woobie - I *hate* Science Diet and I can't find much better about Nutro. So much grain, and cheap indigestable grain to boot. As with Riven an elimination diet might be in order, and sometimes for a puppy with a history of illness it's not the elimination of certain foods, but just the change to relax the system on a bland, simple diet for a few weeks. During that time you can also add some digestive enzymes, which vastly improved a lot of dogs I've worked with.

 

For Missy - Its long been discussed that a low sugar (no grain carbohydrates, sometimes not even high glycemic vegetbales) diet is best for a cancer patient. You may want to research some and look into a simple cooked diet for her, or at least a very low grain, or grain free food. Monica Segal's book Ultimate Nutrition would be great for you, and she has a brochure on feeding pets with cancer as well. Both are at www.sitstay.com

[RaisingRiver]

I haven't done an elimination diet. She was getting thin on the Canidae (switch from Blue Buffalo which was switch from Nutro - upping quality of food as I became educated - digestion was no issue) but it didn't make her have the runs until we started the 2nd 35lb bag of the Lamb Canidae (she shares bag w/ Diesel). And she won't eat more then she'll eat, so I can't just stuff her with food - which is why we went Lamb for more proteins. The meats and removal of white rice were the only ingredient change between the Canidaes.

 

Blue Buffalo, Chicken & Brown Rice:

Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Whole Ground Brown Rice, Whole Ground Barley, Oatmeal, Rye, Whole Potatoes, Tomato Pomace (natural source of Lycopene), Chicken Fat (preserved with Natural Mixed Tocopherols), Natural Chicken Flavor, Whole Carrots, Whole Sweet Potatoes, Blueberries, Cranberries, Flaxseed, Barley Grass, Dried Parsley, Alfalfa Meal, Kelp Meal

 

Canidae Life Stages top ingredients:

Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Brown Rice, White Rice, Lamb Meal, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Herring Meal, Flax Seed, Sun Cured Alfalfa Meal, Sunflower Oil, Chicken

 

Canidae Life Stages, Lamb top ingredients:

Lamb Meal, Brown Rice, Canola Oil (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Flax Seed, Sun cured Alfalfa Meal, Sunflower Oil, Lamb

 

Merrick, Granny's Pot Pie (went with Chicken first):

Chicken, Oatmeal, Barley, Chicken Meal, 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

 

I like Merrick's order of ingredients better then Canidae. I got a 15lb bag and am avoiding the Lamb... so we'll see. I can afford to not concerned with the price. I'll probably switch Diesel to it if River does well on it. Jaida eats Canidae diet food and she can stay on that - I'm ok with that. River is also only 21 months old, so some history could be attributed to maturity.

[Lenajo]

Canidae, Blue Buffalo, and Merrick all give my dogs enormous stools. There is a tremendous amount of undigestible fiber in those foods, in particular the BBuffalo. Of the 3, the best was Merrick, though I did notice it made them very thirsty.

 

If you need more kcals per cup the best commercial food is Evo. Was that something you tried? I don't care for the chicken version, but the red meat one seems to be ok.

 

I have regular opportunity to experiment with raw with rescues and via students dogs They keep me updated on what did, and didn't, work. I rarely feed dry anymore, and if I do I prefer the Fromm's 4 star line. It has grain, but the dogs switch seamlessly to it from raw if needed and aren't so thirsty - as a lot of kibbles make them.

[Guest WoobiesMom]

Where can I find Merrick foods? I went w/Nutros because that's what his foster was feeding him and she swore by it for soft coated breeds (which I've never had before). I added in Science Diet at the recommendation of my vet and because it had been the only food my very sensitive-stomached Airedale had been able to tolerate. How would you add digestive enzymes? I have so probiotics from the health food store for my family when we're on antibiotics. Are there special ones for dogs?

[MrSnappy]

RR - I have not fed kibble for many years now, but when I did feed kibble one of my dogs could not tolerate processed lamb. He lost tons of weight and always had loose stool. He can eat raw lamb no problem though.

 

RDM

[RaisingRiver]

I think EVO might be at the petstore, I'll have to look next time I'm in (which shouldn't be too long as I only have a 15lb bag). I haven't tried anything other kibble other then what I listed above.

 

http://www.merrickpetcare.com/

There's a store locater on the site. That's how I found the Natural Pet store that carries it by me.

 

Thanks for sharing, RDM - that could indeed be River's case.

[Lenajo]

there is also a big difference in meat quality - that is between the lamb that ends up in dog food, and what we select raw to feed our dogs.

[BustopherJones]

Where can I find Merrick foods?

You might try this link to find a distributor in your area: Merrick Store Locator

[Rosanne]

For calories EVO or EVO redmeat (gets my vote too but is VERY pricey) are great. My dogs do well on it, but I know a good majority who had loose stool on regular EVO.

I've switched mine over to California Natural Lamb&Rice Puppy. 591 kcal per cup. Ingredients are VERY simple. I have one with a suspected chicken allergy but the chicken version is basically the same aside from the base meat. Less expsensive than EVO due to use of Rice. My dogs are doing VERY well on this + a smidge of oil at night.

I like the puppy for the larger meat/rice ratio and higher calories. The calcium level is still low, unlike cheaper puppy foods. Also a NaturaPet brand so pretty much ALL the nutrients are listed online (LOVE that!).

 

I've had my dogs on Merrick before, I liked it, they liked it, but it wasn't anything spectacular. Expensive. I can't find big bags around here. The real veggies inside are cute.

[Balian's_Mom]

Anyone try Solid Gold Barking at the Moon? Similar to EVO, low carb, no grain...thinking of switching due to availability

[sandyleew]

My dogs do very well on Barking at the Moon. I am very happy with it. I use to feed just that, but now they also get RAW. It is a good quality grain free food and also, they don't import from outside the US, except for the lamb, which they get in New Zealand. I felt confident feeding Solid Gold even throughout the recent recalls. I also feed it because it was sold close by and EVO was not.