# Merrick dry dog food for chihuahua?



## BellaLina's Mom (Mar 16, 2007)

We currently feed 1/3 cup Innova Small Bites daily to Bella. However, I recently read that it's good to alternate dog foods every few months to prevent boredom and that one brand of dog food doesn't provide everything. I want to alternate Bella's Innova dog food with another excellent holistic brand.

I'm interested in Merrick dry dog food. The ingredients look excellent and on par with Innova's ingredients. Does anyone have experience with Merrick dry dog food (Turducken, Cowboy Cookout, or Grammy's Pot Pie)?

Wow! I worry more about my chi eating well for her good health than the foods that I eat (LOL).


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## foxywench (Feb 7, 2005)

the chis LOVE grammies, its replaced RC as our in house fave! 
the cresties love both the cowboy cookout and the grammies, weve not yet tried turducken.
the great thing with merrick is while the meats are different the other ingredientsa for the most part are the same and as long as your dogs dont have meat intolerances the "flavours" or the dry foods can be switched whenever you want without any problems (we are currently rotating cowboy and grammies with no ill effects!)

Ive personally never had a problem with merrick, their people are great and because we sell their product i was lucky enough to visit their plant, (everything was so clean i felt i could probably eat off the floor!)

Merrick DO own a rendering facility too, however the meet used in their products are NOT the throwaways from the rendering plant as is often thought/assumed. (though they do use the tendons from the human consumption beef to make their bully sticks (which are another fave in our house!))


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## BellaLina's Mom (Mar 16, 2007)

foxywench said:


> Merrick DO own a rendering facility too, however the meet used in their products are NOT the throwaways from the rendering plant as is often thought/assumed. (though they do use the tendons from the human consumption beef to make their bully sticks (which are another fave in our house!))



I'm curious. Why does Merrick own a rendering plant since they don't use the meats from there for their own pet foods? Is the rendering plant a side business for other brands of pet foods?


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## foxywench (Feb 7, 2005)

the garret merrick rendering plant is actually based from HUMAN consumption meat, what is left from that processing (ie tendons, bones, ears ect) are then used to produce the merrick brand treats, they do snouts, hooves, ears, bully sticks (tendon, not penis) bones ect.
none of that stuff is actually put in the dog food however instead its sold as pet treats. the good meat from that is actually human supplied.

as a side note, their "extras" are very expensive treats, the dogs LOVE the bullies but even wholesale there pricey.

hope that helps.

i fele like a freeking rep now lol, i hate doing that cause it makes me feel kinda dirty pushign a brand...but honestly we love the stuff in the house!

Esentially i wont sell anything in my store that i woudlnt trust with my dogs, and we sell and feed merrick food and bully sticks (the other treats are just too expensive for our market right now)


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## BellaLina's Mom (Mar 16, 2007)

Thank you for clarifying the info about their rendering plant. 

Like you, I want the "best" human grade dog food and one that my chi would eat. It's a good thing to get reviews/opinions of dog foods from other chi owners. Merrick sounds delicious (from your review and what I read on their packaging and website). I'll purchase a small bag for Bella to try. Yes, Bella is spoiled.


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## foxywench (Feb 7, 2005)

the grammies seems to be a favorite with the picky eaters. when you open the bag you should smell the difference it actually smells like food...


The other nice thing with it is its formulated in a way that if you have a dog that prferes moist food add some warm water and it turns into an actual gravy (rather than just water)


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## princess_ella (Jun 4, 2005)

foxwench i have a question do you think if my dogs did well on the grammies pot pie can they would be okay with the dry formula?


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## usi2004 (Jun 27, 2006)

My 2 both love the Wilderness Blend, Cowboy Cookout, and Grammys Pot Pie. And like Foxywench said, when you add warm water to them, they turn into gravy. I can get Picky Priya to eat that way. 
Their treats too!! Bully sticks, Cow Tails, and Flossys are favorites here


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## BellaLina's Mom (Mar 16, 2007)

Hi foxywench and usi2004,

I bought a bag of Merrick Turducken on July 19th. Turducken has small pieces of peas, carrots, and sweet potato (yummy vegetables). Bella loves it!  

I mixed Merrick with some of her Innova Small Bites dog food (for transition purposes) and added warm water to make gravy. She ate all the moist Merrick kibbles first. When they were all gone, then she ate the moist Innova kibbles with a few left over in her bowl. 

However, when I gave her Merrick mixed with Innova kibbles without adding water to make gravy (for her free feed lunch when I'm not home), she ate only the Merrick dry kibbles and left the Innova dry kibbles in her bowl. Mind you, before Merrick was introduced to Bella, she loved and ate all her Innova kibbles, wet or dry. 

Thank you for your great reviews about Merrick, which convinced me to try it. Bella thanks you too.


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## usi2004 (Jun 27, 2006)

haha, mine did the same thing when I tried to switch to timberwolf. So, back to Merrick. It really is a good food. I may have to try the turducken. Mine love the 3 other flavors they've had.


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## foxywench (Feb 7, 2005)

princess ella, if your guys are good with the wet food they should do great with the dry!

we had the same thing, they LOVE the royal canin untill we added the merrick, so much for a slow switch they decided they only wanted to pick out the merrick lol.


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## BellaLina's Mom (Mar 16, 2007)

usi2004 said:


> It really is a good food. I may have to try the turducken. Mine love the 3 other flavors they've had.



I chose the Merrick Turducken first over the other flavors due to the dog food reviews from this website: http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/. 

Ingredients:
Turkey, Oatmeal, Barley, Chicken Meal, Chicken, 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, Potassium Chloride, Lysine, Guar Gum, Salt, 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, Enterocococcus 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. 

Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein (Not Less Than) 24.0%
Crude Fat (Not Less Than) 13.0%
Crude Fiber (Not More Than) 3.5%
Moisture (Not More Than) 10.0%

Calorie Content:
3482 kcal/kg - One pound provides 1594 kcal of metabolizable energy, calculated value. (Caloric content calculated using Modified Atwater Method) 

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Review Date: Fri January 6, 2006 Would you recommend the product? Yes 

Pros: Four of the top six ingredients are named meat products, uses primarily good quality ingredients. 

The first, fourth, fifth and sixth ingredients are named meat products. Three of these are meat inclusive of its water content (about 80%) and once that is removed it is likely that this ingredient would be more accurately placed somewhat further down the ingredient list (ingredients are listed in order of weight). However, the presence of two meat meal ingredients high on the list gives us confidence that there is an adequate amount of meat in the food. 

The major grains in the food are oatmeal, barley and rice. Oatmeal is a good quality source of carbohydrates and B vitamins. Barley is also a good quality grain and carbohydrate source. Rice is a low-allergenic grain that is a good quality source of carbohydrate and additional protein. Canola oil is a source of linoleic acid, but some manufacturers question the quality of this ingredient. Flaxseed is a high quality source of Omega 6 and Omega 3 essential fatty acids.

The inclusion of a range of fruits and vegetables is appreciated, as are the probiotics.


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