merrick food any good?

We've had good results with some of the canned.  The dogs love the wing-a-ling best.  I tried the cowboy cookout dry once a few years ago and as I remember, there was a stomach upset.

I like the Merrick products but have only used the kibble once.  Emergency bag cuz I reordered my normal brand too late.  We had upset tummy as well but that could have been the sudden change.
I used to use their canned food all the time before the recalls with great results.  Even though I rarely use canned dog food anymore, I was always a fan of Merrick.

I was actually thinking of buying Merrick, but I read on here about some quality control problems they have had in the past.  People have found plastic and nails in their canned food.  I have never heard of anything found in their dry food, though...

I won't feed it because of the quality control issues.

I think Merrick is a nice food. But as WG4C says apparantly they have had some quality control issues a few years back and someone "allegedly" found some plastic and a shipping staple in a couple of canned products,but i dont know how true this is as there was never any proof of correspondance from the company shown....

SO IMO Merrick is a good food and i wouldnt hesitate in feeding it

ORIGINAL: Edie

I think Merrick is a nice food. But as WG4C says apparantly they have had some quality control issues a few years back and someone "allegedly" found some plastic and a shipping staple in a couple of canned products,but i dont know how true this is as there was never any proof of correspondance from the company shown....

SO IMO Merrick is a good food and i wouldnt hesitate in feeding it

There's no "allegedly" involved with Merrick's QC issues, they really have some problems at times. They have had actual recalls including one for treats, a recall on cans of Wingaling because there were metal tags still attached to the wings, and they also once had a recall on the dry food Go! Naturals that they manufactured for Petcurean and that food was tainted and killed some dogs. I don't trust Merrick either.

[ think Merrick is a nice food. But as WG4C says apparantly they have had some quality control issues a few years back and someone "allegedly" found some plastic and a shipping staple in a couple of canned products,but i dont know how true this is as there was never any proof of correspondance from the company shown....

SO IMO Merrick is a good food and i wouldnt hesitate in feeding it

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Merrick never responded in writing to me--of course they wouldn't.  But, if anyone wants to see the copy of the letter I sent to them which contains serial numbers from the two cans just PM me.

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I work a full time job and run my own pet sitting business.  Yeah, I've got all kinds of time to be making up stories about dog food. 

Sorry, I should have specified, I'm talking about kibble only, but sure glad to learn of the quality controls issues on cans, glad I wasn't planning on using them. (never used cans since 25 years of any brand because of tartar on teeth issues)
 
Any others with thoughts on the ingredients?
 

The ingredients are fine.  And, honestly I never told anyone not to use the cans but to be careful. 
The only thing I've noticed is that people sometimes notice some stomach upset with the kibble.  And, I suspect that it's because of the dried veggies that are in with the kibble.  I think some dogs may have trouble digesting veggies in that form. 
 
Your dog is completely adorable too!
 
Lori

I see a rather unpleasant storm brewing and it stops NOW.  You guys know exactly who I'm talking to, so knock it off please.  The OP asked a question that deserves to be answered without a lot of bickering and nastiness.
 
 
Now, my personal experience.....
 
Several months ago, I emailed Merrick.  Not that I would risk a food with a history of so many issues, but because I was curious to see if their CS is as spotty as their QC.  I emailed asking questions in a general way...I've heard that there were isssues, yada yada....but, I have six adult german shepherds and we foster so often have up to a dozen at a time and the formulas LOOK nice and I might be interested in giving them a try if they can assure me that the QC issues have been addressed.  Oh and by the way, when I place the fosters, I influence the food that is used so there is the potential of one heck of a lot of dogs eating their food in my area.....but that I have to be comfortable not only feeding it to my own but recommending it to others.  I never got the first word of response.  I followed up as well, attaching the first email with "I would really be interested in looking at your food, but not if you are unwilling to answer my questions" and could you please address my concerns kind of thing.  Nothing.
 
Smart business people are concerned about what rumors are flying around regarding their products and they do their BEST to address those issues, and they realize that anyone affliated with rescue has a LOT of  influence in what dogs are fed.  And they know that having a relationship with folks is key to growing their business.
 
I work in sales and I welcome objections....objections give me a handle on what the client is thinking and I know that they NEED to say no X number of times before they say yes.  So on a purely business level, I'm disappointed in Merrick.  And my concerns about the QC issues have yet to be addressed.
 
AFTER Blue Buffalo recalled all their canned product, one of the local rescues switched entirely to Blue.  One fellow with a cat rescue did the same.  He's feeding Blue to FIFTY cats.  DS yes took the time to build a relationship with the rescue who comes to PSmart, but this other guy was off the street and HE switched because DS was willing to openingly answer his concerns.  That kind of openness and honesty has allowed DS to increase the sales in that particular store from 800 something in the nation to between 120 and 140 depending on the week.  In a matter of just a few months.
 
I was able to sit in on the conference call when Blue recalled all their canned.  I heard what the President of the company was saying to his reps and the bottom line was don't try to con customers.  Be honest and upfront with them.
 
I only wish that Merrick had that attitude.  Their foods look wonderful, but, there are a lot of wonderful foods out there who are willing to answer my questions.  The failure to do so says to me that they do NOT have a handle of QC.
 
maxdad, thats a fallacy about kibble keeping the teeth clean.  If you want to try canned, go for it.  Kibble is higher in carbs by necessity to hold it together. Carbs remain on the teeth and cause tarter so actually a good quality canned is going to go further in keeping the teeth clean.  In my house, there isn't a heck of a lot of actual chewing going on when my dogs eat their kibble meal.....certainly not enough to clean their teeth nicely.  So if thats your only concern with canned, give it a shot.

My dogs had nothing but runny stools on Merrick.... and My sister n law fed her lab and chow/lab mix the canned as well.... Nasty poops ...........
 
I heard something else about there canned food a couple years back and it wasn't good.... so I don't recommend it....

I'm thinking it was within the past year or so that they had to recall the wingdings because someone forgot to take the metal bands OFF the wings before they processed them and stuck some of them in the cans with bands.  Sigh.....

I'm thinking it was within the past year or so that they had to recall the wingdings because someone forgot to take the metal bands OFF the wings before they processed them and stuck some of them in the cans with bands. Sigh.....

 
yip I think that is it.... but I thought there was plastic or something in there too....All I know is that I heard really bad things about what was going on with the canned food. But since it didn't agree with any of my 5 dogs I moved on....That was when it first came out is when I tried it...

I never heard about the wing-a-ling recall and metal bands and plastic.  I haven't fed Merrick canned in about a year and it's now unlikely that I will again.  Thanks for the info