Merrick dog food changes ??

[%E3%83%9A%E3%83%AA%E3%83%89%E3%83%83%E3%83%88]

does anyone know if Merrick has made any changes to their recipes?? My 15yo F pug has been eating merrick kibble for years now, and my newly adopted 11yo F lab/husky has been eating it since i took her in (~1 year) and they are both currently struggling with diarrhea/upset tummies

i noticed that the past couple bags i’ve purchased have a different smell and feel to them (sorry no pic access atm), as well as have a generally “dusty” look from lots of breakage… they have both dealt with on n off upset tummies for the past few months and sometimes get random very soft stool.

ive made changes to all the wet food they get (store bought and homemade), but their diarrhea seems to just happen out of nowhere… this time i got to thinking and realized that the only thing that hasnt changed is their kibble, but i think i might have to..

any thoughts/ideas ??? also any recommendations for good senior dog kibble would be greatly appreciated

 

[%E3%83%9A%E3%83%AA%E3%83%89%E3%83%83%E3%83%88]

to add: i saw someone else’s thread talking about merrick changes from 4 months ago just now. i feel i might be onto something with this..

 

[kokolala]

@%E3%83%9A%E3%83%AA%E3%83%89%E3%83%83%E3%83%88 You're not crazy - I am going through the SAME thing with my dog. I've tried so many bags from the dry Healthy Grains line, the dry Raw Kibble line and even the Limited Ingredient wet line.

All of them made my dog's stool super soft and so smelly. It's disgusting.

We're going back to Acana Wholesome Grains. I've wasted too much money.

 

[suzanne126]

@%E3%83%9A%E3%83%AA%E3%83%89%E3%83%83%E3%83%88 It’s crazy you just posted this because I’ve been feeding my dog Merrick for over a year and noticed recently he’s had stomach issues, but I didn’t attribute it to the food until today.

I just bought a new bag of Merrick beef & sweet potato recipe last week and opened it yesterday and thought it felt different, almost greasier (the beef and sweet potato food tends to feel greasy). It didn’t look or smell different and the bag wasn’t damaged, so I gave my dog the scoop. Today I scooped his food and noticed one of the pieces had fuzz on it that almost looked like a clump of dust. I looked at his food in the bag closer and noticed that several of the kibbles were covered in that fuzz (I’m assuming mold). I shook the bag and saw a legitimate maggot crawling on one of the kibbles (I made my husband verify because I was so shocked). I took the bag to the store and exchanged it for a completely different brand of food.

Im guessing the food was contaminated at the facility because it wasn’t opened or damaged, and I keep the bag of food stored within a closed plastic bin so nothing can contaminate it. I’m so livid. I’ve been feeding my dog Merrick for a while and really liked the food but I’m never buying it again.

I’m not sure what happened to the brand because it used to be so good. Just take a closer look at your dog’s kibble and make sure it isn’t contaminated!

 

[%E3%83%9A%E3%83%AA%E3%83%89%E3%83%83%E3%83%88]

@suzanne126 i have since switched to a different kibble.. mold and mildew can be very dangerous to dogs and didnt wanna take the risk. if you havent already, i would tbhink about switching to something else unfortunately :/

tried doing some research since i have some dogs with specific needs (old farts and picky eaters), and i’ve landed on Hills dog food. it was recommended by a friend who is a vet tech + has a dog with stomach problems that eats one of the same i get for my bigger dog. so far, they have been doing much better and have had no diarrhea issues anymore.

my conclusion is that there is somethinf different about the recipe that is either causing it to mold faster, or there are some horrible problems in their QC department… not saying you should switch to the same one i get, but i totally think it’s worrh looking into other food options. wish the best for you and your kibble journey !!

 

[abandonedbarns]

@%E3%83%9A%E3%83%AA%E3%83%89%E3%83%83%E3%83%88 how did your dogs take to taste? my cavachons so picky it took me forever to get him on merricks but there are some issues digestively

 

[%E3%83%9A%E3%83%AA%E3%83%89%E3%83%83%E3%83%88]

@abandonedbarns my two picky senior dogs liked it a lot actually, wasn’t too difficult + their sensitive stomach wet food line gives them the best poops ive ever seen

 

[punziekate]

@%E3%83%9A%E3%83%AA%E3%83%89%E3%83%83%E3%83%88 We have been feeding our dog Merrick for 3 years and the last three bags have been tortuous to get him to eat. We are at the point where he won’t touch it now. It’s been very frustrating, but my guess is that they have changed the recipe.

We gave him half of Merrick and half Acana with bone broth and he ate it within seconds. We will be switching him over to Acana since something is off with Merrick.

 

[%E3%83%9A%E3%83%AA%E3%83%89%E3%83%83%E3%83%88]

@punziekate ive been thinking that they switched the recipe to something that a) doesn’t taste the same to them b) perishes a lot faster ….

the last couple bags i got were pretty foul now that i look back on it. and they were all definitely from diff batches, so NOT good.

hope your doggie does better on Acana kibb

 

[kenny123]

@%E3%83%9A%E3%83%AA%E3%83%89%E3%83%83%E3%83%88 Same thing happened to my dog the most recent bag made my dog very sick with vomiting and diarrhea I noticed Merrick has now replaced Salmon meal with chicken meal in the lamb and brown rice formula and my dog is allergic to chicken. No more Merricks for me.