Disappointed in Merrick....

[One_Two_Three]

My dogs (and cat!) have been on Merrick’s food most of their lives. I’ve recently switched to Whole Earth Farms (a line made by Merrick which is a bit cheaper) and my dogs do very well on it.

I’ve heard the news that Merrick sold to Purina and I’m outraged and disappointed. I thought I had found the perfect food that was just a bit cheaper, but still had great quality ingredients that I trusted. Now I feel obligated to switch foods yet again due to this change. They claim Merrick will still work independent of Purina, but we all know when Purina steps foot in and goes through cost cutting measures, that the quality/origin of ingredients will suffer.

Anybody got any ideas on what to switch the dogs to? I feed Grain Free Beef & Lamb. Little dog has a sensitivity to chicken, and both have better coats without the grain. 25lb bag is ~$40 and I don’t want to pay more than that if I can help it. I had been considering 4Health (private label for Tractor Supply) but after doing a bit of reading found they’re made by Diamond which has had salmonella scares. I just don’t know who to trust anymore!

[LadyBug]

Ugh - I thought I had heard something about Merrick, but didn’t have a chance to look into it yet.

My dogs also eat Merrick (and Wellness Core at lunch) and look great. I have one with a sensitive stomach that had some issues on the Whole Earth Farms, but the other, and various fosters, are fine with it. I’m right there with you on being disappointed, so I guess I’ll have to look into other options as well. Following this with interest to see what suggestions you get!

This website is a good place for research if you haven’t already heard of it… www.dogfoodadvisor.com

[One_Two_Three]

[QUOTE=LadyBug;8239209]
Ugh - I thought I had heard something about Merrick, but didn’t have a chance to look into it yet.

My dogs also eat Merrick (and Wellness Core at lunch) and look great. I have one with a sensitive stomach that had some issues on the Whole Earth Farms, but the other, and various fosters, are fine with it. I’m right there with you on being disappointed, so I guess I’ll have to look into other options as well. Following this with interest to see what suggestions you get!

This website is a good place for research if you haven’t already heard of it… www.dogfoodadvisor.com[/QUOTE]

Yes! Dog Food Advisor has been my go-to when and if I need to make changes. I just don’t know what to do…

I switched the dogs from Merrick’s regular line to the Whole Earth Farm line partly due to the little price difference, but mostly because my little guy couldn’t keep solid poop on the regular Merrick. It was my thought that it was just a bit too rich for him (he went through many other premium brands before we landed on Whole Earth Farms with the same problem).

I’m just so frustrated. I understand when money is involved & a big company makes you an offer, you do what you have to, but it’s a shame that this happened. It’s only a matter of time until all these big companies suck up the remaining companies that do right by us and our pets. I’m not one to fuss about things like this usually, but when it comes to pet food and I know what Purina does vs these better companies…there’s a reason why I pay $40 for a 25lb bag vs $10 that Purina’s junk brand costs…

Urgh!

[Nezzy]

Sorry. it stinks when GOOD smaller compainies sell out to the corps who will cheapen and change the food. I have been cooking for my dogs for a few years, b/c it cost the same as the expensive dog foods. I make a big batch and freeze it.

[D_BaldStockings]

I like Victor’s. Priced fairly and lots of choice for sensitive dogs, too.
You can buy on Amazon or through several vendors; I’ve used Rocketpetz and they are great.
http://www.victordogfood.com/

There are several raw or all meat discussion groups if you want to go that route: I never had the time and was thrilled when I found Victors and it has worked very well: no skin problems, excellent energy level, no ‘upsets’.

[D_BaldStockings]

And AWK!! Because I use Merrick brand cat food.
If they’ve sold to Purina I’ll be on the hunt again.

[One_Two_Three]

[QUOTE=D_BaldStockings;8239773]
I like Victor’s. Priced fairly and lots of choice for sensitive dogs, too.
You can buy on Amazon or through several vendors; I’ve used Rocketpetz and they are great.
http://www.victordogfood.com/

There are several raw or all meat discussion groups if you want to go that route: I never had the time and was thrilled when I found Victors and it has worked very well: no skin problems, excellent energy level, no ‘upsets’.[/QUOTE]

I’m not sure raw is the way I want to go, I don’t even have time to cook for myself, let alone the pooches :lol:

[Marshfield]

I’m in the same boat. I’m revisiting the idea of going raw. Otherwise, Fromm is my likely contender.

[Casey09]

Horizon Pulsar is available at independent stores. I think it is a little bit more affordable and is a good company.

[SlabSided]

Well, crap. Finally settled on their canned food for the cat with digestive issues and she’s doing well on it. I switched the dogs to Acana and Dave’s awhile back so we’re good there (for now). I guess I’ll follow another’s suggestion and keep a couple cans on hand to compare the ingredients going forward. The cat is 16 so not really sure how much harm could come to her at this point. But I do hate lining Purina’s pockets. :mad:

[SonnysMom]

I really like the 4Health brand. We have used the Salmon and Potato and the Grain Free duck and potato.
I actually figure that at some point all brands will have a recall. Or they are so boutique and expensive I can’t begin to afford it. (3 dogs & 6 cats). It is kinda sad I think that way.
Merrick had a dog treat recall in 2011 for Salmonella so they weren’t immune.

[Paks]

I don’t understand why the despair over Purina purchasing Merrick. Purina may streamline production but as anyone who has done process engineering can tell you that is not the same as unsafe short cuts or introducing a lack in quality control.

Actually Purina currently has to be like Caesar’s wife and above reproach when it comes to knowing their ingredients and properly labeling their products since they brought suit again Blue Buffalo for basing advertising campaigns on that they didn’t use poultry byproduct meal when in fact Blue Buffalo did have that in their products. (search blue buffalo lawsuit for details, some grain free products also weren’t grain free and apparently there is even a problem with BB’s kitty litter)

Blue Buffalo is pissed, is suing their providers and manufacturers and sued Purina for defamation but has admitted to the manufacturing “errors” in May of this year in court (anyone wonder why Beyond and Merrick are advertising that they own the plant their foods are made, this is why) and the defamation suit appears to be going no where (It’s not defamation if it is true) especially when you admit it’s true.

So if Purina cuts quality or makes any mistake in any of their brands you can bet Blue Buffalo will be right on top of them.

That said one person I met who used to work for Purina said yes they do make some crap food, that’s because their goal is to hit every price point out there. But every ingredient they put in is quality and each ingredient load is tested for quality as they come in the plant (example corn must be grade A and each rail road car is tested in the top middle and bottom of the load to ensure that it is.

With Purina if you don’t want to spend a lot they have the low price low cost ingredient option for you and if you do care and want top quality they are there also. They most likely bought Merrick to fill a hole in their current line up to satisfy the trend to organic. They will keep the quality if nothing else because Blue Buffalo has a bloody nose and would love to catch Purine cutting corners with any of their products so they can get back at them.

This all being said I’m currently feeding Royal Canin who is owned by Mars, because I like the breed specific feeds they develop. And they have a handle on the different needs of spayed and neutered cats. Also like Purina, they own the plant it’s made in and test their food before changing formulas. They have had no recalls since 2007 I’m not sure there is another brand out there that can beat that record.

[Nezzy]

whenever the big corps buy a smaller company it is bc of the reputation of the smaller company. a name people trust. Then they start to make quality cuts b/c MONEY is their bottom line. So while the smaller company usually starts out to make a better quality product, you can bet the new corp will cut costs and quality will be lacking. which is sad for any dogs who are on this particular food due to a health issue/allergy to other foods.

[StGermain]

[QUOTE=D_BaldStockings;8239773]
I like Victor’s. Priced fairly and lots of choice for sensitive dogs, too.
You can buy on Amazon or through several vendors; I’ve used Rocketpetz and they are great.
http://www.victordogfood.com/

There are several raw or all meat discussion groups if you want to go that route: I never had the time and was thrilled when I found Victors and it has worked very well: no skin problems, excellent energy level, no ‘upsets’.[/QUOTE]

I’ve been thinking of switching to Victor’s for my hard keeper, at least. My feed store sells it for far less than Amazon’s prices.

StG

[reefy]

BOOOO. Whole Earth is what my kitties eat. What they pretty much only eat. Do you think it’s safe to feed it for awhile? I hate to try to find something else as I have tried so many different things and this is what they will eat consistently.

[Paks]

[QUOTE=Nezzy;8241685]
whenever the big corps buy a smaller company it is bc of the reputation of the smaller company. a name people trust. Then they start to make quality cuts b/c MONEY is their bottom line. So while the smaller company usually starts out to make a better quality product, you can bet the new corp will cut costs and quality will be lacking. which is sad for any dogs who are on this particular food due to a health issue/allergy to other foods.[/QUOTE] That is sometimes true but not always true. One advantage large companies have over small companies is they can control the quality of their supplies better. That’s what tripped Blue Buffalo up. They promised quality but had no control over either their suppliers or manufacturing process and didn’t test the end product. They were a small company that became very profitable and large selling quality but delivering what they claimed wasn’t in their food.

Merrick already has a combination of USDA and AAFCO certifications that other products including Purina’s do not have. As you point out money is their bottom line. They know if they don’t want to loose those certifications or lower quality because that will result in them loosing the very customers they were hoping to gain resulting in the price they paid to purchase Merrick wasted money. And wasted money is very bad for the bottom line. We are in the information age, Purina knows it, they know they mess with Merrick’s quality it will be discovered and the information disseminated and customers lost.

[Nezzy]

[QUOTE=Paks;8241855]
That is sometimes true but not always true. One advantage large companies have over small companies is they can control the quality of their supplies better. That’s what tripped Blue Buffalo up. They promised quality but had no control over either their suppliers or manufacturing process and didn’t test the end product. They were a small company that became very profitable and large selling quality but delivering what they claimed wasn’t in their food.

Merrick already has a combination of USDA and AAFCO certifications that other products including Purina’s do not have. As you point out money is their bottom line. They know if they don’t want to loose those certifications or lower quality because that will result in them loosing the very customers they were hoping to gain resulting in the price they paid to purchase Merrick wasted money. And wasted money is very bad for the bottom line. We are in the information age, Purina knows it, they know they mess with Merrick’s quality it will be discovered and the information disseminated and customers lost.[/QUOTE]

it has always been this way. Quality will suffer.

[beowulf]

[QUOTE=Paks;8241520]
I don’t understand why the despair over Purina purchasing Merrick. Purina may streamline production but as anyone who has done process engineering can tell you that is not the same as unsafe short cuts or introducing a lack in quality control.

Actually Purina currently has to be like Caesar’s wife and above reproach when it comes to knowing their ingredients and properly labeling their products since they brought suit again Blue Buffalo for basing advertising campaigns on that they didn’t use poultry byproduct meal when in fact Blue Buffalo did have that in their products. (search blue buffalo lawsuit for details, some grain free products also weren’t grain free and apparently there is even a problem with BB’s kitty litter)

Blue Buffalo is pissed, is suing their providers and manufacturers and sued Purina for defamation but has admitted to the manufacturing “errors” in May of this year in court (anyone wonder why Beyond and Merrick are advertising that they own the plant their foods are made, this is why) and the defamation suit appears to be going no where (It’s not defamation if it is true) especially when you admit it’s true.

So if Purina cuts quality or makes any mistake in any of their brands you can bet Blue Buffalo will be right on top of them.

That said one person I met who used to work for Purina said yes they do make some crap food, that’s because their goal is to hit every price point out there. But every ingredient they put in is quality and each ingredient load is tested for quality as they come in the plant (example corn must be grade A and each rail road car is tested in the top middle and bottom of the load to ensure that it is.

With Purina if you don’t want to spend a lot they have the low price low cost ingredient option for you and if you do care and want top quality they are there also. They most likely bought Merrick to fill a hole in their current line up to satisfy the trend to organic. They will keep the quality if nothing else because Blue Buffalo has a bloody nose and would love to catch Purine cutting corners with any of their products so they can get back at them.

This all being said I’m currently feeding Royal Canin who is owned by Mars, because I like the breed specific feeds they develop. And they have a handle on the different needs of spayed and neutered cats. Also like Purina, they own the plant it’s made in and test their food before changing formulas. They have had no recalls since 2007 I’m not sure there is another brand out there that can beat that record.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for this… I never understood why people didn’t like Purina… Purina is GREAT - they target every price point out there… and you want to know what Purina does that other large mill companies don’t? Studies - there is intensive research thanks to Purina that is now available to the general populace. The pet food industry as a whole has benefited (well, some have NOT benefited cost wise) by Purina’s constant research. Just FYI.

P.S Merrick has always been a pretty mediocre food so I am really surprised you are “outraged” that Purina has taken over. I used to be a Blue Buffalo rep for my old feed store, and have learned a lot about the quality of many foods. Merrick would surprise you. You can get the same quality for half the price if you switch to a “non-designer” brand.

Nezzy, I’m sorry but that’s not always the case - certainly not with Purina. Businesses don’t buy small companies “because of the name” - they also buy the company to assimilate the company and eliminate competition - they do it so they can produce the same formula. Honestly, considering how mediocre Merrick is I really don’t see how this is possibly a big deal. It is “not sad for dogs who are on this food due to a health issue/allergy” – guess what, Purina makes alternates!

[Nezzy]

i would never feed my dogs any of that anyway. But i disagree. I have seen it happen, i know people on dog forums with allergy dogs who have gone thru hell to try to find the RIGHT foods for their dogs, and then have it taken away and changed.

[beowulf]

[QUOTE=Nezzy;8242724]
i would never feed my dogs any of that anyway. But i disagree. I have seen it happen, i know people on dog forums with allergy dogs who have gone thru hell to try to find the RIGHT foods for their dogs, and then have it taken away and changed.[/QUOTE]

So… what do YOU feed your dogs?