REVIEW: Merrick Puppy Plate & Power Bites

Disclosure: Merrick sent some Puppy Plate and Power Bites to Lapdog Creations, free of charge for review purposes. I was not compensated for this review and all opinions expressed are my own. 

Merrick Puppy Plate & Power Bites

Where to Find: Merrick

Our friends over at Merrick sure know how to make a pup feel welcome.  Last month, Penny received a special little box of goodies, specifically for her to review.

Merrick's canned food is a staple in the Lapdog household. We've been using it as a dinner topper for all of our dogs for years (and, as my long time readers may know, we switched Zeus over almost exclusively to Senior Medley after his megaesophagus got worse and cancer progressed).  While everyone recently got to review the summer recipes, Puppy Plate was just for Penny.  If I didn't know better, I think she really knew this stuff was just for her too...

Designed to smoothly transition pup's from their Mama's milk to real food, Puppy Plate is a home-style, chunky recipe. The first five ingredients read like a comfy winter stew: deboned turkey, chicken broth, chicken, duck, peas. The grain-free recipe is Made in the USA, free from artificial colors, flavors and preservatives. 

Puppy Plate was Penny's very first taste of wet food... and boy does she love it! Although my little food disposal gobbles up her plain kibble in the morning with no complaints, it's easy to see that she thinks dinner time is the best time.

In addition to the puppy food, Merrick also sent two bags of Power Bites. These tiny little star-shapes make perfect training treats! Grain-free and gluten-free, Power Bites are protein-packed, soft, chewy little morsels that are big on flavor.  Sure, we use them for Penny's training sessions, but that doesn't mean her senior brother and sister aren't lined up waiting for their treats as well.

Power Bites are available in five protein sources to satisfy any pup's palate: Texas Beef, Chicken, Pork, Turducken and Salmon. While the Lapdogs love the taste, Mama loves that they are Made in the USA, and the protein source in the #1 ingredient in each recipe.

Penny (and yes, Tut and Sophie too) had already had the pleasure of trying the Pork and Beef recipes, thanks to her PupBox and our friends at Chewy.  I'm not sure if the Merrick folks were paying extra close attention to our blog or not, but I thought it was fabulous that they sent bags of the Chicken and Salmon recipes.  This allowed Penny to sample almost all of the flavors, and I have to admit, there isn't one that she does not sit, stay, lie down and roll over for!

As a dog Mom who's always extra careful about what I feed to my babies, I love having these fabulous puppy food and training treat options from Merrick.  I have confidence in knowing Puppy Plate is not going to upset Penny's young stomach and that tossing a handful of Power Bites into my pocket is not going to leave any greasy residue on my clothes.

Due to a few comments I received on our summer recipes review nearly two weeks ago, I wanted to address Merrick's recent announcement of their agreement to sell the company to Nestle Purina PetCare Company. I realize it came as a shock to many, myself included, however I have no reason at this time to believe that Merrick will be nothing less than what it has been for all these years that I have fed their food and treats to my dogs.

"Merrick is one of the fastest-growing natural and organic pet food companies in the industry, and will continue to operate as an independent business with no planned changes to its management or operations." - Merrick Pet Care press release 7/21/15

I understand that there are absolutely no plans in place to change Merrick's recipes or where the products are manufactured.  Of course, I will be keeping a close eye on the food I feed to my dogs, but as of right now, I don't see any reasons not to continue to support and feed Merrick.