"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 7/21/15I 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.
Founded in 1988, Amarillo, Texas –based Merrick Pet Care Inc. is a leader in the natural and organic pet food category. With a mission to create the most nutritious and wholesome food, Merrick helps families take better care of their pets by cooking up nutritious, real whole foods for pets. All foods are made in the USA using only the freshest ingredients grown by local farmers. The company offers a wide variety of dry and wet foods as well as treats.As one of three seasonal offerings from Merrick this year (including Homecoming Holiday Recipe and Venison Holiday Stew), Forever Home Holiday Classic is a grain-free recipe made with beef, chicken, Yukon gold potatoes, red delicious apples and peas. With ingredients like those, what dog wouldn't drool as soon as you pop the lid? The Lapdogs sure did!
As many of your know, we've been big fans of Merrick for a long time, and recently switched Zeus over to their Senior Medley canned recipe as his main food source. I'm happy to say he's been doing wonderful on it and we have seen a tremendous improvement in managing his mega-esophagus. It's expensive as all heck to feed a nearly-100 pound dog a diet of 95% canned food, and I might be eating more pb&j sandwiches these days, but he is well worth it. Santa sure did help us out a little bit this past month however, as Zeus received gifts off of his "Chewy Registry" from a dear friend, his SC grandparents, and the awesome folks at Chewy themselves, whom we owe a huge THANK YOU to! I've always said they are amazing to work with and have unbelievable customer service, but Chewy's above-and-beyond personal touch and caring about us truly means the world! From the bottom of my heart, thank you.... it's an honor to be a part of your blogging family.
Made in the USA with all-natural ingredients, Big Brush Bones are intended for dogs weighing 25 pounds or more (we've got that covered, easily). The green bone-shaped treats are grain-free and gluten-free. The ingredients (Potato Starch, Vegetable Glycerin, Dried Plain Beet Pulp, Cane Molasses, Chicken Fat, Natural Chicken Flavor, Water, Alfalfa Nutrient Concentrate [source of chlorophyll], Lecithin, Dried Cultured Skim Milk, Parsley) support fresh breath, while the shape and texture have been designed to combat plaque and tartar.
"At Merrick, we don't just make pet food. We make the Best Food Ever. For the Best Pet Ever. Yours."
As part of the campaign, I got to choose some of Merrick's dog food for the Lapdogs to try. I decided to focus on just one of my best dogs for this review and picked the Grain Free Real Buffalo & Sweet Potato recipe for Zeus. Deboned buffalo is the first ingredient, helping to build and maintain lean, healthy muscle tissue. Fresh produce such as sweet potatoes, peas, apples and blueberries are added to offer the benefit of sustained energy without upsetting grain-sensitive stomachs.
Zeus was one lucky boy and also got to try Merrick's Senior Medley canned food. While he loves his Buffalo & Sweet Potato kibble, he loves this canned food! We have always mixed in some high-quality canned food with all of our dogs' kibble, but have recently begun cutting back on the amount of kibble and adding more canned to Zeus' diet (we're now at a rough 50/50 mix). Sure, all dogs love canned food... but this Senior Medley is like doggy crack! Zeus can't get enough and his brother and sisters have been begging for him to share. I guess it's the delish mixture of chicken, turkey, peas, carrots, potatoes and apples that's got them drooling!
As a dog Mom who's always looking for the best nutrition for my fur-kids, Merrick is a true stand out! Not only is it grain free and natural, this high protein dog food is Made in the USA -- the most important thing to me when deciding whether or not to feed something to my babies! I love that Merrick uses locally sourced and farm fresh ingredients. Not only does it ensure the highest quality, it also helps support the local farmers. 
"Like with all of our recipes, we locally source our farm fresh ingredients to ensure the highest quality. As a result, Merrick recipes don’t contain any ingredients from China and our made in our own five-star kitchen and manufacturing facilities that uphold the strict guidelines well defined by the FDA." - Merrick Pet Care96% Real Texas Beef wet food is grain free and contains no artificial colors, flavors, preservatives or by-products. As the name suggests, each can contains 96% meat with vitamins and minerals added to meet your dog's complete nutrition needs. In addition to the USDA-inspected deboned beef, these additives are DHA for healthy growth, Omega 6 and 3 fatty acids to help support a beautiful coat, and glucosamine and chrondroitin for joint health.
No longer just a fun song, Love Potion #9 is an all new, grain-free recipe designed for all life stages and breeds. Made with real, wholesome beef, sweet potatoes, zucchini and tomatoes, the Lapdogs say it's just as tasty as the name would imply! 
