Product Review: Merrick Lil' Plates Mini Medley Variety Pack

My dog says today we have a review for the small dogs in the audience! Not all food is made alike, and we always like to test out foods that are made especially for small breed pups! That's why we were excited to try out Merrick Lil' Plates food from Chewy.com.

The variety pack we chose to check out is the mini medley that includes three different varieties: Petite Pot Pie (in gravy), Itsy Bitsy Beef Stew, and Tiny Thanksgiving Day Dinner (in gravy). Honestly, when we got this box, we didn't notice the in gravy nor the mini medley. One of our pups always has an issue with food in gravy (yep, he get the runs), so we tend to steer clear of it. But, more on that shortly.

As you know, we always pay close attention to the ingredient list of all the food we test. We were quite pleased with what we saw in the Lil' Plates. Here are the first five ingredients of each variety (remember, ingredients are listed in descending order so you always want to pay special attention to the first several ones listed):

• Petite Pot Pie - Deboned chicken, chicken broth, turkey broth, chicken liver, dried egg whites. 

• Itsy Bitsy Beef Stew - Beef, beef broth, venison broth, beef liver, dried egg whites.

• Tiny Thanksgiving Day Dinner - Deboned turkey, turkey broth, chicken broth, chicken liver, deboned chicken.

These ingredients are solid and protein rich! No grain, no by-products, no gluten, and no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. This product is made in the United States, Texas to be specific, and uses locally sourced ingredients. So we really like that, too!

Now, onto the taste test!

We gave everyone a normal serving, but we gave our "gravy-adverse' pup (Alexander) a small sample serving. Everyone gobbled it up! Over the course of several meals, we put the food on top of kibble and we sometimes mixed it in with the kibble. We also tried all three of the different flavors and all of them were met with wagging tails and dancing paws!

We also gradually increased Alexander's serving size, as well. It should also be noted that the gravy is way thicker that what you might expect. It's actually gravy consistency, not watery at all. And, we're very happy to report that Alexander didn't have any issue with loose or runny stool. That's pretty unheard of and we were quite happy that we found a food in gravy that he can safely enjoy!

The Merrick Lil' Plates Mini Medley variety pack is sold on Chewy in a 12-tray box (four of each flavor) and is a good price for a quality food! Although we were skeptical when we noticed we got a cuts in gravy style food, we were delighted about our mistake! We happily give this assortment an enthusiastic four out of four paws!

Disclaimer: As a Chewy influencer, we received this product for free so we could sample it. Our reviews, however, are not bought or paid for and you can count on My Dog Says Woof to give you an honest assessment in all our product reviews.   Tweet

Product Review: Nulo Freestyle Grain Free Canned Cat Food

My dog says today we're going to give you the skinny on high-end cat food Nulo Freestyle. Our own resident kitty cat has stepped up to test out Nulo's Turkey and Chicken Grain-Free canned cat food. Thanks, KitCat!

Nulo's grain free cat foods come in six flavors.

Ingredients:

Nulo is a high-quality food with no meat by-products and it's also free of artificial colors, flavors, and carrageenan. There are six, grain-free varieties of the canned food; that means no corn, soy, or wheat. The top five ingredients in the flavor we tested are impressive: turkey, chicken, turkey liver, turkey broth, and tuna. It's a top notch food when it comes to quality.

Usability:

This food is labeled as suitable for adult cats or kittens. It's a nice pate; but not super moist like ordinary kitten food, though. It's a little hard, so you'll definitely want to mash it up a little so it's easier for your kitty to bite into. The appearance is standard, as is the smell. Nothing noteworthy on those fronts.

Nulo's pate is firm, but easy to mash up.

Origin:

This food is made in the United States. Although our food safety system in America is far from perfect, we always prefer food made in the U.S. or Canada.

Cost:

The current cost for a 24-can case of the 5.5 ounce size (that's the standard adult size can) is currently around $40. That's $1.69 per can. When it comes to quality pet foods, we think that's a pretty fair price. Probably moreso it you're a single cat family.

KitCat says no other cats in the house equals more of everything for him!

Rating:

We give the Nulo Freestyle Turkey and Chicken flavor three out of four paws. It's a good food and has all the right things going for it, but KitCat wasn't enthusiastic about it. He walks away from the food before he finishes it and it's not like him to leave food behind. He does, however, go back eventually to finish it off.

We'll try a different flavor next time to see if King KitCat likes it better. Maybe he's not a turkey guy.

Disclaimer: As a Chewy influencer, we received this product for free so we could sample it. Our reviews, however, are not bought or paid for and you can count on My Dog Says Woof to give you an honest assessment in all our product reviews.    Tweet

Product Review: Nutro Grain Free Turkey & Potato Canned Dog Food

My dog says we'll be reviewing Nutro Grain-Free Farm Raised Turkey and Potato Recipe canned dog food today. Please note that it looks as though this line has undergone some rebranding, so the label you see in our photos is different than what you might see online. It is, however, the same product and the same ingredients.

This is the old label.
The new label indicates this food is a Limited Ingredient Diet.

Ingredients:

This variety of Nutro is a grain-free food, so there's no corn gluten meal, wheat, or soy. That's good news for dogs with allergies or food sensitivities.

The variety is marketed as being good for your dog's skin and coat.

The first five ingredients are: turkey, turkey broth, whole potatoes, turkey liver, and dried potatoes. The turkey used in this formula is U.S. farm-raised and the food is void of artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives. Lastly, this food is formulated with optimal levels of omega-6 fatty acid and zinc, so it's touted as giving your dog healthy skin and a shiny coat.

Usability:

This loaf-style food is a bulkier version of a pate. It's not super smooth; it has a little more heft to it due to the whole potatoes. If your dog likes to bite into something more robust than a traditional pate, this might be a good option for him.

This loaf isn't chunky, but it's not creamy either. 

Cost:

When you buy from Chewy, this food is a little more than $2 for each 12.5 ounce can (when bought in a case of 12).

Origin:

Made in the United States

Rating:

We tried this food on a few different dogs and most ate it. One was indifferent to it and wouldn't eat it as a meal, but would in smaller quantities when I gave it as a snack. This is a good quality canned food, but not every food is going to be a hit with every dog. We certainly think it's worth a try to see what your dog thinks.

We give this food three out of four paws.

Disclaimer: As a Chewy influencer, we received this product for free so we could sample it. Our reviews, however, are not bought or paid for and you can count on My Dog Says Woof to give you an honest assessment in all our product reviews.    Tweet

Product Review: Solid Gold Purrfect Pairings Savory Mousse for Cats

My dog says we have another new cat food to review today: Purrfect Pairings by Solid Gold. This line of wet cat food comes in six varieties and we are excited to share with you our thoughts on the Savory Mousse with Shrimp and Goat Milk flavor (doesn't that sound yummy?).

Ingredients:

Normally we like to see meat as the first ingredient in our pet foods, but we made an exception on this product because we really liked the ingredient list as a whole. That said, the first ingredient in this flavor of Purrfect Pairings was water sufficient for processing, but the next three ingredients are shrimp, salmon, and tuna. The food smells deliciously fishy, but isn't overbearing. This is also a grain-free food, which we always love, plus there's goat milk!

After opening the cup and dishing it out for KitCat, we quickly realized why water is the first ingredient. The Purrfect Pairings food is wonderfully light and soft; now we get why they call this a mousse. It's just as soft, if not softer, than canned kitten food. After reading more about this product line we realized it is 75% moisture, so it's designed to be a good dietary source of water for your cat's urinary tract health.

Usability:

Purrfect Pairings comes in 2.75 ounce cups; that makes it a smidge less than what you'll typically find in a small can of kitten food. That said, the mousse style plumps up the food and it actually looks like significantly more than it actually is (the cups are even bigger than you'd expect). Solid Gold says to feed two cups per six pounds of body weight, however you could also serve less if you wanted to offer your cat a snack.

When ordered from Chewy (which is where we get all our food and supplies), Purrfect Pairings comes in a six-cup case. To ensure the foil lids don't get pierced, it's packaged nicely in a tray which is easy to store in your pantry.

The foil is easy to peel back and the mousse looks and smells great. 

Origin:

Made in the good ole' U.S.A.!

Cost:

A six-cup case of the shrimp and goat milk flavor is currently $8.34 when you order from Chewy. Although sometimes you'll find that different flavors of food cost different prices, all six flavors of the Solid Gold Purrfect Pairings cost the same price. (The other flavors are tuna and goat milk, chicken and goat milk, chicken liver and goat milk, salmon and goat milk, and whitefish and goat milk. All are grain-free.)

Rating:

When we gave KitCat the food, we weren't in the least bit surprised that he goggled it up. It smells good, has great texture, and looks delish.

KitCat is happy to rate the Solid Gold Purrfect Pairings mousse an enthusiastic four out of four paws! We look forward to trying the other five flavors soon.


Disclaimer: As a Chewy influencer, we received this product for free so we could test it. Our reviews, however, are not bought or paid for and you can count on My Dog Says Woof to give you an honest assessment in all our product reviews.  Tweet