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Merrick vs. Solid Gold

In this comparison article for Merrick vs Solid Gold, we'll highlight the key differences between these two pet food brands. To properly compare Merrick and Solid Gold, we'll use up-to-date nutritional and price information.

There are many factors to consider when choosing the best pet food brand for your pet. Factors such as ingredient quality, guaranteed analysis, product safety, brand history, and cost are among the most important factors to consider.

Throughout this Solid Gold vs Merrick comparison, we've utilized average data to make general comparisons. If you'd like to see individual product reviews, visit our Merrick Review Page or Solid Gold Review Page.

Guaranteed Analysis: Solid Gold vs. Merrick

According to AAFCO, all pet food labels must provide a guaranteed analysis of nutrient content. The analysis must provide guaranteed minimum percentages of crude protein and crude fat, and maximum percentages of crude fiber and moisture.

All percentages used in this comparison are averages reported on a dry matter basis.

Merrick Dog Food vs. Solid Gold Dog Food

Dry Dog Food	Merrick	Solid Gold
Crude Protein	35.9%	30.2%
Crude Fat	17.2%	14.7%
Crude Fiber	4.2%	5.5%

Wet/Canned Dog Food	Merrick	Solid Gold
Crude Protein	43.9%	41.8%
Crude Fat	21.1%	24.8%
Crude Fiber	8.3%	6.2%

Crude Protein Comparison For Dog Food

Protein is an extremely important part of your dog's diet. Without sufficient protein, dogs can develop a wide-range of serious health problems.

Solid Gold dry recipes contain 5.67% less protein than Merrick dry recipes. This difference in protein content is a notable difference between Merrick and Solid Gold. For wet dog foods, Merrick typically provides a little more protein (about 2.11% more).

Crude Fat Comparison For Dog Food

Dietary fats serves a multitude of roles in the proper development and function of our canine companions. Here are some of the benefits (not exhaustive):

Help produce prostaglandins, which reduce inflammation among other critical functions.
Aid in the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins
Improve skin and coat health
Improve the palatially of your dog's food

According to our average data, Solid Gold typically provides less fat than Merrick. However, this difference is relatively small and doesn't represent a significant difference between the two brands. In addition, Solid Gold wet dog foods also provide more fat than Merrick wet foods.

Both brands provide roughly the same amount of crude fiber. For wet dog foods, Merrick typically provides a little more fiber (about 2.17% more).

Merrick Cat Food vs. Solid Gold Cat Food

Dry Cat Food	Merrick	Solid Gold
Crude Protein	40.5%	39.9%
Crude Fat	15.7%	17.2%
Crude Fiber	5.1%	5.6%

Wet/Canned Cat Food	Merrick	Solid Gold
Crude Protein	46.9%	53.6%
Crude Fat	21.3%	15.7%
Crude Fiber	6.0%	6.1%

Crude Protein Comparison For Cat Food

Protein is an extremely important part of your cat's diet. Without sufficient protein, cats can develop a wide-range of serious health problems.

As you can see, Solid Gold and Merrick guarantee a similar amount of crude protein. For wet cat foods, Solid Gold provides more protein (about 6.65% more).

Crude Fat Comparison For Cat Food

There are many ways in which dietary fat contributes to the overall health of our feline friends. Here is a short list of benefits provided by fats (not exhaustive):

Aid in the digestion and absorption of fat-soluble vitamins
Improve the health of skin/coat
Slow the growth of yeast infections
Slow the development and spread of certain type of cancers.
Maintain healthy blood pressure

Merrick and Solid Gold both provide roughly the same amount of crude fat. For wet cat foods, Merrick provides more fat (about 5.56% more).

There is a relatively insignificant difference between the crude fiber content of the two brands. With regards to wet cat food, Solid Gold and Merrick also provide roughly the same amount of crude fiber.

Merrick Pet Food Ingredients vs. Solid Gold Pet Food Ingredients

Merrick and Solid Gold both use the following controversial ingredients in many of their products:

Canola Oil

Pea Protein

Canola Oil (Preserved With Mixed Tocopherols)

Here are some of the controversial ingredients used only by Merrick.

Garlic

Caramel Color

Meaty Femur Bone

Powdered Cellulose

Here are some of the controversial ingredients used only by Solid Gold.

White Rice

Dried Garlic

Garlic Powder

Tomato Pomace

Vegetable Oil

Dried Tomato Pomace

We believe that certain pet food ingredients are linked to adverse health affects; these ingredients are classified as harmful.

Merrick and Solid Gold both use the following harmful ingredients in many of their products:

Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex

Here are some of the harmful ingredients used only by Solid Gold.

Menadione Sodium Bisulfate Complex

Product Safety: Recall History of Merrick & Solid Gold?

Merrick has been recalled 6 times.

Jan. 28, 2011: Salmonella
Aug. 8, 2011: Salmonella
July 2, 2010: Salmonella
Aug. 3, 2010: Salmonella
Aug. 13, 2010: Salmonella
May 23, 2018: elevated levels of beef thyroid hormone

Solid Gold has been recalled once.

May 8, 2012: Salmonella

Price Comparison: Which Brand Is More Expensive?

Dry Dog Food	Merrick	Solid Gold
Per Pound	$6.15	$2.90
Per Calorie	$0.0036	$0.0018

Dry Cat Food	Merrick	Solid Gold
Per Pound	$4.09	$3.62
Per Calorie	$0.0025	$0.0022

Wet Dog Food	Merrick	Solid Gold
Per Pound	$5.97	$4.35
Per Calorie	$0.0126	$0.0095

Wet Cat Food	Merrick	Solid Gold
Per Pound	$7.55	$8.21
Per Calorie	$0.0168	$0.0166

The average cost-per-lb is heavily influenced by the varying amounts of moisture present in each brand's food products (wet vs. dry food, dry vs. freeze-dried food, etc). However, the average cost-per-kcal eliminates the influence of moisture. Therefore, the average cost-per-kcal is the better metric to consider.

If you'd like to calculate the average cost-per-day or cost-pet-year of feeding Merrick or Solid Gold, input your pet's weight into our cost analyzer widget.

Averages price data can identify whether or not there exists a significant price difference between two brands. However, the actual price that you'll pay for Merrick or Solid Gold will depend on your shopping habits.

Pet owners who use our price comparison feature typically save more than 25% off retail prices for Merrick and Solid Gold. In addition, we currently have some great coupons for our readers.

Disclosure: PawDiet has an affiliate relationship with stores featured (or linked-to) in this article. We are compensated for referring customers. Thank you for shopping with our retail partners!

Where To Buy Merrick Pet Foods

You can purchase Merrick pet foods from the following stores:

136 Recipes In-Stock Today

107 Recipes In-Stock Today

104 Recipes In-Stock Today

17 Recipes In-Stock Today

Where To Buy Solid Gold Pet Foods

You can purchase Solid Gold pet food products from these retailers:

76 Recipes In-Stock Today

21 Recipes In-Stock Today

59 Recipes In-Stock Today

Type Of Pet Foods Available

Product	Merrick	Solid Gold
Dry Dog Food	53 Recipes	23 Recipes
Wet Dog Food	58 Recipes	13 Recipes
Dog Treats	35 Treats	None
Dry Cat Food	18 Recipes	8 Recipes
Wet Cat Food	50 Recipes	28 Recipes
Cat Treats	None	None