Whole Earth Farms Dog Food: Review

Whole Earth Farms produces a large number of both dry and wet foods through their parent company, Merrick Pet Care, which is based in Texas and is itself owned by the Nestlé Purina PetCare Company. Merrick also produces foods and treats under their own brand name, and are a relatively long-standing company, dating back to 1988.

In this way, Whole Earth Farms seems somewhat of a ‘rebrand’ for Merrick, giving the company a chance to advertise a few new attractive recipe standards and commitments: they use US-only production and don’t import ingredients from China. They also have a commitment to never using corn, wheat, soy, or by-products in their recipes. Finally, Whole Earth recipes are free of artificial colors and preservatives. Each formula meets the AAFCO guidelines for All Life Stages.

This dry dog food from Whole Earth Farms is competitively priced for what it offers. It has received mostly good reviews from customers. Many say that their dogs lap this kibble up, a smaller number say their dogs didn’t like it too much. In saying this, no food is perfect! We wish they all could be. With this food, you aren’t getting premium whole meats, and the cost reflects this. The main sources of protein and fat come from chicken meal and turkey meal, which are listed as the top 2 ingredients on the packaging. 

At 26% protein and 14% fat, this is essentially the industry average for dry dog food. There doesn’t appear to be any highly controversial ingredients in the product either, it is nice to see that there are no meat by-products in this recipe as well. The bottom line for this product is decent quality food and value for money. There are better dog foods out there, but if you decide on Whole Earth Farms you can also sleep peacefully knowing your dog will have a food that won’t hurt their health.

Customer reviews:

“My dog loves this food. The best part is that after switching to this food I no longer had to have her glands expressed.”

“This is my favorite dinner because I eat dinner all the time. It’s my favorite – Dagger Marie (Weimaraner 5 years old) This food has been great for Dagger, she had a lot of stomach issues when she was younger and after switching to this she has been fantastic! No itching or GI issues and she seems to love it!”

Guaranteed analysis:

• Protein (min): 26.0%
• Fat (min): 14.0%
• Fiber (max): 3.5%
• Moisture (max): 11.0%

Nutritional Info
Ingredients: Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Brown Rice, Oatmeal, Barley, Peas, Potatoes, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Chicken, Natural Flavor, Flaxseed, Whitefish, Sunflower Oil, Apples, Salt, Organic Dried Alfalfa Meal, Potassium Chloride, Salmon Oil, Choline Chloride, Minerals (Iron Amino Acid Complex, Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Zinc Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Copper Amino Acid Complex, Copper Sulfate, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Proteinate, Cobalt Carbonate), Yucca.

Caloric Content

3696 kcal/kg, 376 kcal/cup

The top-selling wet dog food from Whole Earth Farms gets our nod of approval. This is because it is made with whole meats. In its first 5 ingredients, it has chicken, turkey, and whitefish. All of which are quality meats. These meats provide the majority of this recipe’s 10% protein and 6% fat, with these both being higher than the industry average. 

Some added nutritious ingredients that we also like in this formula are blueberries, rosemary, sage, and thyme. These all provide healthy antioxidants. This recipe is made without the use of corn, wheat or soy, helping to limit sensitivities that some dogs face. This is a value for money recipe, made with quality ingredients, and excels in healthy protein and fat composition.

Customer reviews:

“My pug and Border Collie love this food. I already got the dry one. So I got this so it wouldn’t mess with their tummies. But they rather get the wet stuff. Main reason for getting it is. My Border Collie is getting really old and can’t keep weight on. So I hope this helps.

“Our two big livestock guardian dogs love this food as a topper on their kibble. If I could afford it I would feed this solely. 

Guaranteed analysis: 

• Protein (min): 10.0%
• Fat (min): 6.0%
• Fiber (max): 1.4%
• Moisture (max): 78.0%

Nutritional Info

Chicken, Chicken Broth, Turkey, Chicken Liver, Whitefish, Peas, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Dried Egg Product, Natural Flavor, Yeast Culture, Organic Alfalfa, Apples, Calcium Carbonate, Sodium Phosphate, Salmon Oil, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Guar Gum, Choline Chloride, Xanthan Gum, Cinnamon, Flaxseed Oil, Minerals (Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Copper Amino Acid Complex, Potassium Iodate, Cobalt Glucoheptonate, Sodium Selenite), Rosemary, Sage, Thyme, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Niacin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Folic Acid, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate), Yucca Schidigera Extract.

Caloric Content

1233 kcal/kg, 444 kcal/ 12.7 oz. can

Despite their awesome commitment to reduce the use of fillers and artificial ingredients in their products, Whole Earth Farms dry food range does make significant use of meat meals, which are amalgamated, concentrated, and ground-up animal products.

Meat meals are the only animal protein present in the first five ingredients of Whole Earth’s dry food, with real meats such as chicken and beef only appearing much further down the list. This is disappointing as it means that most of the caloric intake from these products come from things like rice, oatmeal, barley, and potato. While all of these are preferential to grains and soy, they’re still generally considered to be low-value calories when compared to fresh meats and vegetables.

On the upside, using meals instead of whole meats does allow Whole Earth Farms to offer competitive price points and reasonable value for money for owners on a budget.

Unlike their kibbles, Whole Earth Farms wet food prioritizes whole meat ingredients, with formulas like their grain-free recipe meeting the gold standard of using an all meat and fish line up for their first five main ingredients. Combining foods like whole chicken, turkey, and chicken liver means that dogs are receiving proteins full of minerals and amino acids with a natural balance of nutrient and moisture content. Whole Earth wet foods meet all of the industry average levels for protein, fat, and fiber content.

The FDA’s recalls and withdrawals database does have any record of Whole Earth Farms, but Merrick, Whole Earth’s producer, has issued a worrying number of recent recalls.

In 2018, Merrick recalled three products due to concerns about elevated levels of beef thyroid hormones. Four separate times over 2010 and 2011, four varieties of Merrick’s treats were recalled due to potential salmonella contamination.