Merrick Grain-Free Real Lamb + Sweet Potato Recipe Dry Dog Food
The first five ingredients are Deboned Lamb, Lamb Meal, Whitefish Meal, Sweet Potatoes, Potatoes. 3 of them are a named animal protein. We put the starch at 35.4%, below the 38.51% average across the foods we hold.
It does well on most of the five things we measure, with nothing that stands out as a concern.
How we got to 74
Five things, one hundred points, and the reason for every one. We would rather show our working than ask you to trust a number.
26-32% dm reads typical mainstream.
Estimated, 6% ash assumed.
Count of named animal proteins.
Matched against the flag list.
Manufacturer, not recipe.
The numbers, without the water
Percentages on a bag include the water in the food, so a wet food always looks lower than a dry one. Taking the water out puts any two foods on the same footing. This one is 89% dry matter.
That is 3.1 points below average, so proportionally less of the bag is starch.
Everything on the label
Printed exactly as the manufacturer lists it, heaviest ingredient first. A dog food needs very little salt, so the 15 ingredients listed after salt are present in even smaller amounts. That is the salt divider, and it is why we only weigh the top of the list.
Deboned Lamb, Lamb Meal, Whitefish Meal, Sweet Potatoes, Potatoes, Peas, Potato Protein, Pork Fat, Natural Flavor, Flaxseed, Pea Protein, Sunflower Oil, Potassium Chloride, Salt*The Salt Divider. Ingredients are listed heaviest first, and a dog food needs very little salt, so everything after this point is present in an even smaller amount., Apples, Blueberries, Organic Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Choline Chloride, Salmon Oil, 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), Taurine, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Mixed Tocopherols for Freshness, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin A Acetate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Niacin, Biotin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Citric Acid for Freshness, Dried Lactobacillus plantarum Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus casei Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product
What those first ingredients actually are
The top of the list is most of the food by weight, so it is worth knowing what each one is. Green marks a named animal protein.
Lamb
The clean flesh of sheep, used fresh.
Lamb Meal
Lamb that has been cooked, dried and ground into a concentrated meal, with most of the water removed.
Whitefish Meal
Whitefish that has been cooked, dried and ground into a concentrated meal with most of the water removed.
Sweet Potatoes
The tuber of the sweet potato plant, cooked and used as a grain-free carbohydrate. Botanically unrelated to the ordinary potato.
Potatoes
The tuber of the potato plant, cooked and used as a grain-free carbohydrate.
How much of this to feed
A starting point, worked out from the resting energy formula vets use and this food's own calorie density. Every dog is different, so watch their weight and adjust. Your vet's advice beats a calculator.
How it compares
Same figures, same method, put next to another recipe from Merrick and the archive average.
| Metric | This recipe | Merrick Backcountry Raw Infused Great… | Archive average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Score | 74 | 89 | -- |
| Protein, water out | 33.7% | 38.2% | -- |
| Starch, water out | 35.4% | 32.0% | 38.51% |
| Named in first five | 3 of 5 | 4 of 5 | -- |
Recall history
Recalls are matched to the manufacturer, not this exact recipe. A recall on a different product still tells you something about the plant it came from.
None in the last three years. Older events stay on the record but count for less. See the recall log
Other flavors
More from Merrick, scored the same way.