Merrick Limited Ingredient Diet Grain-Free Real Lamb & Sweet Potato Recipe Dry Dog Food
The first five ingredients are Deboned Lamb, Lamb Meal, Sweet Potatoes, Potatoes, Peas. 2 of them are a named animal protein. We put the starch at 46.6%, above the 38.51% average across the foods we hold.
Protein runs low or starch runs high for this type of food. That does not make it unsafe, it just measures lower.
How we got to 47
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 8.1 points above average, so proportionally more 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 7 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, Sweet Potatoes, Potatoes, Peas, Sunflower Oil, Potato Protein, Pea Protein, Flaxseed, Natural Flavor, 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., Choline Chloride, Minerals (Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Sodium Selenite, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Copper Amino Acid Complex, Calcium Iodate), DL-Methionine, Taurine, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Folic Acid, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex, Biotin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Mixed Tocopherols For Freshness, Citric Acid For Freshness
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.
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.
Peas
The seed of the pea plant, used whole, split or dried as a carbohydrate and plant protein source.
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 | 47 | 89 | -- |
| Protein, water out | 25.8% | 38.2% | -- |
| Starch, water out | 46.6% | 32.0% | 38.51% |
| Named in first five | 2 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.