Merrick Grain-Free Thanksgiving Dinner | Dog Food Review

Nutrition

This food has well-balanced amounts of protein, fat, and carbs. Diets that are high in protein and fat, with moderate to low carbs, are ideal for most dogs.

To evaluate dog foods, we first calculate out the moisture. This is called the “dry matter basis” and shows you only the solid ingredients in the food. These estimated “dry matter” numbers are different from the food label, but a better way to understand the real nutritional value of the food. We also calculate the carbs. Find out more

Dry Matter

Min. Protein 42.11%

Min. Fat 18.42%

Min. Carbs 28.95%

Max. Fiber 7.37%

Max. Ash 10.53%

Max. Moisture 0.00%

Food Label

Min. Protein: 9.0%

Min Fat: 5%

Min Carbs: N/A

Max Fiber: 1.8%

Max Ash: N/A

Max. Moisture: 81.0%

Calories

370 Calories per Can

This product has an above average amount of calories for wet food. It’s important to understand how many calories you are feeding to prevent under or overfeeding. Based on your dog's current weight and activity level you may want to feed more or less than the recommended amount.

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FDA Alert

Grain-Free Dog Foods

This is a grain-free dog food. The FDA is investigating a potential connection between grain-free diets and canine heart disease. There is not enough evidence yet to affect our ratings but we've created an article for you explaining the topic.

Learn More

99.5%

WATCHDOG
SCORE

Ingredients

100%

Total Ingredients

Controversial Ingredients

Deboned Turkey, Turkey Broth, Chicken, Chicken Broth, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Green Beans, Apples, Dried Egg Product, Potato Protein, Natural Flavor, Dried Peas, Dried Potatoes, Potato Starch, Calcium Carbonate, Sodium Phosphate, Guar Gum, Blueberries, Cranberries, Potassium Chloride, Gum Ghatti, Xanthan Gum, Salt, Sunflower Oil, Flaxseed Oil, Salmon Oil, Choline Chloride, Cassia Gum, Rosemary, Sage, Thyme, Minerals (Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Copper Amino Acid Complex, Potassium Iodate, Cobalt Glucoheptonate, Sodium Selenite), 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

The average dog food we reviewed has 39 total ingredients, with 1 controversial ingredient. This product has 0 controversial ingredients - perfect.

Top 5 Ingredients

Dog food ingredients are listed in descending order of weight. So when looking at a dog food label, take a close look at the first 5 ingredients. They make up about 80% of the total weight.

Deboned Turkey
Turkey is generally a healthy dog food ingredient that provides nutrients like protein, fat and B vitamins. Raw meat contains about 75% water which is cooked off during the making of dog food. This leaves only a fraction of the protein content in the final product's weight. We recommend looking for dog foods that also include meat meals in the first five ingredients (pre-cooked meat powder that contains four times the amount of protein). De-boned simply means that the bones have been removed.

Turkey Broth
Broth is often used as a healthy natural flavor or instead of water when making dog food. It makes dogs more likely to eat the food and adds moisture but doesn't provide a lot of nutritional value. Turkey Broth is generally a healthy dog food ingredient.

Chicken
Chicken is a nutritious meat that provides protein, fat and other nutrients to dogs. Raw meat contains about 75% water which is cooked off during the making of dog food. This leaves only a fraction of the protein content in the final product's weight. We recommend looking for dog foods that also include meat meals in the first five ingredients (pre-cooked meat powder that contains four times the amount of protein). However, chicken is generally a healthy dog food ingredient.
Chicken Broth
Chicken broth is often used as a healthy natural flavor or instead of water when making dog food. It makes dogs more likely to eat the food and adds moisture but doesn't provide a lot of nutritional value. Chicken Broth is generally a healthy dog food ingredient.
Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are a root vegetable that are rich in complex carbohydrates, dietary fiber, beta-carotene and other vitamins. They are a high-quality dog food ingredient.

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‍Controversial Ingredients

This dog food doesn't have any controversial ingredients.

‍Country of Origin

Merrick dog food is made in the United States. This is very positive, because of the strict dog food safety standards here.

Meat & Fat Quality

The meats and added fats/oils in this dog food are all clearly named. This means the animal and plant sources are clearly showing which species the ingredients come from. This is a sign of transparency and food quality.

Artificial Preservatives

This product contains no controversial preservatives. It’s good to know that ‍not all artificial preservatives are bad. That’s because they serve an important purpose, which is to prevent food from spoiling. However, we consider 11 artificial preservatives controversial because of their potential link to cancer and other serious health conditions.

Artificial Colors

No artificial colors are to be found either, very good.

Artificial Flavors

Lastly, no artificial flavors are used in this dog food.

Recalls

100%

Brand Recalls

Merrick has a below-average number of food recalls in recent years.

Transparency

95%

We love dog food brands that are committed to transparent business practices. If you make quality dog food you should be willing to openly talk about how it’s sourced and produced. That’s why we reached out to pet food companies, asking questions about all their brands and products. Each company had three weeks to reply to our messages.

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How Easy Was it to Reach the Company?

Unfortunately, Merrick has an aggressive disclaimer in their email that prohibits posting the content from the email. However, they did respond within 1 day with complete answers.

Does Merrick have a veterinary nutritionist on staff? If so, who are they?‍‍‍