Overall, Merrick Grain Free 96% Real Beef + Lamb + Buffalo is a significantly above average dog food, earning 8 out of a possible 10 paws based on its nutritional analysis and ingredient list.
When evaluating a dog food, the first five ingredients can tell you a lot about the quality of a product as they make up the bulk of the product. Ideally, you're looking for quality protein sources with a minimum of cheap starches, fillers or by-products. Continuing down the ingredient list, look for ingredients that resemble real food with a minimal number of unpronounceable chemicals - the same as you would for human food.
Merrick Grain Free 96% Real Beef + Lamb + Buffalo includes the following:
Note - a bolded ingredient in the above tables indicates it is one of the first five ingredients listed by the product manufacturer.
In this case, Merrick Grain Free 96% Real Beef + Lamb + Buffalo's most plentiful ingredient listed is deboned beef, which is considered a quality protein source. It also contains deboned lamb and deboned buffalo as additional quality protein sources.Additionally, it's worth noting that this product does not list either by-products nor bulk-adding fillers within its top ingredients. By-products are considered inferior, lesser quality ingredients. Common fillers typically used to add bulk to the product are not required in your dog's diet. Together, their combined absence may be indicative of a higher quality product.
Please also be aware that this product contains carrageenan and guar gum, which are additives that some experts claim may be possible contributors to certain medical conditions in dogs.
Allergen alert: This product contains deboned beef, beef broth and deboned lamb which may be problematic for dogs who suffer from beef or lamb food allergies.
Compared to the other 1160 dog foods in our database, Merrick Grain Free 96% Real Beef + Lamb + Buffalo has:
Using the calculations provided by the AAFCO, Merrick Grain Free 96% Real Beef + Lamb + Buffalo has approximately 108 calories per 100g (30 calories/ounce), which is compared to the average of the other wet dog foods in the DogFoodDB.
All the product information on this page is based on data collected from the manufacturer's product website as retrieved on April 23, 2017.
Ingredients as published by the dog food manufacturer:
Deboned Beef, Beef Broth, Deboned Lamb, Deboned Buffalo, Natural Flavor, Calcium Carbonate, Sodium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Niacin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Riboflavin-Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate), Carrageenan, Cassia Gum, Guar Gum, Minerals (Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Copper Amino Acid Complex, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Glucoheptonate, Sodium Selenite), Choline Chloride
Nutritional information as published by the dog food manufacturer.*
The manufacturer's published guaranteed analysis values normalized for moisture content.
*Note that some nutritional percentages reported are only estimated values, and are indicated as such as (est). Each dog food manufacturer is required by law to publish a Guaranteed Analysis, which defines each product's maximum values of fiber, moisture and ash in addition to the minimum values of protein and fat contained within. Exact nutritional percentages are not available and hence all calculated values (including carbohydrate percentages and calorie amounts) are determined using these minimum and maximum published values and therefore may differ from actual values.
Check out our sister site!
