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Merrick Lil' Plates Grain Free Real Salmon & Sweet Potatoes Recipe
Dry · Adult · Small
Merrick Lil' Plates Grain Free Real Salmon & Sweet Potatoes Recipe is a dry dog food for adult dogs. The maker lists it for small dogs. Deboned salmon heads the ingredient list, so by weight before cooking there is more of it than anything else. The named animal proteins are fish. The label names no corn, wheat or soy. On a dry-matter basis the guaranteed analysis works out at 34.8% protein, 16.9% fat and 37.4% carbohydrate, at 475 kcal per cup. A 20 kg adult dog would eat about 2¼ cups a day of it. Our label-based score puts it at 78 of 100, which we rate good. No recall for it appears in our records.
Key facts
Dry matter removes water from the figure, so wet and dry foods can be compared.
- 34.8%
- Protein
- 16.9%
- Fat
- 37.4%
- Carbs
Estimated: 100% minus protein, fat, fiber and ash (ash assumed 7% of dry matter). Not printed on the label.
- Calories per cup
- 475kcal
- Calories per kg
- 3,728kcal
- Format
- Dry
- Life stage
- Adult
- Dog sizes
- Small
| Nutrient | As fed | Dry matter |
|---|---|---|
| Protein (min) | 31% | 34.8% |
| Fat (min) | 15% | 16.9% |
| Fiber (max) | 3.5% | 3.9% |
| Moisture (max) | 11% | – |
Food score
Good78 out of 100
- Ingredient quality
- 28/35
- Protein
- 19.1/25
- Carbohydrate load
- 11.3/20
- Fat balance
- 10/10
- Recall record
- 10/10
Calculated from the published label. Not a hand-check, not a vet’s opinion.
- A named meat is the first ingredientDeboned salmon
- Several named proteins in the first five ingredientsDeboned salmon, salmon meal
- Carbohydrate is estimated: the label does not print it
- No recall on record
How this score is worked out
Five parts, weighted as below, applied the same way to every food on the site. Percentages are dry matter, which takes the water out so wet and dry foods can be judged on one basis.
- Ingredient quality · 35 pts
- Starts neutral, then moves on what the label names: a named meat first and several named proteins near the top earn points; unnamed “meat meal”, by-products, grain fillers in the first five, artificial preservatives and colours lose them.
- Protein · 25 pts
- 18% dry matter is the AAFCO adult minimum and scores nothing; 40% scores full marks.
- Carbohydrate load · 20 pts
- 20% dry matter or less scores full marks; 60% or more scores nothing.
- Fat balance · 10 pts
- A band, not a ramp: 12–20% dry matter is the target, and too little costs as much as too much.
- Recall record · 10 pts
- Full marks with no recall on record. A recall costs more the more recently it happened.
Same label, same number, every time. If you think we have it wrong, the ingredient list above is the whole of our evidence.
How much your dog needs
Enter your dog’s weight to see the daily amount of this food.
- Per day
- –
- Energy per day
- –
- Cost per day
- –
We don’t have a current price for this food, so we can’t show a cost per day.
Assumes a neutered adult with normal activity. For puppies, seniors or weight loss, use the Feeding Calculator.
Open in the Feeding CalculatorAllergen groups
Matched from the full ingredient list using our ingredient dictionary.
- Contains
- fishpotatopeas & legumesporkyeast
- May contain
- chickenturkeybeeflamb
- Not found
- dairyeggwheatcornsoy
Ingredients
In label order. Ingredients are listed by weight before cooking, heaviest first.
- Deboned salmon
- salmon meal
- sweet potatoes
- potatoes
- peas
- whitefish meal
- pork fat preserved with mixed tocopherols
- potato protein
- natural flavor
- flaxseed
- miscanthus grass
- sunflower oil
- dried yeast
- potassium chloride
- salt
- apples
- blueberries
- 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 B-12 supplement, Vitamin A supplement, niacin (Vitamin B-3), thiamine mononitrate (Vitamin B-1), calcium pantothenate (Vitamin B-5), folic acid (Vitamin B-9), riboflavin supplement (Vitamin B-2), menadione sodium bisulfite complex (Vitamin K), pyridoxine hydrochloride (Vitamin B-6), biotin (Vitamin B-7), Vitamin D-3 supplement]
- preserved with mixed tocopherols
- dried Bacillus coagulans fermentation product
AAFCO nutritional adequacy statement
Merrick Lil’ Plates Grain Free Real Salmon + Sweet Potato Recipe Dog Food is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles for maintenance of adult dogs.
Recall history
No recalls on record for this product.
Questions about this food
Answers built from this product’s own label data.
Is Merrick Lil' Plates Grain Free Real Salmon & Sweet Potatoes Recipe complete and balanced?
The label carries this statement: “Merrick Lil’ Plates Grain Free Real Salmon + Sweet Potato Recipe Dog Food is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles for maintenance of adult dogs.”
How much Merrick Lil' Plates Grain Free Real Salmon & Sweet Potatoes Recipe should I feed my dog?
A neutered 20 kg (44 lb) adult dog with normal activity needs about 1,060 kcal a day, which works out at roughly 2¼ cups of this food. Puppies, seniors, and dogs gaining or losing weight need a different amount.
What are the main ingredients in Merrick Lil' Plates Grain Free Real Salmon & Sweet Potatoes Recipe?
The first five ingredients by weight are Deboned salmon, salmon meal, sweet potatoes, potatoes, peas. The label lists 24 ingredients in total, heaviest first, measured before cooking.
How much protein is in Merrick Lil' Plates Grain Free Real Salmon & Sweet Potatoes Recipe?
The guaranteed analysis gives at least 31% protein as fed. Once the water is taken out that is about 34.8% on a dry-matter basis, which is the figure to use when comparing this food with a wet food.
Does Merrick Lil' Plates Grain Free Real Salmon & Sweet Potatoes Recipe contain common allergens?
Our ingredient dictionary matches these groups in the label: fish, potato, peas & legumes, pork, yeast. A match means the group is named in the ingredient list, not that a given dog will react to it.
Has Merrick Lil' Plates Grain Free Real Salmon & Sweet Potatoes Recipe been recalled?
No recall for this product appears in our records.
Similar foods without fish
Closest matches by format and life stage, from our data.
Dry392 kcal/cup · Lamb, Chicken, Turkey
- 38.2%
- Protein
- 19.1%
- Fat
- 31.8%
- Carbs
Life stage: Adult
Serving: 2¾ cups/day
Dry393 kcal/cup · Beef, Pork, Turkey
- 38.2%
- Protein
- 18%
- Fat
- 32.9%
- Carbs
Life stage: Adult
Serving: 2¾ cups/day
Dry433 kcal/cup · Beef, Chicken
- 30%
- Protein
- 17.8%
- Fat
- 40.8%
- Carbs
Life stage: Adult
Serving: 2½ cups/day