Grain-Free Wet Puppy Food Puppy Plate Chicken Recipe, 12.7-oz can, case of 12
Graded by The Sniff System
Merrick Grain-Free Wet Puppy Food Puppy Plate Chicken Recipe is a wet food for puppies, featuring deboned chicken and turkey as its main protein sources.
This recipe offers good protein quality, with deboned chicken providing solid amino acid coverage. It also includes quality fat sources, like marine oil, which is a good source of EPA and DHA. The addition of dried egg product further contributes to a diverse and highly bioavailable protein profile.
The formula contains guar gum, an emulsifier. While there's emerging data on emulsifiers and the microbiome, there's no specific canine clinical evidence, so it's a minor watch item for canned food.
Good fit for puppies who need a wet food with quality protein and fat sources.
Summary written by The Sniff System from the data above. Same rubric, same drivers, expressed in English.
Neutral fit for puppy French Bulldogs. Deboned chicken leads the deck at position 1, 50% DMB protein, 28% DMB fat.
Looking at this for puppy French Bulldogs ? We are building dedicated pages for these combinations.
Auto-matched from this product's measurements (ingredients, life stage, calorie density) to a breed archetype. Not a substitute for vet input on your specific dog.
Research informing this analysis
MethodologyThe Sniff System grades this product against 4 cited studies relevant to its profile. Each link opens the original source.
Every claim on Sniff traces to a source. If you find a citation that's wrong, outdated, or misapplied, tell us.
Solid grade. 62/100 (B) reflects the structural fit of this formula against The Sniff System's eight scoring components. Protein quality did the heavy lifting (+17 points): Reasonable protein quality. deboned chicken delivers solid amino acid coverage. What we'd flag for vet discussion: controversial-ingredient penalty (-5 points). Contains guar gum. Emerging microbiome data on emulsifiers; no canine clinical evidence. Minor penalty in canned food.
Reasonable protein quality. deboned chicken delivers solid amino acid coverage.
Quality fat sources: named fat with marine oil (EPA and DHA source).
Includes egg, named fish, or organ meat for diverse high-bioavailability protein.
Contains guar gum. Emerging microbiome data on emulsifiers; no canine clinical evidence. Minor penalty in canned food..
- Top 2% for DMB protein in Merrick's lineup (50.0%)
- Bottom quartile for protein quality in Merrick's lineup (17.2/27)
- Top 10% for DMB fat in Merrick's lineup (27.8%)
Computed against the rest of our catalog. Percentiles refresh on each catalog update.
Similar dog foods worth considering
Three lenses on products with formulation profiles similar to this one.
Merrick Grain-Free Wet Dog Food Wilderness Blend, 12.7-oz can, case of 12
Scores 5 points higher with a similar formulation profile.
Merrick Grain-Free Wet Puppy Food Puppy Plate Beef Recipe, 12.7-oz can, case of 12
$4.76/lb vs your seed's $4.77/lb (0% less) at a comparable score.
Surfaced from a vector similarity search across 3,491 scored dog foods. How this works.
Wet and fresh foods contain more water than kibble (typically 65-78%). On a dry-matter basis, this food's protein content is roughly 50%, comparable to premium kibble (typically 30-45% DMB protein).
Read why each ingredient is good or bad for dogs.
- 1protein animaldeboned chicken
Real meat with the bones removed before grinding. The cleanest version of chicken on an ingredient label.
Position 1: primary protein source. After cooking removes water, this may drop in proportional weight, but it anchors the recipe.
- 2chicken broth
Real broth, adds flavor and moisture. Negligible nutrition on its own but tells you the recipe leans on real meat.
Position 2: co-primary protein. Two named animal proteins in the top 2 is a strong protein build.
- 3protein animalturkey
Real meat. Lean protein, good amino acid profile, often well-tolerated by dogs sensitive to chicken.
Position 3: significant protein contributor. Adds amino-acid diversity to the top of the deck.
- 4turkey broth
Real broth from named meat. Adds flavor and moisture, signals a recipe that leans on real meat.
Position 4: significant protein contributor. Adds amino-acid diversity to the top of the deck.
- 5vegetablesweet potato
Complex carb with fiber and beta-carotene. Gentle on the stomach.
Position 5: meaningful whole-food inclusion. Source of vitamins, antioxidants, or natural fiber.
- 6vegetablecarrots
Real vegetable. Fiber, beta-carotene, and a small amount of antioxidant value.
Position 6: meaningful whole-food inclusion. Source of vitamins, antioxidants, or natural fiber.
- 7fruitapples
Real fruit, some fiber and antioxidants. The amount in kibble is too small to matter much.
Position 7: meaningful whole-food inclusion. Source of vitamins, antioxidants, or natural fiber.
- 8legumepeas
Cheap protein bulk. Fine in small amounts, but when peas stack with lentils and chickpeas in the top ingredients, it's the pattern the FDA flagged in its heart-disease investigation. See why →
Position 8. Moderate inclusion. Contributes carbohydrate and some plant protein.
- 9dried egg product
Whole eggs with the water removed. Same nutritional value as fresh eggs, just shelf-stable.
Position 9: supporting protein. Modest contribution to total protein weight.
- 10protein plantpotato protein
Concentrated potato protein. Like pea protein, it inflates the protein number without matching meat-quality amino acids.
Position 10: moderate plant-protein boost. Less likely to materially shift the protein profile.
- 11othernatural flavor
Legal term for animal-derived flavoring, usually hydrolyzed liver or broth. Adds taste, says nothing about quality.
- 12sodium phosphate
Mineral source and preservative. Standard inclusion at small doses.
- 13mineralsalt
Sodium chloride. Required at small doses for normal physiology. Not a quality concern in standard amounts.
- 14fiberguar gum
Thickener common in wet food. Emerging research on emulsifiers and the gut microbiome, but no smoking gun in dogs yet. See why →
Position 14: trace fiber inclusion.
- 15mineralcalcium carbonate
Source of calcium. Functional. Required in complete dog foods, especially those without bone-in meat meals.
- 16potato starch
Refined potato. Pure carb energy, low on other nutrition. Often used as a binder in grain-free recipes.
- 17mineralpotassium chloride
Required mineral. Sometimes used as a salt substitute. Standard inclusion in complete diets.
- 18flaxseed oil
- 19fatfish oil
Concentrated omega-3s. The reason 'EPA' and 'DHA' get to show up on the bag.
- 20flaxseed meal
- 21mineralzinc proteinate
Zinc bound to protein for better absorption. The premium form of the mineral, versus zinc oxide which sits cheaper on the label.
- 22mineraliron proteinate
Iron bound to protein for better absorption. The premium form versus inorganic iron sulfate.
- 23mineralcopper proteinate
Copper bound to protein for better absorption. Common in better-formulated diets.
- 24cobalt proteinate
Cobalt bound to protein. Trace mineral needed for vitamin B12 synthesis, chelated form for better absorption.
- 25mineralmanganese proteinate
Manganese bound to protein for better absorption. The chelated form most premium brands use.
Showing first 25 of 33. Position 1-5 has the largest weight in the recipe.
23 of 25 ingredients have a curated note. Coverage grows over time.