Some pets can be quite choosy with meals! Especially when switching from one dietary formula to the other.
Sieving through hundreds of pet food brands out there in order to find the perfect meal for your pet can be a daunting task.
There are so many things to look out for especially since there is a ton of misinformation out there. However, the best brands are not far from your reach.
During the course of this article we will answer all your pet food related questions and you will also learn what to look out for when picking a pet food brand for your Canine or Feline.
Let us compare two of the most popular and trusted pet food brands to get an idea of their nutritional value. This would give you an idea of what to look out for when purchasing the best cat and dog food for your pet.
After you are done with this awesome comparison check out Taste of the wild and Merrick here to see the different flavors and pricing.
Contents:
- 🤔 Taste of the wild vs Merrick FAQ
- ⚖️ Taste of the wild and Merrick Pros and Cons
- 😻 Types Of Pet Food
- 🥕 Nutritional Value Comparison
- 💰 Price Comparison
- 🤤 Ingredients and Flavors
- 🏡 About Taste of the wild and Merrick
- 🙀 Product Safety and Recalls through History
- 🏆 Taste of the wild Vs Merrick: And the winner goes to…
🤔 Taste of the wild vs Merrick FAQ
What is guaranteed analysis?
The concept of guaranteed analysis on pet food products is to assure purchasers of the precise nutrient content of each consumable. Emphasized by AAFCO, guaranteed analysis by food labels must meet certain requirements such as an exact value for the minimum percentage of crude protein and fat, as well as the maximum percentages of crude fiber and moisture on the basis of dry matter obtained. All of the percentages that I use in this comparison are averages of dry matter basis. Learn about dry matter basis here.
Which one has more protein?
Merrick provides more protein than taste of the wild with a 5.36% difference on dry dog food as well as a 2.02% difference on wet cat food whereas both brands have a closed gap on wet dog food and dry cat food.
which one is cheaper?
The Taste of the wild is significantly cheaper across all meal types, both wet and dry food whereas Merrick is still considered a very affordable brand.
Which one has more flavors?
The Merrick brand has 37 recipes for dry food and 65 for wet dog food while Taste of the wild only manages 9 recipes for dry dog food and 5 wet food.
The score remains more uneven with dog and cat treats as well as cat food. Merrick dominates with 13 dry food recipes for cats and 51 wet cat food recipes whereas Taste of the wild manages 2 recipes for both dry and wet cat food each.
Which one has had more recalls?
Recalls on products, especially consumables, become necessary when there is a safety risk to consumers.
Taste of the wild as a brand has only been recalled once whereas Merrick has had six recalls in history.
Check out the current prices, recipes and flavors for Taste of the wild and Merrick
⚖️ Taste of the wild and Merrick Pros and Cons
Taste of the wild Pros:
Taste of the wild Cons:
Merrick pros:
Merrick cons:
😻 Types Of Pet Food
| Product (Dog Food) | Merrick | Taste of the Wild |
| Wet Food | 65 recipes | 5 recipes |
| Dry Food | 37 recipes | 9 recipes |
| Treats | 38 recipes | ❌ |
| Product (Cat Food) | ||
| Wet Food | 51 recipes | 2 recipes |
| Dry Food | 13 recipes | 2 recipes |
| Treat | 2 treats | ❌ |
| 😻 See all Taste of the wild recipes | 😻 See all Merrick recipes |
It can be observed that the Merrick brand has a wide variety of pet food types for both cats and dogs compared to Taste of the wild.
🥕 Nutritional Value Comparison
| Merrick | Protein(wet) | Protein(dry) | Fat (wet) | Fat(dry) | Fiber (wet) | Fiber (dry) |
| Dog | 43.7% | 37.2% | 20.3% | 16.8% | 8.6% | 4.3% |
| Cat | 46.5% | 42.2% | 21.6% | 15.8% | 5.9% | 5.1% |
| Taste of the wild | ||||||
| Dog | 45.6% | 31.9% | 22.2% | 18.0% | 5.6% | 5% |
| Cat | 44.4% | 41.1% | 16.7% | 18.9% | 8.3% | 3.3% |
Both Taste of the wild and Merrick brand are recognized for high-quality pet food and exceptional taste. Each brand owns its unique flavor and secret ingredients that makes every chunk a burst of flavor for your pet.
Nutritional values are paramount to any aesthetic and these are represented in form of guaranteed analysis, stressed by the AAFCO. How do both brands compare to each other on the grounds nutritional value? Let’s take
Typically, proteins are an essential part of a dog’s diet as they require the functions of amino acids for development and metabolism.
Some amino acids can be synthesized by the body while some of them need to be taken regularly. Both pet food brands take these qualities into consideration by providing most competitive standard and roughly similar amounts of protein across all food types.
Protein Content
Like all carnivores, dogs and cats mostly thrive on meat and have a digestive system well suited for the consumption of animal protein.
For this reason pet foods are largely made of protein of the highest quality in order to give your pet the maximum amount of protein content it needs to
Fat Content
dietary fat, like proteins, plays an essential role in the overall health of pets. Their functions include but not limited to mitigation of infection, boosting immune system absorption and digestion of vitamins. There are slight differences in fat content between both brands.
Taste of the wild leads with 3.07% for dog food, whereas Merrick makes up for it in wet cat food.
Fiber Content Fiber content is fairly the same for the taste of the wild and Merrick brand. However, taste of the wild proves to be 2.41% more fibrous for wet cat food.
💰 Price Comparison
Prices for dog and cat foods are not the easiest things to keep track of, especially with the varieties and various dealers in the market.
However, there is an easy way to find an average price for pet food and that is the calculation of price per pound (lb) or per calorie (kcal).
| Dog Food | Merrick (dry) | Merrick (wet) | TOTW (dry) | TOTW (wet) |
| Per pound | $5.84 | $4.54 | $1.86 | $2.79 |
| Per calorie | $0.0034 | $0.0104 | $0.0011 | $0.0060 |
| Cat Food | Merrick (dry) | Merrick (wet) | TOTW (dry) | TOTW (wet) |
| Per pound | $7.74 | $5.69 | $2.29 | $4.26 |
| Per Calorie | $0.0045 | $0.0123 | $0.0013 | $0.0100 |
The cost per pound is measured as the nutrient content plus moisture. The presence of moisture makes the cost-per-lb a less accurate metric compared to cost-per-kcal which is mostly based on dry content.
So where is the best place to purchase these brands? Good question! Overall, chewy.com has the cheapest prices.
They also offer 30% on your first autoship order which saves you a good chunk of change and makes your pet food ordering process automatic. Overall, this has saved me a ton of time.
🤤 Ingredients and Flavors
Taste of the wild
The unique flavors of Taste of the wild are what sets this brand apart from all other pet food brand. every chunk is a delight for pets and formulated to improve health and immune system.
The ingredients for Taste of the wild includes but not limited to roasted Venison, smoked trout, wild boar, Lamb, Bison, sweet potatoes, roasted duck, Angus beef, chicken, blue berries, Ocean fish meal, Natural flavors, egg products, peas, tomatoes, canola oil, vitamins and minerals. All present in the right proportions to ensure a healthy diet and a happy meal for your pet.
Popular Flavors
- Lamb in gravy
- Grain-free roasted venison and smoked salmon
Merrick
Merrick comes with a wide variety of flavor so there is something for even the pickiest pets. Does your pet dislike rabbit recipes? Try the lamb and sweet potatoes, what about the texas beef? Heard of the salmon and potatoes?what’s the fuss about duck and sweet potatoes?
there is so much to look forward to with Merrick’s healthy grain-free meals.
Popular flavors
- Grain-free healthy weight recipe
- Real duck + sweet potato recipe
- Teeny Texas steak tips dinner
Check out the current Taste of the wild and Merrick recipes here
🏡 About Taste of the wild and Merrick
Taste of the wild Information
The taste of the wild adopts simple ingredients based on the natural cravings and biological uniqueness of dogs and cats. The brand also contains prebiotics used to improve the immune system and digestive tract of your pet.
Taste of the wild is a US based brand with branches in California, Arkansas, Missouri and other regions. Its flavors are well suited to both large and small dogs.
Merrick Information
The Merrick pet food brand was founded in 1988 by the pet lover Garth Merrick, in Texas and was largely a family business.
The business expanded inevitably as new innovations of nutritious pet food formulas hit the market, giving pet owner numerous alternatives to ensure the health and development of their pets.
🙀 Product Safety and Recalls through History
Companies make scheduled recalls on products that may have a foreseen defect or safety issues. The importance of a recall is to conduct further safety tests in order to effect changes to product to ensure that it is safe for use.
Merrick Recalls
Recalled six times for the following reasons
- May 23rd, 2018 – high levels of beef thyroid hormone
- Aug 8th, 2011 – salmonella risk
- Jan 28th, 2011 – Salmonella risk
- Aug 13th, 2010 – salmonella risk
- Aug 3rd, 2010 – salmonella risk
- July 2nd, 2010 – salmonella risk
Taste of the wild Recalls
Recalled once
- May 5th, 2012 – salmonella risk
🏆 Taste of the wild Vs Merrick : And the winner goes to…
And the winner goes to…
It’s been a tough competition with Merrick leading in protein content whereas Taste of the wild stands out as the cheaper brand.
Merrick has a lot more flavors that Taste of the wild but unfortunately it also has more recalls in history till date. We can call this a tie! Both are great brands and offer the best nutritional values for dogs and cats alike.
| If you want | Then you should choose |
| Higher levels of protein | Merrick |
| A cost effective option | Taste of the wild |
| A wider variety of flavors and ingredients | Both brands have a wide variety |
| Safety, based on number of recalls | Taste of the wild |
| A balanced diet for all age levels | Both brands |
References:
https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/taste-of-the-wild-dog-food-dry/
