Even though I eat a raw diet, and I generally do not review kibble, I had to make an exception for Merrick Pet Care's new Backcountry Raw Infused dog food. Why? I believe the new Backcountry line of grain free ancestral canine diets is a great food for those of you who would like to add a little raw meat to your diet without switching over completely.
If you eat kibble but get dog treats that are freeze-dried, then you have eaten "raw". Freeze drying is a process that removes 95% of the moisture from food while it is in its raw frozen state. The process helps to preserve not only the structure and composition of the food but the nutrients as well.
Unlike cooked meat, freeze-dried meat retains most of the digestive enzymes and amino acids a dog needs to be healthy. Even adding just a bit of raw meat into a dog's diet can help improve their digestion, strengthen their immune system, increase their activity level and help them lose fat while gaining leaner body mass.
Merrick has made adding that little bit of raw into your dog's diet so simple with their new Backcountry Raw Infused ancestral canine diet. They have taken their all-natural, grain-free and high-protein kibble and added whole pieces of freeze-dried raw meat. And leave it to Merrick to take the recipes one step further - Backcountry Raw Infused kibble is made with exotic meats that all dogs will love. Just look at these recipes:
- Grain-Free Backcountry Game Bird Recipe - includes Turkey, Duck and Quail (Full Ingredient List HERE)
- Grain-Free Backcountry Great Plains Red Recipe - includes Beef, Lamb and Rabbit (Full Ingredient List HERE)
- Grain-Free Backcountry Pacific Catch Recipe - includes Salmon, Whitefish and Trout (Full Ingredient List HERE)
There is even a Puppy Recipe that includes Chicken and Salmon. Merrick sent me a sample of the Game Bird Recipe so I could show you the pieces of raw meat right there in the kibble. Ma gave me a taste of the freeze-dried raw pieces but not the kibble; the freeze-dried meat was very tasty. I am going to give my sample bag to my friend Bentley because he likes a bit of freeze-dried raw with his meal.
The Backcountry line also includes the always delicious Merrick canned stew recipes. The canned stews are cooked recipes but they do come in some exotic protein flavors like Hearty Duck & Venison Stew and Alpine Rabbit Stew.
My friends at Merrick know Ma lets me have their canned recipes as a treat meal every once in a while so they sent me both the Duck & Venison and Rabbit canned recipes to try. I made Ma serve up the Alpine Rabbit Stew and it was delicious!
If you are currently eating kibble, I would love to hear your thoughts about the new Merrick Backcountry Raw Infused diets. Do you think it is a simple and healthy alternative to plain kibble? Would you consider switching to Merrick Backcountry?
Post Disclaimer: I received Merrick Backcountry recipes for free in exchange for spreading awareness of the products. Oz the Terrier only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. We received no other compensation and Merrick Pet Care is not responsible for the content of this article.
Happy Tasty Tuesday!
Yummy Oz! You did an exceptional job at explaining the freeze-dried raw food. Shiner tried this food too, and she loved it.
ReplyDeleteMmmmmm, that looks very tasty OZ
ReplyDeleteLoves and licky kisses
Princess Leah xxx
Oz that was a tasty review.... think we need Mr. Spongebob now to get my keayboard dry :o)
ReplyDeleteeasy rider
Yum yum we certainly gets hungry, reading this :)
ReplyDeleteWe have tried freeze dried treats for both Ruby and our two cats and are considering making the switch from kibble to raw or at least a mix of the two. This food looks like a great way to start. Hoping to learn more about raw diet at BlogPaws.
ReplyDeleteEllo for you Oz my pal....just stoppin by to say we haz takes a wee brake frum soshull meeja fur 2 weeks....we duz not be ignorin yore pawsome blog but we iz rechargin ower batterees and com in bak stronger shawtly....opin yoo is all well in Floreedar
ReplyDeleteThat does sound interesting - we are currently loving our new Sojo's as our raw food - the new 'wild' formula is so much chunkier and less mushy like the previous ones and it is so handy to be able to take it anywhere and be able to make it. This new merricks would be a great alternative too
ReplyDeleteOhhhh I am looking into this! Sounds like it may be a good match for my huskies!
ReplyDeleteღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
Hidey Ho Oz....that food surely agrees with you your furs are shiny and your eyes bright
ReplyDeleteHugs madi you bfff
Stop the presses! Rabbit stew?? YUM!
ReplyDeleteYour Pals,
Murphy & Stanley
Yum looks very tasty.
ReplyDeleteAroo to you,
Sully
Sounds yummy,thanks for the great review OZ!
ReplyDeletehugs
Mr Bailey, Hazel & Mabel
Ring-ding-ding-ding-dingeringeding Oz pick up the line ~ It's me Wills. You make that food sound delish, why I say serve me up some. Great Review!
ReplyDeleteThanks for being a friend
Sweet William The Scot
It looks like people food!
ReplyDeleteLily & Edward
We eat one of the other Merrick versions and love it. Millie is such a picky eater and seems to love what we eat now so we wouldn't want to upset the apple cart and try a new food on her. Walter would eat anything you put in front of him.
ReplyDeleteMom isn't ready for or sold on a complete raw diet, but we switched to Backcountry as soon as it came out and we all love it! We love Merrick and we find it to be a real good high quality food.
ReplyDeleteGreat review, it all looks and sounds yummy.
ReplyDeleteWe will be doing a review of this food, probably next week. :)
ReplyDelete