Iams Dog Food
October 31, 2008
Filed under Dog Food Reviews, Iams
Iams Dog Food
Iams is made and manufactured by Procter and Gamble.
The Iams Healthy Naturals product has different formulas each tailored to meet the needs and preferences of each life stage (puppy, adult, senior dogs), dog size (small, medium, large or giant dogs) and for special concerns such as weight control.
Iams dog food formulas are manufactured based on a formula that mainly consists of viable sources of nutrients including chicken, chicken by-product, brewer’s rice, corn meal, ground whole grain sorghum, ground whole grain barley, and chicken fat.
Although chicken is an excellent source of protein, raw chicken contains approximately 80% water which can be lost upon processing. The meat content is therefore reduced to only a small percentage of its original weight which means that there is an insufficient source for animal protein. The manufacturers of Iams try to remedy this situation by incorporating chicken by-product meal, another source of animal protein. However, being a by-product, the meal is made up of undesirable cuts and parts of chicken which has been discarded because it was deemed unsuitable for human consumption. The bright side of it though is that chicken by-products are meat products and contain more than 300% protein compared to fresh chicken.
Brewer’s Rice is a cereal by-product of when milling whole rice. This is not considered though to be a quality ingredient.
It is necessary that the source of corn should be specified in order to ensure that the corn meal is of good quality. Many pet food manufacturers often use corn which are used for livestock feed. Corn in any form has been linked to food allergies in dogs. It is for this reason that premium quality dog foods don’t incorporate corn or any corn by-products in their formulation.
Sorghum is a gluten-free cereal grain with a lower glycemic index compared to other grains just like barley, another starchy carbohydrate source.
Among the different ingredients of Iams dog food products, the ones which are often deemed controversial include dried beet pulp which is often used as inexpensive filler, and dried apple pomace.
There is no mention of probiotic coating of kibbles which is the latest trend to hit dog food manufacturing. Minerals which have been incorporated in the Iams dog food have not undergone chelation, thus they are more difficult to assimilate and be utilized in the body.
Considering the acceptable standards set for the amounts of nutrients, particularly meat, that should be present in dog food formulas, Iams have lower meat content. There are minimal amounts of plant-based boosters (if any) which should have added to the protein content of the dog food.
Customer Reviews
There have been a lot of negative reviews on the Iams dog food products. Most of these arise from the bad publicity that animal rights waged on the company regarding animal testing. Another factor that makes dog owners think twice about getting Iams dog food for their dogs is the inclusion of corn and corn by-products which has been associated with hypersensitive reactions. Some dog owners also noted that their dogs gained a lot of weight (which was unhealthy for them, of course) even after they finished their first bag of Iams dog food. There are others who also reported of kidney failure and digestive upsets.
There are dog owners, though, whose dogs eat only Iams all their life and only have good words to say about Iams.
Overall, we do not recommend Iams dog foods.
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Please visit the links listed below for Iams dog food reviews by formula.
Have a comment or question about our Iams dog food review? Want to share your experiences with others? We welcome your comments!
Iams Dog Food Reviews
Iams Dog Food Formulas:
- Iams Active Maturity Large Breed ProActive Health Dog Food
- Iams Active Maturity ProActive Health Dog Food
- Iams Adult Small & Toy Breed ProActive Health Dog Food
- Iams Dog Chunks Dog Food
- Iams Dog MiniChunks Dog Food
- Iams Dog Weight Control Formula Dog Food
- Iams Dog Weight Control Large Breed Formula Dog Food
- Iams Healthy Naturals Dry Dog Food
- Iams Lamb Meal & Rice Formula for Adult Dogs
- Iams Large Breed Adult Dog Food
- Iams Premium Protection Dry Dog Food
- Iams Smart Puppy Dog Food (Formerly Puppy Original Formula)
- Iams Smart Puppy “Proactive Health” Large Breed Dog Food
- Iams Smart Puppy Small Breed Formula Dry Dog Food
Iams Dog Food Consumer Ratings
| Title | Votes | Rating | Review |
| Iams Active Maturity Large Breed ProActive Health Dog Food | 31 | 2.3 | -1.0 |
| Iams Active Maturity ProActive Health Dog Food | 27 | 2.8 | -1.0 |
| Iams Adult Small & Toy Breed ProActive Health Dog Food | 19 | 2.4 | -1.0 |
| Iams Dog Chunks Dog Food | 32 | 3.7 | -1.0 |
| Iams Dog Food | 120 | 4.2 | -1.0 |
What can someone do my vet has suggested Iams for 7yrs saying its the best if you know this info how can he not now what can a comsumer do leagaly to a vet that does this and to the dog food makers themselves ??? I see class action suit !!!!
I would love to see these dog food companies with poor quality food and the people who recommend them all sued and ruined. However, one would have to have an extremely strong case to have that happen. I don’t believe any veterinarian that isn’t properly educated on nutrition should be able to push a food and I DEFINITELY don’t think they should be able to sell the food out of their clinics and get money from the companies to push their product on their trusting clients.
Iams is terrible. I bought Tender Beef and Vegetable…well, the first 3 ingredients were all chicken and chicken by-products. My dog seemed to be allergic to something really bad. I was curious so I stopped feeding him the canned Iams….allergy is almost completely out of his system. I don’t recommend Iams for any animal.
What people need to keep in mind when taking food recommendations from their veterinarians is that the majority of veterinarians receive very little nutritional training in school. The little training they do receive is often sponsored by the big pet food companies. These same pet food companies that they sell in their offices.. tend to give them commissions on the food sold. So, ask your vet but be leary if they recommend Iams or Science Diet as the only options. Seek advice from a canine or feline nutritionist. A great holistic vet will be helpful in this area.
If you don’t have access to this… do research online. Talk to a lot of people, and ask questions. Avoid the big allergens… wheat, corn , and soy. The risks outweigh the benefits.
When choosing a food for your pet…. use common sense. Real food equals real health. If you wouldn’t eat it and or can’t identify the ingredients… don’t feed it to your pet. Balance is NOT achieved through the use of only one food over a lifetime. Not one food is completely balanced. If you ate chicken, brown rice and three types of veggies everyday for your entire life… while a healthy meal, you would end up deficient in other areas. Swap out the proteins, use the least processed food possible (kibble is super processed), and provide HEALTHY treats. Dogs will eat (and often enjoy) various fruits such as berries and oranges, lots of veggies such as steamed bok choy, broiled broccoli (don’t feed them raw broccoli…. can cause a lot of gas. It needs the heating process to start a bit of enzymatic breakdown) and baked sweet potato! Experiment! But please.. no onions, only tiny bits of garlic, no grapes, no macadamia nuts and of course.. no chocolate! Also, be aware that a “natural” sweetener called Zylitol as cropped up in everything we eat these days. It is toxic to pets! For this reason alone I tend to avoid it in my own foods.
Good luck!!!
A lot of vets recommend Iams (a lot also recommend Hill’s Science Diet) because these companies give them all sorts of money and subsidies. Take a look at the scale next time you are at the vet. $10 says it’s got Science Diet labeling. So these vets feel that they need to promote these companies and their foods. I say if your dog can tolerate these foods and is healthy then it is ok. Let’s remember that not everybody can afford super premium dog food, and people with fewer financial resources are no less deserving of having a dog than anyone else. That being said, I started my dog out on Iam’s (because the vet recommended it), but after a few months I switched her. I believe the corn gave her terrible gas and she showed immediate improvement after the switch. We are now on our 7th food b/c I also suspect that she has developed an intolerance to many grains as well as to chicken.
I just switched my dachshund from Science Diet to Iams….He had terible gas and horrible smelling bowel movements….definetly going back to SD even though it is more expensive!!!
I think you should feed your pet whatever works for him/her. I started our dog off on Iams Large Breed, switched to Kirkland’s Lamb Rice/Vegetable, then to Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Venison, and finally back to Iams. You know what I learned? Iams was the only food that kept her gas at minimum, and it doesn’t break the bank. I think it’s funny to read about all these conspiracies online about vets and dog food companies.
I’ve actually had a lot of luck wit the Iams Lam and Rice formula. My Shep/ Collie cross was having a lot of issues Costco brand ” Kirkland”, which is actually a pretty good quality food. He was spending more time on the boiled white rice diet than he was his food. I’ve since switched him over to Iams and he hasnt’ had any problems since then and hthe condition of his coat has improved as well.
I started off my Boston terrier puppy on one of the most expensive dog foods Blue Buffalo and he has horrible diarrhea. Today he is on Iams and althouh he has horrible gas he poops hard like a rock.
I do not like Iams or anything else you can by at Wal-Mart. I think Eagle Pack, Prism, or Evo is a way better brand of dog food. I am a breeder/trainer, I have seen the results in these foods.
I have 2 purebred Basset Hounds and I feed them both Iams food. There has NEVER been a problem. I love Iams.
So many pets have died because of Iams. I am with John, Prism or Evo is way better source.
i have an 8 week old boxer puppy and i started her off on the chicken soup fo rthe puppy lovers souls which is a really good all natural puppy chow. and she ahd horrible diareah from it. it was straight liquid. and as soon as i changed her to the iams premium protection puppy chow the liquid stools went away. i wish shed do good on the holistic food because its better for her but she only does good on the iams
My son just brought home a rescue dog, so I’ve been doing some reading online about dog food. I never realized how many different brand there were out there.
I have 4 Dachshunds ranging in age from 7 – 11. They have been on Iams since the day that I brought the first one home, so I was shocked to see that Iams does not have a very good rating. While my initial reaction was to look for a food with a better rating, I realized that my dogs have always enjoyed great health. We don’t have problems with diarhea and even gas is not common.
My husband purchased a bag of Iam’s dog food (the weight control) at Walmart this past weekend and when we opened the bag it was full of bugs and maggots. It was disgusting.