# Iams dog food



## Lucky's mom (Nov 4, 2005)

I use Iams. Its been the best food for Lucky so far. People who have a problem with Iams research and think that corn and byproducts is bad are more comfortable going with something else. My personal opinon is that it is a good food at a good price and seems to be best for Lucky.


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## gold'nchocolate (May 31, 2005)

It's only been given a 1 Star rating on this site:

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showcat.php/cat/7/page/16

There are a lot of better quality foods out there than Iams. If you go to the main page of Dog Food Analysis you will be able to check out the different groups of ratings--6 star, 5 star, etc.


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## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

I've only fed my two premium and superpremium foods. Having said this, my niece gives her GR Iam's and he looks much better than my two!


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

I used to feed Iams exclusively, and my dogs did very well on it. It is not a "bad" food. I think that there is too much weight being given to the "food du jour" or that it must be free of this or free of that...what is excellent for one dog may be horrible for another. My dogs are doing the best ever on Purina Pro Plan. I know others whose dogs don't. Bottom line - if your dog does well on it, feed it.


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## rradovitch (Mar 15, 2008)

I would say it's a "middle of the road" food. There is definitely better but there is also food that is not even that good.


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## Gold Elyse (Jan 6, 2008)

Welcome rradovitch!


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## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

An Iam's fed Golden who also gets a summer cut. Not my GR, but I love him dearly and he comes and stays with us sometimes.


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## heartofgold (Oct 27, 2007)

Pointgold said:


> I used to feed Iams exclusively, and my dogs did very well on it. It is not a "bad" food. I think that there is too much weight being given to the "food du jour" or that it must be free of this or free of that...what is excellent for one dog may be horrible for another. My dogs are doing the best ever on Purina Pro Plan. I know others whose dogs don't. Bottom line - if your dog does well on it, feed it.


I completely agree! I just hear about so many dogs with itchy dry skin, allergies, or other health problems that could be doing much better if their owners knew to switch them to a grain free food. It's good to know what's available. Most people don't know they even have an option of grain free.


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

heartofgold said:


> I completely agree! I just hear about so many dogs with itchy dry skin, allergies, or other health problems that could be doing much better if their owners knew to switch them to a grain free food. It's good to know what's available. Most people don't know they even have an option of grain free.


this is exactly true. my dog has severe grain allergies (mostly to corn and wheat..) and not only had dry itchy skin, but immediately threw up everything he had eaten that day if he ate food with corn or wheat. that said, he usually only got into such grainy foods at our friends house when he snuck and ate their dog's kibble (ol' roy i believe...) and their dog, a yellow lab, doesnt seem to have any issues with it. so who knows. Sam did best on grain free kibble (although he could tolerate food with rice or oats, he still had itchy skin from it..), and doing even better on a raw diet.

Dillon got started on raw food as soon as he got to my house, and not only does he LOVE it, i've already noticed him itching much much less in not even a week of eating raw.


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## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

Has anyone else gotten their dog tested to see what they're sensitive to? I know the blood test is controversial, but for us it was well worth the small expense. We keep Shadow away from all the things he reacted to which were, corn, chicken, turkey, milk products, and he was found to be borderline allergic to duck and rabbit. I did try feeding him DVP's duck and potato, but he had slight issues with it. I switched him to another formula before knowing he was slightly sensitive to it by accident.


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

i would have considered it if the switch to grain free didn't almost completely eliminate his allergy symptoms.


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## Swampcollie (Sep 6, 2007)

Iams is a good mid-range food. It's not the best food available and it's by far not the worst. If your dog is doing fine on it there is no reason to change to something else.


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## TonyRay (Feb 5, 2008)

Our dogs are overweight and we switched to Canidae Platinum [400calories/cup] from Iams weight control which was around 470 calories/cup.

Iams not bad but there is better around.


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## nellie'smom (Dec 27, 2007)

It's what Nellie does best on, Iams or Eukanuba. If I try her on anything else she gets the anal gland issues. All dogs are different. I will add that I don't like that they have changed the formula recently to iams pro active health. Two different color kibbles now, changed some ingredients. I think it smells a little different. But that's just me. I think it's a decent food.


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## Lucky's mom (Nov 4, 2005)

nellie'smom said:


> It's what Nellie does best on, Iams or Eukanuba. If I try her on anything else she gets the anal gland issues. All dogs are different. I will add that I don't like that they have changed the formula recently to iams pro active health. Two different color kibbles now, changed some ingredients. I think it smells a little different. But that's just me. I think it's a decent food.


Yeah I noticed a change in the kibble...didn't realize they changed some ingredients. Do you know what is different?


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## nellie'smom (Dec 27, 2007)

Lucky's mom said:


> Yeah I noticed a change in the kibble...didn't realize they changed some ingredients. Do you know what is different?


Don't remember all the changes but in the regular chunks/mini chunks, they added chicken meal but it is pretty far down on the ingredient list, they also added caramel coloring, which I think would explain the kibble coloring. I'm still feeding it, afraid to change, with the anal glands.:yuck: If I would change I would try pro plan or purina one something similar to iams/eukanuba.


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## Jen (Jun 2, 2007)

I am a firm believer that if it works, then stick with it. 
Don't fix something that isn't broken.


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## rosiebug (Mar 31, 2008)

I wanted to bump this b/c part of the reason I joined this forum was a question about food -- in particular, Iams Weight Management.

My soon-to-be 12 year old has been on IWM for the last 5-7 years, and I always thought I was giving him the best that I could. Recent "enlightenments" have made me start to question that. My DH has been reading up on it (in particular, the dogfoodanalysis site) and wants to switch.

So, my question to everyone - on top of OP's question - are the web sites a reliable source? I've questioned my vet, and he feeds his Golden Iams too. 

Thanks! Paula


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

rosiebug said:


> I wanted to bump this b/c part of the reason I joined this forum was a question about food -- in particular, Iams Weight Management.
> 
> My soon-to-be 12 year old has been on IWM for the last 5-7 years, and I always thought I was giving him the best that I could. Recent "enlightenments" have made me start to question that. My DH has been reading up on it (in particular, the dogfoodanalysis site) and wants to switch.
> 
> ...


Here is a link to another thread going on that you may find interesting.http://www.feedmypet.com/dog-food-comparison.html Personally, I think there are better foods out there. I prefer a food with no by products, that's first ingredient is a named meat meal, and that is not filled with fillers of little nutritional value. Also no BHT or other carcinogenic preservative. Some of the foods I use are Eagle Pack Holistic, Wellness Core, Canidae and The Honest Kitchen. There are many others out there. I think the key is to do your research and see what works for your dog.


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## Dalton's mom (Apr 5, 2008)

I was always told to feed the best dog food you can afford. We feed Canidae.
How to grade your dog's food: 

Start with a grade of 100: 
1) For every listing of "by-product", subtract 10 points 
2) For every non-specific animal source ("meat" or "poultry", meat, meal or fat) reference, subtract 10 points 
3) If the food contains BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin, subtract 10 points 
4) For every grain "mill run" or non-specific grain source, subtract 5 points 
5) If the same grain ingredient is used 2 or more times in the first five ingredients (i.e. "ground brown rice", "brewer’s rice", "rice flour" are all the same grain), subtract 5 points 
6) If the protein sources are not meat meal and there are less than 2 meats in the top 3 ingredients, subtract 3 points 
7) If it contains any artificial colorants, subtract 3 points 
8 ) If it contains ground corn or whole grain corn, subtract 3 points 
9) If corn is listed in the top 5 ingredients, subtract 2 more points 
10) If the food contains any animal fat other than fish oil, subtract 2 points 
11) If lamb is the only animal protein source (unless your dog is allergic to other protein sources), subtract 2 points 
12) If it contains soy or soybeans, subtract 2 points 
13) If it contains wheat (unless you know that your dog is not allergic to wheat), subtract 2 points 
14) If it contains beef (unless you know that your dog is not allergic to beef), subtract 1 point 
15) If it contains salt, subtract 1 point 
Extra Credit: 
1) If any of the meat sources are organic, add 5 points 
2) If the food is endorsed by any major breed group or nutritionist, add 5 points 
3) If the food is baked not extruded, add 5 points 
4) If the food contains probiotics, add 3 points 
5) If the food contains fruit, add 3 points 
6) If the food contains vegetables (NOT corn or other grains), add 3 points 
7) If the animal sources are hormone-free and antibiotic-free, add 2 points 
8 ) If the food contains barley, add 2 points 
9) If the food contains flax seed oil (not just the seeds), add 2 points 
10) If the food contains oats or oatmeal, add 1 point 
11) If the food contains sunflower oil, add 1 point 
12) For every different specific animal protein source (other than the first one; count "chicken" and "chicken meal" as only one protein source, but "chicken" and "" as 2 different sources), add 1 point 
13) If it contains glucosamine and chondroitin, add 1 point 
14) If the vegetables have been tested for pesticides and are pesticide-free, add 1 point 

94-100+ = A 86-93 = B 78-85 = C 70-77 = D <70 = F 

Dog Food scores: 

Alpo Prime Cuts / Score 81 C 
Artemis Large/Medium Breed Puppy / Score 114 A+ 
Authority Harvest Baked / Score 116 A+ 
Authority Harvest Baked Less Active / Score 93 B 
Beowulf Back to Basics / Score 101 A+ 
Bil-Jac Select / Score 68 F 
Blackwood 3000 Lamb and Rice / Score 83 C 
Blue Buffalo Chicken and Rice / Score 106 A+ 
Burns Chicken and Brown Rice / Score 107 A+ 
Canidae / Score 112 A+ 
Chicken Soup Senior / Score 115 A+ 
Diamond Maintenance / Score 64 F 
Diamond Lamb Meal & Rice / Score 92 B 
Diamond Large Breed 60+ Formula / Score 99 A 
Diamond Performance / Score 85 C 
Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Ultra Premium / Score 122 A+ 
Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Venison and Brown Rice / Score 106 A+ 
Dick Van Patten's Duck and Potato / Score 106 A+ 
EaglePack Holistic / Score 102 A+ 
Eukanuba Adult / Score 81 C 
Eukanuba Puppy / Score 79 C 
Flint River Senior / Score 101 A+ 
Foundations / Score 106 A+ 
Hund-n-Flocken Adult Dog (lamb) by Solid Gold / Score 93 B 
Iams Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Premium / Score 73 D 
Innova Dog / Score 114 A+ 
Innova Evo / Score 114 A+ 
Innova Large Breed Puppy / Score 122 A+ 
Kirkland Signature Chicken, Rice, and Vegetables / Score 110 A+ 
Member's Mark Chicken and Rice / Score 84 C 
Merrick Wilderness Blend / Score 127 A+ 
Nature's Recipe / Score 100 A 
Nature's Recipe Healthy Skin Venison and Rice / Score 116 A+ 
Nature's Variety Raw Instinct / Score 122 A+ 



Nutra Nuggets Super Premium Lamb Meal and Rice / Score 81 C 
Nutrience Junior Medium Breed Puppy / Score 101 A+ 
Nutrisource Lamb and Rice / Score 87 B 
Nutro Max Adult / Score 93 B 
Nutro Natural Choice Lamb and Rice / Score 98 A 
Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy / Score 87 B 
Nutro Natural Choice Puppy Wheat Free / Score 86 B 
Nutro Natural Choice Senior / Score 95 A 
Nutro Ultra Adult / Score 104 A+ 
Pet Gold Adult with Lamb & Rice / Score 23 F 
Premium Edge Chicken, Rice and Vegetables Adult Dry / Score 109 A+ 
Pro Nature Puppy / Score 80 C 
Pro Plan Sensitive Stomach / Score 94 A 
Purina Beneful / Score 17 F 
Purina Dog / Score 62 F 
Purina Come-n-Get It / Score 16 F 
Purina One Large Breed Puppy / Score 62 F 
Royal Canin Boxer / Score 103 A+ 
Royal Canin Bulldog / Score 100 A+ 
Royal Canin Natural Blend Adult / Score 106 A+ 
Science Diet Advanced Protein Senior 7+ / Score 63 F 
Science Diet for Large Breed Puppies / Score 69 F 
Sensible Choice Chicken and Rice / Score 97 A 
Solid Gold / Score 99 A 
Summit / Score 99 A 
Timberwolf Organics Wild & Natural Dry / Score 120 A+ 
Wellness Super5 Mix Chicken / Score 110 A+ 
Wolfking Adult Dog (bison) by Solid Gold / Score 97 A


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## Swampcollie (Sep 6, 2007)

What those rankings based upon? Science or theology?

Are the product ratings based upon actual effective nutrition or how well a product conforms to a desired theological philosophy?


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## Dalton's mom (Apr 5, 2008)

I believe it's a bit of both. As I said on the other thread, it's a known grading chart that I cannot take credit for. It's based on subtracting for questionable or low quality ingredients & adding for quality ingredients.


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