Iams Dog Food (Canned)

Rating:

Iams Dog Food (canned) earns the Advisor’s second-lowest rating of two stars.

Currently, the Iams Dog Food product line includes eleven canned formulas… nine for adults and two for puppies.

• Iams Ground Savory Dinner with Wholesome Lamb & Rice
• Iams Ground Savory Dinner with Tender Chicken & Rice
• Iams Ground Savory Dinner with Meaty Beef & Rice
• Iams Ground Savory Dinner with Juice Turkey & Rice
• Iams Ground Hearty Mixed Grill with Chicken & Beef
• Iams Ground Savory Dinner with Tender Chicken & Rice Puppy
• Iams Chunks with Tender Chicken & Beef in Gravy
• Iams Chunks with Tender Beef & Vegetables in Gravy
• Iams Chunks with Savory Chicken & Vegetables in Gravy
• Iams Chunks with Savory Chicken Marinated in Gravy
• Iams Chunks with Tender Chicken & Beef in Gravy for Puppies

Iams Ground Savory Dinner with Juicy Turkey and Rice was selected to represent the others in the line for this review.

The first ingredient in this dog food is water… which adds nothing but moisture to this food. Water is a fairly routine finding in most canned dog foods.

The second ingredient is chicken. Chicken is considered “the clean combination of flesh and skin… derived from the parts or whole carcasses of chicken”.¹

Like most meats, chicken is naturally rich in the ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life. This is most likely a quality meat ingredient.

The third ingredient is meat by-products… slaughterhouse waste. Meat by-products are the inedible leftovers of slaughter considered “unfit for human consumption”.

Since the source animal is not identified, the meat can come from just about anywhere. Road kill, dead zoo animals, diseased or dying livestock… even euthanized cats and dogs.

When you see the phrase “meat by-products” you’re looking at one of the lowest quality animal-based ingredients used in commercial dog food.

The fourth item lists chicken by-products… more slaughterhouse waste. Chicken by-products are what’s left of a slaughtered chicken after all the prime cuts have been removed.

With the sole exception of feathers, this stuff can include almost anything… feet, beaks, undeveloped eggs… you name it. Certainly not a quality ingredient.

The fifth ingredient is turkey. Like the chicken mentioned above, turkey is considered a quality meat.

However, be sure to notice the use of the word “with” in the name of this dog food… “with juicy turkey”. This seemingly trivial detail can reveal much about the actual turkey content of this product.

As a matter of fact, all eleven Iams canned dog foods appear to follow one of the U.S. Government’s four important naming rules… the “With Rule”.

Also known as the Three Percent Rule, this little-known technicality can provide a powerful clue as to the true meat content of any dog food.

Here’s how…

Whenever you see the word “with” used in a dog food’s name, you know you’re dealing with an ingredient totaling not less than three percent of the product’s weight.

In other words… there’s not much turkey here.

The sixth item is brewers rice. Brewers rice represents the small grain fragments left over after milling whole rice.

This is a cheap cereal grain by-product and not a quality ingredient.

The beet pulp listed here is a controversial ingredient… a high fiber by-product of sugar beet processing.

Some denounce beet pulp as an inexpensive filler while others cite its outstanding intestinal health benefits.

We only call your attention here to the controversy and believe the inclusion of beet pulp in reasonable amounts in most dog foods is entirely acceptable.

Titanium dioxide is a white coloring agent. Although many claim the pigment to be a safe food additive, one international agency² has officially classified titanium dioxide as a “Group 2B carcinogen” possibly linked to cancer in humans.

We would prefer not see this controversial chemical included in any dog food product.

Also, the minerals listed here do not appear to be chelated. And that can make them more difficult to absorb. Non-chelated minerals (like these) are generally associated with lower quality dog foods.

Iams Dog Food (Canned)… the Bottom Line

All things considered, this Iams Canned Dog Food product line is a genuine disappointment.

Now, to be fair (and before we assign a final score to the group), it would be valuable to look at our example product’s nutrient profile.

The dashboard reports a dry matter protein reading of 41%, a fat level of 27% and an estimated carbohydrate content of 24%.

High protein. Low carbohydrates.

Sure… by themselves, the nutrient gauges suggest Iams Dog Food to be an above-average canned product.

But closer examination of the dog food’s ingredient quality… plus the alarming number of critical Red Flag items prompt us to award the product a more realistic lower grade.

With an unfavorable two-star rating, Iams Canned Dog Food falls short on quality and represents a product you may want to avoid.

Not recommended.

Some Final Thoughts

Remember, no dog food can possibly be appropriate for every life stage, lifestyle or health condition. So, choose wisely. And when in doubt consult your veterinarian for help.

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Tagged as: adult, canned, puppy