Iams Dog Food Review, Recalls & Coupons for 2024

The Iams pet food company was founded on the principles of quality nutrition and the belief that an emphasis on advanced nutrition might lead to innovation in the pet food industry and an improvement in quality across the board.

The Iams nutritional philosophy is based on years of dedication and research and the idea that the right diet can lead to some amazing benefits for pets – stronger immunity, lean muscle maintenance, healthy digestion, improved oral health, and a better sense of overall well being.

The Iams company was among the first pet food manufacturers to start feeding dogs as carnivores – they were also the first to develop the kind of protein-based diet that most traditional kibbles offer today.

Iams dog food offers a wide variety of different pet food products for dogs in all life stages, including a natural line of products and veterinary recipes.

Read on for our detailed Iams Dog Food Review below.

Who Makes Iams?

The Iams pet food company was founded by Paul Iams in 1946 and has since expanded into a family of brands sold worldwide. Paul Iams was a self-taught animal nutritionist who made it his goal to create the world’s first dry dog food made with animal-based protein.

In 1969, Iams released a new line of products under the name Eukanuba and, in the years that followed, the company changed hands a number of times. The company was sold to Procter & Gamble in late 1999 and then sold to Mars, Inc. in 2014.

Today, Mars, Inc. is one of the world’s largest pet food manufacturers and the sixth largest privately held company in the United States.

Iams Dog Food Review 2024

With so many different products to choose from, it should come as no surprise to you that the quality of Iams’ dog foods vary significantly.

While most Iams dog food products include an animal-based protein as the main ingredient, this company also makes heavy use of by-products and corn-based ingredients.

The Healthy Naturals line of products appears to offer the best quality when it comes to ingredients and nutrition. Before you purchase any Iams dog food products for your dog, take a look at the ingredients list and the guaranteed analysis to determine the quality of the product.

Here’s are the Top Rated Iams Dog Foods:

1. Iams ProActive Health Adult MiniChunks
2. Iams ProActive Health Adult Lamb & Rice Formula
3. Iams ProActive Health Chicken & Whole Grain Rice Pate
4. Iams ProActive Health Adult Large Breed
5. Iams ProActive Health Smart Puppy Large Breed
6. Iams ProActive Health Mature Adult

 

1. Iams ProActive Health Adult MiniChunks

This Iams ProActive Health Adult Chunks is formulated for adult dogs and it is designed to help your dog build strong, firm muscles with quality protein from chicken and egg ingredients.

This formula offers balanced omega fatty acid content for healthy skin and coat as well as 7 essential nutrients for heart health and general wellness. Plus, it is formulated with l-carnitine to help your dog burn fat and maintain a healthy bodyweight.

As promised, the first ingredient in this recipe is fresh chicken. One thing you want to remember about fresh meats like chicken is that they can contain up to 80% moisture by volume.

What this means is that when the dog food is cooked and exposed to high temperatures, most of that moisture cooks out – this leaves you with a much lower volume of protein than the original volume.

This could be a problem for this recipe because the next two ingredients are grains and the main supplementary source of protein included in this recipe is a by-product. The quality of by-products can be difficult to judge but this by-product comes from a named source (chicken), so it may be okay.

Meat meals like this have already been cooked to remove moisture so they are a highly concentrated source of protein.

Though this Iams ProActive Health Adult Chunks Dry Food recipe does contain some quality proteins, the grains may be a problem for some dogs. Corn meal, for example, is very difficult for most dogs to digest and it has a high risk for triggering food allergies and sensitivities – it also offers very limited nutritional value for dogs.

Ground whole grain sorghum is gluten-free and, as a whole grain, it offers decent digestibility for dogs. This ingredient, combined with the dried beet pulp and flax meal, provides your dog with energy as well as dietary fiber to support his digestion.

The main source of fat in this recipe is chicken fat – a highly nutritious and concentrated source of energy. This recipe also contains vitamin and mineral supplements but it doesn’t contain any chelated minerals or probiotics.

This Iams ProActive Health Adult Chunks Dry Food recipe is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles for adult maintenance.

Overall, this Iams ProActive Health Adult Chunks Dry Food recipe offers decent quality nutrition for adult dogs and it doesn’t contain many questionable ingredients.

It may be a problem that the actual volume of chicken protein is significantly reduced in cooking, but the chicken by-product meal provides a decent source of supplementary protein.

The only really bad ingredient in this recipe is the corn meal, though some say that dried beet pulp is a controversial ingredient. All in all, this recipe meets your dog’s minimum requirements for nutrition, mostly through the use of decent quality ingredients.

2. Iams ProActive Health Adult Lamb & Rice Formula

Specially crafted for adult dogs, the Iams Proactive Health Adult Lamb & Rice Recipe uses a protein-based diet that starts off with real lamb.

This premium protein-rich formulation encourages strong and lean muscles in canines and gives them an optimum diet that supports their need for meat.

The first and main ingredient in this recipe is lamb, a tasty red meat source that gives off a rich savory flavor much like beef. Unlike beef, however, which is a common allergen for some dogs, lamb is often used as a hypoallergenic alternative. It’s not only rich in protein, but it is also a good source of B3 and B1+-2 vitamins, zinc, and selenium.

Chicken by-product meal is the second ingredient. Since dogs often can’t get all of the nutrients they need from pure meat alone, some dog food manufacturers utilize chicken meal or chicken by-product meal as supplements.

While chicken by-product meals may not sound attractive (these can contain feet, bones, and heads) when compared to chicken meal (parts that are used for human consumption), they are highly digestible and can offer up to 70% of protein to the total.

The third ingredient is brewer’s rice, which is a milled rice kernel that offers the same nutritional value as plain, regular white rice. It’s often used as a carbohydrate source in a few dog foods. Ground whole grain barley as the fourth in the recipe list combines with the brewer’s rice nicely to give your pet plenty of energy.

An excellent feature of this recipe is the high Omega-6 fatty acid content that lists at 1.75% minimum. Omegas are necessary for good skin health and beautiful shiny coats. One other thing we noted is the numerous vitamin supplements in this formulation. This makes the food a viable and healthy recipe for all adult canines.

We like this Iams recipe, but we do have concerns about the use of by-product meal, brewer’s rice, and most of all, corn. While brewer’s rice is a fantastic source of energy, it’s not really a type of rice but rather broken pieces of white rice.

By-product meal can mean anything from organ meats (which are good) to feather parts (which aren’t all that okay). There also seems to be more sources of grains here than sources of protein. Overall, however, this formula combines a balanced diet with an affordable price tag.

3. Iams ProActive Health Chicken & Whole Grain Rice Pate

This Iams ProActive Health Chunks with Chicken in Gravy recipe is designed for adult dogs and it is slow-cooked in broth for plenty of natural flavor. The first ingredient in this recipe is water, followed by chicken.

Fresh meats in canned foods do not have the same problem as they do in dry foods because most of the moisture is retained. It is important to note, however, that this recipe includes two supplementary protein sources that come from by-products – chicken by-products and meat by-products.

The chicken by-products are unlikely to be harmful for your dog, but the quality of unnamed sources (particularly for by-products) is very difficult to judge.

In terms of carbohydrate, the main sources used in this formula include carrots, cornstarch, barley, flaxseed meal, and sweet potatoes.

The flaxseed meal offers some dietary fat as well as fiber, and the broccoli and spinach that appear later in the list provide some additional fiber as well. The only dedicated source of fat in this recipe is vegetable oil and it appears at the end of the list – most of the fat in this recipe probably comes from the chicken and by-product meals.

This recipe does contain some natural sources for key nutrients (fresh vegetables), though there are still a lot of synthetic supplements. There are no chelated minerals or probiotics in this recipe. This Iams recipe is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles for maintenance.

Overall, this Iams ProActive Health Chunks with Chicken in Gravy recipe contains some beneficial ingredients but also several of questionable quality. The fresh chicken and vegetables are the main ingredients that offer good nutritional quality but they are offset by the by-products and cornstarch.

It is also important to note that this recipe includes added color and a significant number of synthetic supplements, none of which are chelated. The main sources of fat and fiber in this recipe could both be improved, especially since cornstarch is likely to trigger food allergies and sensitivities.

4. Iams Large Breed Chicken & Whole Grains Recipe

Large breed dogs need food specifically created for their large daily nutrition requirements. The Iams Large Breed recipe featuring chicken and whole grains makes sure to fully support their big needs — and appetite.

Real farm-raised chicken is the first ingredient, meaning it makes up most of the dish. While some dogs are sensitive to the poultry, quite a lot more love the tasty white meat. Cooked chicken is healthy for canines because of its protein-rich content.

And while it provides canines with plenty of nutrition to build lean muscle mass, it’s quite low in calories which makes it ideal for dogs that lean to the chubby side.

Three types of grains follow the chicken in succession. These are whole grain barley, whole grain corn, and whole grain sorghum. The grains not only provide large dogs with much energy to fuel their big adventures, these also offer plenty of vitamins and minerals for total good health.

For example, sorghum is high in antioxidants and dietary fiber. It can also boost smoother blood sugar behavior in canines. Corn gets a bad rep for being a common allergen in sensitive dogs, but if your pet tolerates it, you can feed it to him because corn is a good source of linoleic acid. Barley, on the other hand, has glucose-lowering effects on dogs.

The fifth ingredient in this recipe list is chicken by-product meal. It’s quite different from fresh chicken because chicken by-product meal is rendered meat that comes from offal and bones, among others. It’s not a premium cut or part of a chicken, but it does provide additional protein to any dog food.

The rest of the ingredients are made up mostly of supplemental vitamins and minerals chosen to provide enough support for the joints, bones, muscles, and overall mind and body health of biggies.

We especially like the tailored blend of fibers and prebiotics in this recipe because both promote gut health, which can be significant to a dog’s immune system. We feel, however, that the protein content can be a bit higher since it’s only set at 22.5% minimum.

5. Iams ProActive Health Smart Puppy Large Breed

Growing pups need the right amount of nutrition with their daily feed to make sure that each bone, muscle, and all other body parts develop properly. Large breed puppies need even more care because their big size means that they have bigger nutrition needs to fill.

The Iams Puppy Large Breed recipe takes care of all these requirements to ensure that pups will grow up to be the healthy dogs they were meant to be.

Chicken, the most popular flavor in dog foods, makes up the largest part of the meal. Iams uses only fresh and farm-raised chicken to give your puppy the right amount of protein (a good 27%).

Because chicken is considered a lean type of meat, it can provide all the nutrients needed without the accompanying calories.

Next comes whole grain corn. Many revile corn in feeds because it’s a common allergen in canines. However, for pets with no known sensitivity to this ingredient, it can be a quite healthy addition to any meal (provided you do it in moderation) because it is high in fiber and carbs but low on fat.

There's a chicken by-product meal in there too to lend some protein support to the entirety of the meal. This is followed by sorghum, an impressive traditional grain that provides four kinds of B vitamins (essential for neural development), zinc (metabolism), fiber (gut health), potassium (low blood pressure), magnesium (bone formation), copper, phosphorus, protein, and carbohydrates.

Because this is a dry dog food recipe, the fifth ingredient — corn gluten meal — is important in giving the kibbles their structure. Its consistency helps hold all of the other ingredients together for a crunchy form.

A surprising ingredient in the list is dried beet pulp that is alleged to promote good digestive health by encouraging intestinal motility, good gut bacteria, and firm stools. Other ingredients that you may wonder about are the brewer’s yeast and the fish oil. Both can reduce dry and itchy skin and promote shiny coats.

We like how the brand made sure to feature 22 key nutrients that puppies can find in their mothers’ milk in this recipe. What we don’t love so much is the use of common allergen ingredients such as corn and gluten for a puppy’s meal. However, this is a decent dog food formulation that provides most of the nutrition growing dogs need at a very competitive price.

6. Iams Mature Adult Chicken & Whole Grains Recipe

As dogs mature and age, their nutrition needs change. The Mature Adult Chicken & Whole Grains recipe by Iams makes sure senior pups get the proper amount of nutrition they need to support their aging bones, mind, and body. 

Real farm-raised chicken leads the ingredients list in this recipe, followed by chicken by-product meal as additional protein support. The chicken is laden with glucosamine for bone and joint health (necessary for older dogs).

Poultry is also beneficial for senior pups because it helps build up lean muscle mass without the accompanying fat and helps dogs maintain their beautiful coats through a good dose of Omega 6 fatty acids.

The chicken by-product meal — rendered chicken parts that have had the moisture level reduced — is there to boost up the protein level (pegged at 24%) in the food. It is followed by a trio of grains that include barley, corn, and the nutrient-laden sorghum.

Not only do these up the fiber content for sustaining a healthy digestive system, they also provide several key nutrients such as carbohydrates, zinc, potassium, magnesium, B vitamins, and phosphorus.

Coming at the heels of the grains is dried plain beet pulp. These are either compressed pellets or dried flakes that is what’s left after sugar is extracted from sugar beets.

They are excellent for bulking up a dog’s stool (to lessen the risk of them becoming watery), providing energy, and promoting colon health. Because they’re easily digestible, they are often added to dog foods for the fiber content.

Iams included supplemental vitamins into the mixture to ensure that a dog’s daily nutrition needs are reached. Aside from the usual vitamins and minerals, there is also DHA for healthy retinal and neuro functions, allergy relief, and fighting off inflammation.

This formulation offers a healthy balanced meal for seniors. The inclusion of L-carnitine is a good idea, because it helps with fat metabolism and can help reduce weight in chunky dogs. Overall, we like this mature dog recipe and will recommend it.  

Is Iams Made in the United States?

The Iams pet food brand is produced by Mars, Inc. who sells their product in more than 80 different countries. The Iams website states that their facilities exceed USDA and FDA standards, but they do not provide specific information about where those facilities are located.

Research suggests that some Iams products may be made in the USA, though this may not be true for all of them.

Where Does Iams Get Their Ingredients?

The Iams website provides a glossary of ingredients to help consumers understand what goes into their dog’s food.

Throughout the website, references are made to high-quality ingredients and premium proteins, though there are no details about where these ingredients come from.

Iams Dog Food Recalls History

The Iams brand states that “quality is at the core of our business” on their website, noting that they use only high-quality ingredients and that they do not cut corners. The Iams website states that the Iams company adheres to incredibly high standards for quality and safety both in the formulas they design and the ingredients they use.

Every bag of Iams pet food is subjected to more than 120 quality assurance tests before hitting pet store shelves. This being the case, you might expect to find few recalls in Iams history.

Unfortunately, the opposite is true – Iams has been affected by quite a few recalls over the past decade or so, though half of them were for cat products rather than dog products. Here are the details for recalls occurring in the last 10 years:

• In August 2013, the FDA issued a recall for certain lots of Iams dry dog foods including Healthy Naturals Weight Control Adult, Healthy Naturals Chicken Adult, Premium Protection Chicken Adult, ProActive Health Small Breed, ProActive Health Large Breed, and ProActive Health Large Chunks due to potential salmonella contamination.
• In March 2013, the Iams company issued a voluntary recall for Iams Shakeables Dog Treats due to potential mold growth.
• In December 2011, the FDA issued a recall for Iams ProActive Health Smart Puppy dry food due to potential aflatoxin contamination.
• In August 2010, the FDA issued a recall for Iams Indoor Care Weight Control with Hairball Care dry cat food due to potential salmonella contamination.
• In July 2010, the FDA issued a recall for Iams Veterinary Formulas Feline Renal recipe due to potential salmonella contamination.
• In June 2010, the FDA issued a recall for Iams ProActive Health canned cat and kitten food due to low levels of thiamine.
• In March 2007, the FDA issued a recall for several Iams Flakes canned cat food recipes and three canned dog food recipes – Iams Chunks, Iams Select Bites, and Iams Small Bites – due to potential melamine contamination.

Iams products can be found in most pet food chains as well as specialty pet stores – you can also purchase them from online pet food retailers.

Iams occasionally offers coupons on the company website and you can sign up with your email address to receive special offers as well as news about events and promotions. You may also be able to find Iams dog food coupons from individual retailers as well.

 

Compare Prices on Iams

The Iams brand of dog food includes seven different product lines so the price for their products varies quite a bit. Iams ProActive Health is the most affordable line of products with small 12.5 and 15-pound bags of dry food ranging from $15 to $30.

The Healthy Naturals line of products is a little more expensive with 23-pound bags ranging from $25 to $50. The most expensive line of products is the Iams Veterinary Formula line. For wet food,  Iams offers 6-ounce cans, 14-ounce cans, and 8-ounce tubs, depending on the product line.

Iams Woof Delights 8-ounce tubs come in cases of 12 for $25 to $42 which averages out to $2.80 per tub. Iams Chunks wet food comes in cases of twelve 12.3-ounce cans ranging from $15 to $30, an average of $1.90 per can. Iams Veterinary Formulas come in 14-ounce cans with a 12-pack costing $25 to $45, or about $3 per can.

Is there any recall on Iams dog food?

In August 2013, the FDA issued a recall for certain lots of Iams dry dog foods including Healthy Naturals Weight Control Adult, Healthy Naturals Chicken Adult, Premium Protection Chicken Adult, ProActive Health Small Breed, ProActive Health Large Breed, and ProActive Health Large Chunks due to potential salmonella contamination.

Is Iams dog food safe?

IAMS dog food show that it is a respectable dog food company that has been producing food for animals for over 50 years. With this type of reputation, it is safe to say that the ingredients included and the formulas used are safe for your best furry friend!

Is Iams dog food good?

On Dog Food review sites, IAMS is classified as an average or slightly above average dog food, and it has received a rating of 3.5/5. This means that it is currently not the best dry dog food, but it is a good option for dog owners on a budget, as it rates higher than many other grocery store brands.

Is Iams better than Purina?

According to our data, Purina One guarantees 2.10% more fat than Iams. Although this difference is relatively small, it's still a notable difference. For wet dog foods, Purina One and Iams provide roughly the same amount of fat. As you can see, Purina One and Iams guarantee a similar amount of crude fiber.