Anyone else having problems with Iams??

[JaderBug]

As I stated in an earlier topic, Jade went to the vet last week to put an end to all this diarrhea business. She went on I/D, yogurt, and antibiotics, and now that she is getting weaned back into her regular kibble, Iams Puppy, she seems to be getting the runs again. Mentioned something to my herding trainer last night, he said his girlfriend's dogs, which are on Iams too, seem to be getting the runs right now as well, whereas his dogs, who are living in the same place, doing all the same things, are on ProPlan, and are NOT getting the runs. I think this has solidified my decision to switch off of Iams... ProPlan was what I was thinking of switching to, too. I've been closely monitoring what goes into Jade's system, nothing unusual lately so I think the Iams is what's doing it now. She did great on the I/D regiment.

 

Is anyone else feeding their dog(s) Iams and getting the runs lately??

[Guest maya's mom]

Yes, my BC puppy had problems with Iams as well. Exact same results as your puppy. We cleared up with boiled meat and rice diet, and the Iams made her stool runny again. We switched to Caifornia Natural, and she is doing great. She is almost 7 months now, and has been eating that since about 3 months old.

[Shetlander]

I had a dog who could not tolerate anything from Iams/Eukaneuba. I'm not familiar with ProPlan but Iams/Eukaneuba is not considered to have good quality, holistic ingredients. If you do a search on these boards for diet, kibble, you should be able to find some great threads on high quality brands such as California Natural, Wellness, Eagle Pack, Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul (probably the best priced for a highly rated kibble), and a bunch more I am now blanking on since I finally sorted all my dogs' diets out last year (3 dogs with 3 wildly different food).

[Ms.DaisyDuke]

This is strictly my opinion, so no offense to anyone, but I think Iams is horrible food. They were one of the leading companies involved in that whole melamine thing and I have heard of many, many other problems with their food. Not to mention a lot of questions about the treatment (or lack thereof), of the dogs and cats kept in their "testing" labs. Their food low quality full of filler and other junk. Learning how to read pet food labels is a really good thing to know. You can find information on pet food labeling at:

 

www.fda.gov/cvm/index/consumer/petlabel.htm

 

Hopefully that site will give you some information on what you should be looking for in quality pet food (at least the first 3 or 4 ingredients should be meat) two things you should keep in mind are:

1- wet food like fresh meat weigh more than dry foods so they will naturally float to the top of the list

2- manufacturers can downplay how much of certain things are in their food by using different forms of it. So look out for too many different variations of corn for instance, ground corn, corn meal, flaked corn are all corn.

 

I hope you can find a quality pet food in your town, I stopped buying food at the "big box" pet stores and found the quality and my dogs health improved 100 times, granted it is a bit more pricey, but to me it's worth it. Any food that is making your dog sick shouldn't be fed to your dog.

 

Good luck and hopefully Jade feels better soon!

julie

 

edit to add: check out thedogfoodproject.com

I just noticed it in another thread and it's a great source of info!!

[bexie]

Yes, definitely read through the info on the dog food project. It is very informative and easy to understand.

 

When comparing brands and considering cost vs. quality, remember that you often need to feed far less of the higher quality foods. You'll also have much less output from the dog, which can mean less scooping or yard clean-up.

 

I think you will also find that the prevailing opinion of experienced BC folks is to go off puppy food much earlier than the pet stores will recommend. I think we took Molly off by the time she was 6 months old and instead fed a quality adult food. (It might be all stages, I don't remember) I think there have been several food threads recently, so you can probably find some info there.

 

While you're getting her onto a new food that doesn't bother her, you may want to try adding pumpkin to help her get over the runs. You want the canned pumpkin that isn't seasoned--not pumpkin pie filling--or you can make it yourself if you have pumpkins.

 

Overall Iams is considered a low quality food by evaluation of its label. But you can work that out yourself after you read the dogfoodproject site.

 

Good luck finding a food (or feeding method) that works for both you and your dog!

[mum24dog]

This is strictly my opinion, so no offense to anyone, but I think Iams is horrible food. They were one of the leading companies involved in that whole melamine thing and I have heard of many, many other problems with their food. Not to mention a lot of questions about the treatment (or lack thereof), of the dogs and cats kept in their "testing" labs. Their food low quality full of filler and other junk.

 

I'm not too concerned about ingredients but from a purely ethical POV I would never, ever use Iams/Eukanuba products.

 

Pam

[Sue R]

Not to offend, either, because once upon a time I did not know any better, but Iams/Eukanuba is poor quality dog food. The brands may once have been good (and I have no idea if they ever were) and their name is prominent due to sponsorship of major dog shows and events, but now they are nothing but cheap ingredients.

 

Try searching to find some excellent recent topics concerning quality dog food alternatives.

 

Best wishes!

[Ninso]

I have an 8 year old foster right now who has been eating Iams all her life. She came with a bag, which I have been feeding her. Her breath smells terrible, her teeth are awful, her fur is nappy, her eyes are runny, she is overweight, and it seems her anal glands are impacted. I also think the Iams itself smells terrible. I am trying to get her to eat something else, but she eats the Iams and leaves the Canidae. I may just have to give her the Canidae and not give her a choice. So the moral of this story is, based on the example of my foster, I would not feed Iams.

[in2adventure]

Iams is ranked right up there with Old Roy in my book. Nasty stuff

 

Stick with companies like Merrick, Wellness, Solid Gold, Innova, CA Naturals, Blue Buffalo, etc. Read the label well. Stay away from corn and wheat fillers. I've knocked out anything with a preservative in it. If it's not raw or holistic, Lucia doesn't get it.

[ljrphoto]

I have an 8 year old foster right now who has been eating Iams all her life. She came with a bag, which I have been feeding her. Her breath smells terrible, her teeth are awful, her fur is nappy, her eyes are runny, she is overweight, and it seems her anal glands are impacted. I also think the Iams itself smells terrible. I am trying to get her to eat something else, but she eats the Iams and leaves the Canidae. I may just have to give her the Canidae and not give her a choice. So the moral of this story is, based on the example of my foster, I would not feed Iams.

 

In the name of sticking with the topic, I'll say I'm not impressed with Iams ingredients list. But, I also thought I'd mention that I just switched from Canidae after being an absolute evangelist for the product for three years. They changed their ingredients and my dogs objected. They've been skipping more meals and just generally not eating with much enthusiasm. I got a bag of California Naturals Chicken and Rice. Their ingredients are pretty close to what Canidae used to be and the woman at the pet supply store I shop at told me she's been assured by their rep that the ingredients won't be changing. I hope my dogs do well on it. They've only had Canidae since I got them.

 

Laura

[Jack & Co.]

I've been pleased with California Natural. Jack has done very well on it.