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How Wheat is Used in Our Dog Foods

Why Use Wheat in Dog Food?

Wheat is a grain used as a high-quality carbohydrate source in dry dog foods and biscuits. It provides energy for daily activity, as well as processing characteristics for the food. IAMS™ research has shown that including wheat in a complete and balanced diet results in a moderate glycemic response in dogs, which is lower, in general, than the response observed when a rice-based diet was fed. ^1,2

Misconception About Food Allergies

A common misconception is that feeding wheat causes food allergies. The facts are:

The pet must have a hypersensitivity to the food or ingredient. An allergy is an adverse reaction of an individual animal to proteins in the diet.
Food allergies are rare in animals and account for a very low percentage of allergic reactions in dogs.
If your pet has a food allergy, he is most likely allergic to one ingredient or a combination of ingredients in his diet. In a U.S. study of food-allergic dogs, the two common pet-food ingredients that most often caused an allergic reaction were beef and soy.³

Gluten-Sensitive Enteropathy

Gluten (a protein found in wheat) is responsible for wheat-sensitive enteropathy, occasionally found in Irish Setters from the United Kingdom. Gluten enteropathy of Irish Setters is a malabsorption syndrome, which responds to the removal of wheat (gluten) from the diet. This condition is very rare, and the reason some dogs develop it is not yet clear.

¹ Sunvold GD. “The role of novel nutrients in managing obesity.” In: Recent Advances in Canine and Feline Nutrition, Vol II: 1998 IAMS Nutrition Symposium Proceedings. Carey DP, Norton SA, Bolser SM, eds. Wilmington, OH: Orange Frazer Press, 1998; 123–133.

² Bouchard GF. “Effect of dietary carbohydrate source on posprandial plasma glucose and insulin concentration in cats.” In: Recent Advances in Canine and Feline Nutrition, Vol III: 2000 IAMS Nutrition Symposium Proceedings. Reinhart GA, Carey DP eds. Wilmington, OH: Orange Frazer Press, 2000; 91–101.

³ Jeffers JG. “Responses of dogs with food allergies to a single-ingredient dietary provocation.” J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1996, vol 209(3): 608–611.

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Special Nutritional Needs of Senior Pets

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Why Large-Breed Puppy Formulas Are Different
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If you’ve got a big love for big dogs, IAMS™ has a large-breed puppy formula specially made for their nutritional needs.

Nutritional Objectives
Many large-breed puppies have a tendency to grow very quickly. Unfortunately, if this tendency is encouraged by overfeeding, developmental bone problems can occur. To avoid these problems, careful feeding management is necessary. This should include
Consideration of optimal protein quantity and quality
Restriction of the energy-containing fat
Careful control of the calcium and phosphorus levels

Our specially formulated large-breed puppy formulas make feeding management easier because they are designed for fast-growing, large-breed puppies (those with an expected adult weight of more than 50 pounds).

Protein in Puppy Food
A protein level approximating 26% in these formulas promotes healthy body condition and balances the protein with the reduced number of calories in the food. Research has shown that
Dietary protein levels from 15 to 32% have no adverse effect on skeletal development.¹
Body condition decreases as protein gets too low.

The protein in our large-breed puppy formulas supports normal skeletal and muscular growth.

Calories and Fat in Puppy Food
Fat contributes more than twice as many calories in a diet as proteins or carbohydrates do. As the fat level increases, the energy content of the diet also increases, making feeding management more difficult for large-breed puppies. Several studies have shown increases in developmental bone problems when a diet was overfed.^2, ³

By reducing the fat content of large-breed puppy formulas to about 14%, the metabolizable energy (ME) of the diets can be kept to a low level of about 1,800 kilocalories per pound.

Calcium and Phosphorus in Puppy Food
Fat contributes more than twice as many calories in a diet as proteins or carbohydrates

Comparing with Our Other Puppy Foods
Our large-breed puppy formulas, such as IAMS ProActive Health™ Smart Puppy Large Breed, are made specifically for growing puppies with expected adult weights of 50 pounds or more. These puppy foods are unique because they are formulated with:
Less fat for fewer calories to optimally reduce growth rate of large-breed puppies and help safeguard against overconsumption of energy
A lower level of protein to ensure a proper balance of protein with energy content

Reduced calcium and phosphorus levels with a normal calcium-to-phosphorus ratio to promote proper bone development in rapidly growing large breed puppies.

¹ Nap, et al. Growth and skeletal development in Great Dane pups fed different levels of protein intake. J Nutr 1991; 121:S107-S113.

² Hedhammer, et al. Over nutrition and skeletal disease: an experimental study in growing Great Dane dogs. Cornell Vet 1974; 64:1-159.

³ Lavelle. The effect of overfeeding of a balanced complete commercial diet to a group of growing Great Danes. In: Nutrition of the dog and cat. Burger and Rivers (eds). Cambridge Univ Press, 1989:303-316.

⁴ Hazewinkel, et al. Influences of chronic calcium excess on the skeletal development of growing Great Danes, J Am Anim Hosp Assoc 1985; 21:377-391.

⁵ Goedegebuure, Hazewinkel. Morphological findings in young dogs chronically fed a diet containing excess calcium. Vet Pathol 1986; 23:594-605.

⁶ Hazewinkel, et al. Calcium metabolism in Great Dane dogs fed diets with various calcium and phosphorus levels. J Nutr 1991; 121:S99-S106.
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