Iams Woof Delights Dog Food receives the Advisor’s mid-tier rating of 3.5 stars.

The Iams Woof Delights product line lists five wet dog foods.

Each recipe below includes its related AAFCO nutrient profile when available on the product’s official webpage: Growth, Maintenance, All Life Stages, Supplemental or Unspecified.

• Iams Woof Delights Happy Turkey Day Dinner [U]
• Iams Woof Delights Hearty Party of Chicken and Beef Stew [U]
• Iams Woof Grain Free Hearty Turkey and Lamb Tango Dinner [U]
• Iams Woof Grain Free Farm Raised Chicken and Salmon Dinner [U]
• Iams Woof Delights Bowl Lickin’ Chicken and Vegetables Medley [U]

Iams Woof Delights Hearty Party of Chicken and Beef Stew was selected to represent the other products in the line for this review.

The first ingredient in this dog food is chicken broth. Broths are nutritionally empty. But because they add both flavor and moisture to a dog food they are a common finding in many canned products.

The second ingredient is chicken. Chicken is considered “the clean combination of flesh and skin… derived from the parts or whole carcasses of chicken”.²

Chicken is naturally rich in the ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.

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

The fourth ingredient is dried egg, a dehydrated powder made from shell-free eggs. Eggs are easy to digest and have an exceptionally high biological value.

The fifth ingredient is beef. Beef is defined as “the clean flesh derived from slaughtered cattle” and includes skeletal muscle or the muscle tissues of the tongue, diaphragm, heart or esophagus.³

Beef is naturally rich in all ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.

The sixth ingredient is pea protein, what remains of a pea after removing the starchy part of the vegetable.

Even though it contains over 80% protein, this ingredient would be expected to have a lower biological value than meat.

And less costly plant-based products like this can notably boost the total protein reported on the label — a factor that must be considered when judging the meat content of this dog food.

The seventh ingredient is tapioca starch, a gluten-free, starchy carbohydrate extract made from the root of the cassava plant.

The eighth ingredient includes carrots. Carrots are rich in beta-carotene, minerals and dietary fiber.

The ninth ingredient includes peas. Peas are a quality source of carbohydrates. And like all legumes, they’re rich in natural fiber.

However, peas contain about 25% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the meat content of this dog food.

From here, the list goes on to include a number of other items.

But to be realistic, ingredients located this far down the list (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to affect the overall rating of this product.

With five notable exceptions…

First, sunflower oil is nutritionally similar to safflower oil. Since these oils are high in omega-6 fatty acids and contain no omega-3’s, they’re considered less nutritious than canola or flaxseed oils.

Sunflower oil is notable for its resistance to heat damage during cooking.

There are several different types of sunflower oil, some better than others. Without knowing more, it’s impossible to judge the quality of this ingredient.

Next, carrageenan is a gelatin-like thickening agent extracted from seaweed. Although carrageenan has been used as a food additive for hundreds of years, there appears to be some recent controversy regarding its long term biological safety.

In addition, we’re always disappointed to find artificial coloring like caramel and titanium dioxide in any pet food. That’s because coloring is used to make the product more appealing to humans — not your dog. After all, do you really think your dog cares what color his food is?

Next, we also note the presence of sodium nitrite, a controversial color preservative. Sodium nitrite has been linked to the production of cancer-causing substances (known as nitrosamines) when meats are exposed to high cooking temperatures.

And lastly, this food contains chelated minerals, minerals that have been chemically attached to protein. This makes them easier to absorb. Chelated minerals are usually found in better dog foods.

Iams Woof Delights Dog Food
The Bottom Line

Judging by its ingredients alone, Iams Woof Delights Dog Food looks like an average wet product.

But ingredient quality by itself cannot tell the whole story. We still need to estimate the product’s meat content before determining a final rating.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 50%, a fat level of 22% and estimated carbohydrates of about 20%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 50% and a mean fat level of 22%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 20% for the overall product line.

And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 44%.

Above-average protein. Near-average fat. And below-average carbs when compared to a typical wet dog food.

Even when you consider the protein-boosting effect of the pea protein and peas, this looks like the profile of a wet product containing a notable amount of meat.

Bottom line?

Iams Woof Delights is a meat-based wet dog food using a notable amount of chicken or turkey as its main sources of animal protein, thus earning the brand 3.5 stars.

Recommended.

However, it’s unfortunate the company chose to include sodium nitrite in its recipe. Without this controversial ingredient and minus the artificial coloring and plant-based protein booster, we may have been compelled to award this line a higher rating.

Please note certain recipes are sometimes given a higher or lower rating based upon our estimate of their total meat content and (when appropriate) their fat-to-protein ratios.

Iams Dog Food
Recall History

The following list (if present) includes all dog food recalls since 2009 directly related to this product line. If there are no recalls listed in this section, we have not yet reported any events.

• Iams and Eukanuba Dog and Cat Food Recall (8/14/2013)
• Iams Withdraws Shakeables Brand Dog Treats (3/21/2013)
• Iams Recalls Puppy Food (12/6/2011)
• Iams Recall Mysteriously Removed by Retailer (11/27/2011)
• Eukanuba and Iams Dog Food Recall (8/1/2010)

You can view a complete list of all dog food recalls sorted by date. Or view the same list sorted alphabetically by brand.

To learn why our ratings have nothing to do with a product’s recall history, please visit our Dog Food Recalls FAQ page.

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Notes and Updates