Mars Petcare, manufacturers of the Iams Veterinary Formula (IVF) line, has announced they are discontinuing production by the end of 2016.
Some formulas are expected to remain available for a short period until the existing supply is exhausted. For clients currently using the IVF line, an appropriate substitute can be recommended by your veterinarian.
Mars Petcare purchased the Iams and Eukanuba lines of pet food from Procter & Gamble in 2014. It currently owns Royal Canin, which has been suggested as a logical replacement for the discontinued IVD formulas.
There is no word at this time about any discontinuation of commercial formulas of Iams or Eukanuba.
My dog suffers again since you stopped making it! His hair is falling out and his digestive track is not good again. We had a German Shepherd and he had awful bowl issues and shredded a lot. He started on the Iams Veteranary food and did great. Shedding was minimal and it was his first ever solid feces. Now that we changed. He sheds like. Ever before and itches all the time. His stool has loosened as well! We need it back!
Wendy, I’m sorry to hear your dog is not doing well since this food has been discontinued. Iams has been recommending a transition to Royal Canin veterinary formulas to replace their foods. Have you checked with your vet to see what they would recommend as a replacement?
I called Iams and they recommended Royal Canine selected protein, In two days with just few kibbles, my dog has loose stool and i had to stop it. By the way the kibbles are very oily and the smell is horrible.
Hi Nathalie-
I’m sorry to hear your dog is not doing well on the suggested alternative from Iams. I’m very surprised that an Iams representative offered you a suggestion, rather than referring you to your vet.
Depending on what formula you are feeding, your vet may be in the best position to make a recommendation. They were the ones who originally “prescribed” the Iams formula to address a condition which they diagnosed. It is entirely possible the situation has changed and you no longer need a prescription food, or they may have an alternative recommendation.
Iams and Royal Canin are both owned by Mars, Inc so I suppose it is not too surprising that they would like to keep you in their “family” of products.
Hi Smiley ,
Thanks for your prompt response, yes, the representative from Iaims suggested Royal Canine and told me to consult with the vet which I did. Now we are going to try Hill’s , I will cross my fingers on this one, Thankfully, I still have some of the Iams food that will last for few more months just in case. I will keep you post it.
Good luck!
Out of curiosity, which Iams formula are you feeding?
My dog won’t eat it.
Why would you discontinue a product that does very well in sales? The product does well because it works for our pets. Not only have you discontinued FP IAMS the alternate offered is more expensive as well. I don’t understand why a company would do that.
I’m not sure I understand either. It is not unusual for global pet food manufacturers to do this when a brand changes hands or they choose to consolidate products. It may be related to the pending prescription pet food lawsuit, but that is strictly speculation on my part.
Whether Procter & Gamble would have done this if they still owned the Iams brand is anyone’s guess. Since Iams is now owned by Mars, perhaps they saw no value to their bottom line in having 2 different prescription pet food lines.
My dog is reliant on this brand of dog food for the sake of her health! We have tried other prescription diets which have all failed. Please recontinue this prescription formula! It is not the same quality as Royal Canin!
Hi Gloria-
I’m sorry to hear of your situation. Unfortunately, there are quite a few others who are affected by the same issue.
The only thing I can suggest is to continue to work with your veterinarian to find an acceptable alternative. You can also contact Iams and express your dissatisfaction with their decision. I doubt the flood of complaints will have any effect on Iams’ decision to discontinue the line, but stranger things have happened.
What a horrible decision! I finally found a food that would work for my little old dog and now it’s been taken away from her. The Royal Canin Intestinal Diet is not a good alternative for her.
As you can see from the previous comments, you’re not alone. Have you tried reaching out to the company to get a direct response?
It’s just lovely when you find a decent food that works for the most part and companies discontinue the product and have no concern for pet owners that spends 100s to 1000s of dollars on unnecessary testing at vets for people to constantly change food to make money. I don’t know why but there’s so many dogs with allgeries these days unfortunately my pup has food and environmental according to the vets that have a licensed to steal and recommend bs testing and find nothing .
Yes, the instances of dogs being diagnosed with allergies continues to rise. Some of those diagnosis may not truly be allergies, but sensitivities. While some of the prescription foods can help, that may not be the only source of relief. If you’re truly battling an ingredient sensitivity or allergy, changing the protein source and/ or improving the quality of the food you’re feeding can make a significant difference. Even changing the form of a protein can help in some cases. A dog who does poorly on an inexpensive chicken-based kibble may thrive on a chicken-based raw diet.
If you can find a local independent shop to work with, they may be able to help steer you towards a better quality, lower cost solution.
I am VERY UPSET that the Iams Veterinary Formula K9 Intestinal Plus is being or has been discontinued. My dog has colitis. We switched over to Hills and now she is sick. Her stools are runny and has had accidents in the house. It’s terrible for her and for us. Why is this formula being discontinued?! We’ve relied on it for years. Please, please bring it back right away! You have so many dog loving families out there that need it.
Julie, I’m sorry to hear your dog is having difficulty adjusting to a new food. I do not know why Iams decided to discontinue their Veterinary line. As you can see from other comments, your situation is not uncommon. Some vets are recommending the Royal Canin Low Fat GI formula as an alternative to the former Iams Intestinal Plus. You might want to check with your vet about that.
This is VERY disappointing that this brand is discontinued – this food helped my dog with severe allergies and hair loss look beautiful again. I’m sure no substitute product will come close as we had tried many brands before this one and have been buying this one for years because it works! Bring back
Iams Veterinary Formula Skin & Coat Plus Response KO Dry Dog Food
Jill, as you can see from other comments, your disappointment is shared by many others. You may want to consider spending some time with a local independent shop in your area who can counsel you and suggest some options to try. It certainly couldn’t hurt to reach out to Mars &/ or Iams directly to make your unhappiness known. It’s unlikely that they will change their decision, but if enough people express strong opinion, perhaps it may have some effect. The Iams Customer Service number is (800) 675-3849.
I, too, am thoroughly angry that this line of dog food has been discontinued. It took us FOREVER to find a food that our tummy/bowel-sensitive dog both liked and tolerated. Now it has been discontinued. We tried the Royal Canin replacement, but it gave her screaming diarrhea. Why would you stop making a perfectly good dog food that so many people and animals rely on? This is not good and does not make me much want to buy your products.
Charles, I’m sorry to hear you are among the many pet parents who have been affected by the decision by Iams to discontinue their veterinary line. I would encourage you to contact the company directly and make your voice heard.
If there was a way for me to forward all of these complaints directly to Mars and Iams, I’d gladly do so. I don’t believe forwarding these comments would carry nearly the weight that individual direct contact would. Emailing or phoning might help get their attention, although neither may compete well with the attention to the bottom line.
Thank you. I certainly will contact Mars and Iams. In the meantime, thanks for your help!
I am really disappointed about this! Iams veterinary diets were the best! Royal canin an hills do not have good options for dogs with ibd! My dogs were thriving on iams and I am not going to give RC or Hills and I have to search for something else unfortunately.
I have noticed my dog is starting to have alot more itching over the last month; I didn’t even connect the dots but after reading these complaints it makes sense. I started him on the hills brand about a month ago and he did have some diarrhea which has coincided but his itching is getting worse and worse. Before I started him on the iams brand he had a great deal of itching but for the last 2 plus years that I have had him on the iams he had improved. Not to mention the hills brand is way more expensive. I am totally disappointed that a company would discontinue a product just to make more money and all at the expense of our loving pets. BRING BACK OUR IAMS OUR DOGS HEALTH DEPENDS ON IT!!!!!!
Abby and Marieke, I’m sorry to hear you are among the many pet parents affected by this decision. I’d encourage you to reach out directly to Iams and make your displeasure known directly to the folks responsible for the decision.
IAMs intestinal plus-Agree with the rest
We have tried both Royal Canin and Iams. As everyone else indicates, they are different. Sometimes corporations make mistakes and this was one of them. It would be nice if a corporate leader would reconsider bringing back this line. We all feel the same.
Disappointed former customer of Iams.
Mark, thanks for your comment. I completely agree. The more folks that make their voice heard directly to those responsible for making this decision, the better the chance of something happening. Given the corporation’s track record with these types of decision, I wouldn’t expect a reversal. But there’s a first time for everything and we won’t know unless we try.
My girl was on Iams intestinal plus after losing 2/3 of her small bowel.it worked wonders within 2 months she was having solid stools. I switched her to Purina EN 6 months in she was still having loose stools. Less than a week ago I switched her to Hills WD she had her first solid Bowel movement. I am hopeful this will continue. Mike
Mike-
Thanks very much for your comment. I’m glad to hear you’re seeing good results despite the forced change of foods. It’s interesting that you’re getting that result with the W/D, which is normally prescribed for weight control, rather than intestinal issues. As you say, hopefully you (and your dog) will continue to be pleased with the result!
Update on the W/D it is still working wonders. The reason for this type of food is the low fat component,with short bowel syndrome lower fat works better. I feed my girl 4 times a day so she can get the nutrion she needs. With only 1/3 of her small intestine it is tough for her to get the nutrition she needs.
Mike-
Thanks very much for the update.
I’m glad to hear you’re among the few who have been able to find a well-performing substitute for a discontinued Iams formula!
Mike this is helpful. I am another dog owner who found Iams low residue to be a life saver and am now dealing with constant diarrhea. I have just started the WD as per my vet but no good yet. I will continue to hope.
Sarah, the w/d formula if I remember correctly is high in fiber which may cause an adverse effect also. Low residue foods usually have a lower fiber % in most cases.
Please help. I am looking for an exact substitute for Iam’s IVF PROSTORA MAX GI. Since the active ingredient, Bifidobacterium animalis strain AHC7, is proprietary, it seems to be unavailable since the IVF PROSTORA MAX GI was removed from the market place. Can you please direct me to a seller or product that has the in Bifidobacterium animalis strain AHC7. I seek this out because it’s the only product that stopped the tearing and staining on my Bedlington Terrier. Please help me.
Hi Alexander-
This seems to be another casualty of Mars’ decision to discontinue the Iams prescription diet market.
I am not aware of any products that are an exact match for Prostora, but there are at least three digestive enzyme products that contain bifidobacterium animalis. You may want to research and consider these:
Probiotic Miracle
Pet Dophilus
Dr Becker’s Probiotics
Hope this helps!
Are the IAMS large breed dog biscuits been discontinued also? I have two German Shepherds who have never had anything but these. The small breed is still available but not large. These are not a veterinary diet. What other large dog biscuit is there? And I will not feed them Milkbones
As far as I know, the Iams Large dog biscuits are still available. You might want to contact the manufacturer to confirm that, but our supplier still lists these as available.
There are some other manufacturers of large biscuits, most of which are better quality than Iams. If they are available in your area, you might want to check out the ones from Darford, Sojos, or Old Mother Hubbard.