Is Natural Enough When It Comes to Dog Food?

One of my guilty pleasures is watching Extreme Weight Loss with Chris Powell.

The stories are inspirational as extremely obese folks transform their lives through exercise and good nutrition. I love seeing Chris's clients  succeed and sometimes I even pick up some tips that I can use along the way. 

So what's this got to do with dog food? Well, not too much -- typically -- but while I was watching a recent episode the subject of balanced nutrition came up. 

Chris's client was feeling good about the ingredients she chose... lots of natural and fresh foods like the ones pictured above. But Chris pointed out that the balance of what she chose was too heavy on the protein and too light on carbohydrates. 

So of course, in the magic of TV weight loss shows, celeb chef Rocco DiSpirito appeared and helped this woman balance her diet and prepare the right foods in a healthy way. A love fest of good nutrition with handsome chefs and trainers ensued.... who wouldn't love that kind of attention!

So what DOES this have to do with dog food, you ask?! I'm getting to that! 

That whole conversation on Extreme Weight Loss made me think about the idea behind Hill's Ideal Balance line of pet foods.  And while Rocco (not my Rocco, but the chef Rocco!) may not show up at your door to help with your or your pets' nutritional needs, the folks at Hill's have figured it out for you.

So what the experts at Hill's are saying is:

I think that's pretty much what Chris Powell was saying too! In fact, you can check out how your natural dog food measures up here.  And not to leave out the kitties, here's a natural cat food measuring tool for you too!

So while no single ingredient  may make  a food better or worse, too much of one nutrient (like protein) or too little of another (like phosphorus) can be harmful to a pet’s health.


The goal is to make a pet food with quality ingredients that deliver nutrients like protein, fat, carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins and minerals balanced in the right proportions to provide optimal nutrition for your pet. Hill's illustrates this point in this nifty chart:

In the new Hill’s Ideal Balance line of pet foods you'll find natural ingredients WITH 100% balanced nutrition guaranteed or your money back! 

See for yourself in this video featuring Hill’s Pet Nutritionist Kathy Gross, who chooses to feed Hill’s Ideal Balance to her own pets. Warning: this video may make you hungry and make a dash to the fridge!

Check out the Ideal Balance website for great information about finding the right Ideal Balance food for your pet, compare for yourself how Ideal Balance stacks up against the competition, and be sure to take advantage of the Try Me Free rebate! 

Disclaimer:  I was compensated for completion of this article. Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc. is not responsible for the content of this article.

Hill's Ideal Balance: Behind the Scenes

I love looking behind the scenes... whether it's taking a peak behind the scenes of the making of a commercial or learning about the making of a new line of dog food.

Today we're going to show you a little bit of both!

The Making of New Hill's Ideal Balance Dog and Cat Food

If you've been shopping for pet food recently, you may have noticed something new from Hill's that doesn't look anything like the company's other brands.

Its pretty packaging with a burst of daybreak behind the silhouette of a dog or cat sets it apart from other brands. And Hill's Ideal Balance, the new, natural pet food recipes for dogs and cats, is different in other ways too.

Hill's sought significant consumer input on its pet food to better understand what pet parents wanted in a natural pet food. Ingredients such as fresh fruits, vegetables and meat-based protein were on the tops of their lists, while ingredients like corn, wheat and soy ranked lower.

Hill's listened to consumers who stressed that they wanted more from their pet food than the same ingredients other brands offered -- they wanted those ingredients in the correct proportions.

From there, the pet nutritionists at Hill's developed a recipe with a careful selection of high quality, natural ingredients to create great tasting pet food recipes with optimal levels of over 50 nutrients. That means it was formulated with not too much and not too little of the key ingredients that help promote your pet's best health -- the key ingredients consumers said they wanted.

Hill's Ideal Balance has no corn, wheat, soy, artificial colors, flavors or preservatives, and it provides perfectly balanced natural nutrition, guaranteed.

Pet parents have already given Ideal Balance lots of great reviews and you can read some of them here.

We'd like to join this little guy on his journey
to Ideal Balance, what a pretty path! 

Introducing the Hill's Ideal Balance TV Commercial

We love the blend of live action with animation that brings the story of Ideal Balance to life in these TV spots.

In separate commercials, a dog and a cat journey through the balanced elements that make up Ideal Balance: Perfect proportions of what pets need to be healthy -- not too much, not too little.

Take a look at the making of "Not Too Much, Not Too Little," the story of a journey to Ideal Balance!

Try Hills' Ideal Balance for Free!

Hill’s website offers all sorts of information on the products, including where you can purchase them, online or in your neighborhood – and you can even try it free with this rebate offer! (From the rebate offer link, click on "Discover Perfectly Balanced Food for Your Dog OR Your Cat" and then scroll down to find the rebate offer.)

Disclaimer:  I was compensated for completion of this article. Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc. is not responsible for the content of this article.


Dr. Marcie Campion talks about the newest recipes from IAMS Naturals

Dr. Marcie Campion and her pup Tucker

We recently had the opportunity to chat with Dr. Marcie Campion, nutritionist and scientific relations manager for IAMS/P&G Pet Care, about the newest recipes from IAMS in its Naturals line of pet foods:

• New IAMS Sensitive Naturals, ideal for dogs with ingredient sensitivities and avoids common ingredients that cause itching and scratching
• New IAMS Simple & Natural, simply made for dogs for 100 percent nutrition and contains no fillers

Since Cosmo has allergies that cause itching and scratching, we were especially interested in what Dr. Campion had to say.

We learned that IAMS worked closely with pet experts like animal nutritionists to develop these two new natural recipes to meet the needs of dog owners who either want a simply made dog food with highest quality ingredients or one that is carefully designed to address specific issues that may cause itching and scratching.

Here’s what Dr. Campion had to say:

TDWL: What exactly is Naturals. Is it organic?

Dr. Campion: Naturals isn’t organic, AAFCO (Association Of American Feed Control Officials) created guidelines for pet food companies to use when developing “Natural” recipes. Only ingredients that have elements derived solely from plant, animal or mined sources can be included in a “Natural” recipe. All of the IAMS Naturals recipes, Simple & Natural, IAMS Sensitive Naturals and Healthy Naturals were developed using these guidelines.

TDWL: How did you come up with the new recipes?

Dr. Campion: Natural nutrition can make all the difference for many dogs whether they have ingredients sensitivities or just seem to thrive on a more simple recipe. IAMS Sensitive Naturals is a specially formulated recipe designed to limit ingredients that may cause your dog to itch and scratch, while IAMS Simple & Natural is made with chicken as the number one ingredient and no corn, wheat, soy or meat by-products*.

While these new products are designed for consumers with a more natural (vs. scientific) mindset, these products are fully consistent with our nutritional philosophy, where we are first concerned with enhancing the health and well-being of dogs and cats.  For instance, IAMS believes that dogs and cats are best fed as carnivores, so the main source of protein in our new Naturals diet comes from animal sources (fish or chicken in this case).  We also packed our new recipes with ingredients like vitamin E and other antioxidants for a strong immune system and prebiotics for digestive health.

*Official Feed Term, AAFCO

TDWL: When you say ‘ingredient sensitivities’ – do you mean food allergies?

Dr. Campion: Well, only your vet can determine if your pet has food allergies. Many allergic reactions, such as excessive itching and scratching can be caused by sensitivities to certain ingredients.

TDWL:  What’s the difference between IAMS Naturals and IAMS Healthy Naturals?

Dr. Campion:  With the introduction of our new products, IAMS Healthy Naturals is now part of a larger “IAMS Naturals” family.  The IAMS Naturals family includes two new products - IAMS Simple & Natural and IAMS Sensitive Naturals. IAMS Healthy Naturals continues to offer seven recipes (three for cats and four for dogs) for consumers looking to keep their pets healthy with ingredients they recognize like real chicken, fish, or lamb meal, wholesome grains, fruits, and vegetables.

TDWL:  What is the price point of the new recipes?

Dr. Campion:  All IAMS Simple & Natural and Sensitive Naturals have an MSRP of $11.99 for a 5-pound bag, $19.99 for a 10.5-pound bag and $38.99 for a 25-pound bag. 

TDWL:  How should someone safely switch their pet from the food they’re currently feeding to this if they want their dog or cat to try it?

Dr. Campion:  Switching your dog to a new food takes some planning and should be done gradually. The most successful way to ease your dog into the change in diet would be to start by mixing 25 percent new food with 75 percent old food. Slowly change the proportions over the next three days or so by gradually increasing the new food and lessening the amount of the old food. At the end of this weaning process, you should be feeding 100 percent of the new food.

To learn more about IAMS Naturals, visit www.Iams.com/natural or www.facebook.com/iams. All IAMS Naturals recipes are available at pet specialty stores, mass retailers and grocers.