Dogs-Mans Best Friend?

Where did dogs come from? Many theories trace the dogs of today back to the wild wolf packs of a prehistoric date. If this is the truth, it probably came to pass that an Indian tribe found an abandoned wolf cub. It would be centuries of breeding and captivity before the "wolves" would be tame. (There is a lot of evidence supporting this theory. Wolves and most dogs are still so close they can produce viable offspring. Call of the Wild, anyone?)
Anyway, so through even more time and breeding the dog was shaped and refined to a dozen different designs and uses. They also grew closer to men-some losing their hunting skills and needing humans to survive. So things like Dog houses, Greenies Dog Food Coupons, play toys, and veterinarians came into being.
So whether dogs came from fierce packs of hunters or no, they are a very important part of our lives today.

The History of Iams Dogfood

The Iams brand-name dates back to the early 1940s. Back then pets were mainly fed on home-made foods or even table scraps. Paul Iams, an emerging animal nutritionist, decided to do something about the food pets were eating. After he graduated from Ohio State University in 1938, he worked in a host of large and well-recognized pet food companies, including his dad’s feed business in Dayton, Ohio. In 1946 he made his own feed company near a mill in Dayton. In 1950, he created the world’s very first animal-based protein. He put it into a dry dog food and humbly called it after himself. (Iams 999.) In 1969, Paul Iams formulated a new dogfood and named it Eukanuba.

In 1973 (during the Arabian oil embargo) the costs for meat and bone meal tripled! However, sales prices were standing still by a nationwide wage and price control issued by President Richard Nixon. Paul Iams did not change the product's formula in any way and maintained its "high-quality standards" in the hopes the price freeze mandate would be over and done with quickly. The decision was very costly and the company nearly went under, but Iams was quoted as saying, “… it was the best thing that could have happened” as it solidified Iams’ reputation for providing premium nutrition at an affordable price.

In 1975, after surviving the price freeze, the company was reeling. Paul Iams felt he’d taken the company as far as it could go and decided to close the company rather than grow the business further. Clay Mathile, who joined Iams in 1970, decided to save the pet food company and purchased half of it in 1975. By 1982, Iams pulled out and he became the sole owner and president.

After growing the company from $100,000 in 1970 to $900 million in 1999, Mathile sold it to Procter & Gamble (P&G) in September 1999. In July 2006, P&G re-organized the Pet Health & Nutrition division into P&G Pet Care (consisting of the Iams and Eukanuba brands).

Today the company is still thriving. You can find Iams food in almost any pet supply store, and online sites as well. Iams dogfood coupons are becoming a staple to many households. You'd be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn't know about Iams.

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History of Dogfood

The history of dogfood is an interesting one. In the early 1800's pets subsisted off of meats and table scraps. In fact the "canned dogfood" you normally envision is less than 50 years old. In the mid-1800's the world saw the first real "Dog Food."
An American named James Spratt (an electrician by trade) in London selling lightning rods. He saw many of the stray dogs down at the docks eating bits of uneaten biscuits. Shortly thereafter he introduced the first dogfood made from wheat, meat, and vegetables. By 1890 his business was so successful that it was able to sell out to General Mills for a lot of money.
However pet food lied low until the 1900's before really taking off. Canned horse meat was introduced as pet food as a way to effectively get rid of dead horses after World War I. The 1930's ushered in dry pet food or "kibble"
World War II almost killed the pet food industry. Metal was in high demands and canned pet food vanished from the market. After the war ended pet food slowly recovered before booming. Companies like Nabisco, Quaker Oats, and General Foods found pet food as a great way to get rid of by-products made in the manufacture of human goods.
1956 saw the first "extruded" pet foods. Extruded food is formed into compact, store-able pellets. After the pellets are formed the food is sprayed with a mixture of synthetic nutrients to make up for those lost during the process.
Up until 1985 pet food became more "luxury" oriented and became more and more expensive. 1985 was when Sojourner Farms took dog food back a step. It helped make dog food healthier by removing many artificial flavors and colors-their goal was to make dogfood more like "normal" human food.
Since then vacuum packing, freeze-drying, breed-specific foods, and solely dogfood based companies have come into play. Not all dogfood is equal though. Many companies pack harmful products into their foods and then offer it for really cheap. Other good brands have had to offer things like "pedigree coupons" or other "special" deals to compete.
And that's a brief history of Dogfood.