# Innova or EVO?



## InverseLogic (Jun 1, 2008)

I know I made a topic about raw, which is my final goal. Until I feel comfortable enough to jump to raw, I decided to switch off of Canidae and choose a different brand.

Innova or EVO?

Just assuming my dogs will be able to handle them though. If they can't, I'll just choose one or the other, or neither of them.

Anyone have know of any big differences? They look mostly similar. One has Turkey Meal, and the other does not. Also, I think EVO is grain free.
How will this affect my dogs?

Also, the dogs, one is a puppy @ 14 weeks, and the other is full grown @ 3 years. Innova has a puppy formula, and I think EVO is All Life Stages. Which is better? If I decide on Innova, do I pick the large breed formula (are Goldens considered large breed? Or is that only mastiffs/danes etc?). Is it even a good idea to be feeding ALS to a puppy, even though it says it's OK?

I might have more questions, but these are the biggest ones that I could think of.

Thanks.


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## xkitxgirx (Jun 26, 2008)

Evo is grain free. That's the main differences between the two. The Evo Red Meat is a GREAT food and I hear a lot of good things about it from other people who feed it. If your puppy is a large breed though you can't feed the puppy Evo, the calcium level is too high. With large breed puppies calcium level should be no more than 1.5% until they are a year old. The Innova though, according to their site is only 1.1% so that would be fine to feed to puppy and adults.

I think grain free is the best way to go, dogs aren't meant to digest grain and most of it just goes right through them. You also end up saving money on grain free because you feed much less of it. The higher protein level is what dogs are meant to have.


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## InverseLogic (Jun 1, 2008)

So... which products should I choose? I guess I'll go with EVO Red Meat for my older dog, but what about my 14 week old Golden Retriever? Innova Large Breed? Are goldens considered large breeds?


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## TeddieXRuxpin (Sep 11, 2007)

I would also go with the grainless. If you're trying to go with what's best; grainless is much better for them. Both should be able to eat the evo. Some one will here may be able to verify that better though.


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## xkitxgirx (Jun 26, 2008)

For your puppy you can go with any food you choose as long as the calcium level is no more than 1.5%. I believe goldens are considered a large breed. Innova Large Breed Puppy would be good. Can you get Wellness? They carry a large breed formula now also, and calcium levels are good. I like wellness because in their puppy formulas they add DHA for brain development. It's also in some other puppy foods but I don't remember which ones.


ADD: Don't put the puppy on EVO though, there may be a grainless with a lower calcium level though, I will look for you. Grainless is the best but sometimes with a large breed puppy you have to stick with grains for awhile because of calcium.


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## InverseLogic (Jun 1, 2008)

I can actually get a 30% discount on Wellness (I work at Petco).

I was considering Wellness also, but kind of wrote it off, since most of the stuff at Petco is the standard "garbage", as some would call it.

Is Wellness better than Innova, for my puppy at least?


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## xkitxgirx (Jun 26, 2008)

I consider wellness and innova to be about the same quality. Wellness tends to be overpriced a little bit(depends on where you live) but it is VERY good food. I never used to feed anything from petco either, it all used to be garbage. I was soooo excited when I heard they were going to start carrying wellness, I'm hoping more people start to buy that instead some of the other stuff they sell.


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## InverseLogic (Jun 1, 2008)

You're right about the price. I seen it and had to do a double take. Lucky for me with the discount, but I haven't seen anyone buy a single bag yet since I started (only a week or two ago though). I also hope they buy more Wellness if it actually is better.

So which Wellness product should I start Atlas (puppy) on? Can you recommend me a specific one?


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## xkitxgirx (Jun 26, 2008)

Wellness carries a large breed puppy formula so I'd say go with that. Though I was just looking on the petco site and they arent showing that one on there so maybe they haven't gotten that kind yet? I'd look and if there isn't any maybe the store can order? If petco is getting wellness they should be able to order in a certain kind.


ADD: Actually I was just looking at the Just For Puppy formula and it looks like that would work fine too.


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## InverseLogic (Jun 1, 2008)

My store does have Large Breed Puppy. I remember seeing it. So I'll go ahead and pick up a bag of that next paycheck. I'll also pick up some Evo. Thanks for the help!


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## xkitxgirx (Jun 26, 2008)

No problem! And good luck with the new food, tell us how it goes!!


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## Ginny01OT (Dec 3, 2006)

I would start the puppy on Innova large breed-which is what I used for my two year old and am now using for my 12 week old standard poodles. At about six months or seven months of age I would switch to a food for "all life stages" I prefer the Nature's Variety Prairie--Once the dog is about a year and a half I would switch once more to Evo or Instinct (NV)--it worked great for my standard, he is one solid muscle with good bone growth--


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## HuskyLuv (May 16, 2008)

EVO Red Meat is more expensive than EVO regular and I don't see any difference in the dog after using both. Ours actually prefers regular EVO over the Red Meat as far as taste is concerned, obviously that is a matter of personal preference though. If you're looking for a grainless food before the transition to raw, I'd use Innova EVO or Wellness CORE for Ringo.

I would do the Innova or Wellness regular for Atlas. 

So you work at Petco now? I had heard that Petco started carrying Wellness, but haven't found the time to drive all the way out to Petco just to check it out. Sounds like it's true based on your comments, do you (or anyone else) know if Petco carries Wellness CORE too?

I would like to switch Dakota from EVO to CORE b/c they are almost identical in ingredients but CORE's calcium content is lower than EVO's.


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## InverseLogic (Jun 1, 2008)

Yeah, they carry CORE too. They have all the Wellness products, even treats. Petco and Wellness have partnered up, basically. I had to take a little training course on it so I can fill in clueless customers about their basic ingredients etc. Though it didn't really tell me anything other than the basics. I just assumed it was a sales pitch, like all the dog food companies do to make their product sound like it's ambrosia. I guess I was wrong!

About the Red Meat vs Innova, I'll have to try both to see which one he likes better, though I'm sure he'll eat anything. He's not picky at all. He'll eat the strangest things, then ask for more.

I'm considering Wellness for him too now. I wasn't aware that it was such a high quality kibble.


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## xkitxgirx (Jun 26, 2008)

If you get the discount on wellness you might as well go with wellness core for the adult and wellness large breed puppy for the puppy


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## JeanninePC99 (Jul 24, 2007)

Quick question about grain...

I feed Baxter Wellness CORE. However, when I told a local dog nutrition guru (she does workshops on raw feeding, holistic care, brings in one of the authors of this book to do a camp on nutrition each year etc.) that I was feeding that, she told me that it would be very hard on his stomach and he needed "some" grain. Huh? She feeds raw and sells Orijen (and Artemis and Nature's Variety) at her store. 

I was kind of flustered that this woman was telling me the exact opposite of what so many people have written about online.

Now, Baxter's been scratching his feet and nose on the Wellness, so I was going to switch him, but I was pretty much set on Orijen or Evo. Now, I'm thinking of trying Prairie or Timberwolf. 

Thoughts?


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## rosemaryninja (Sep 28, 2007)

I don't understand -- if she thinks all dogs should have grain in their diets, why does she sell grain-free Orijen? 

In any case, it's a pretty heavily-debated topic. I personally don't believe that dogs need grain, because I have yet to see evidence that they do. Spunky has not had a morsel of grain since January of this year and at her last check-up (ten days ago) her heart, lungs, liver, kidneys all checked out very healthily.


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 22, 2008)

rosemaryninja said:


> I personally don't believe that dogs need grain, because I have yet to see evidence that they do.


Dogs don't need grain. If they did, their bodies would be designed to digest it. However kibble does need grain in order to "stick together" in those little doom nuggets. The pet food companies CAN and occasionally do use potatoes to stick the stuff to gether. Grains are cheaper so thats why they are used. If grain were expensive you would never see it in dog food.



> Spunky has not had a morsel of grain since January of this year and at her last check-up (ten days ago) her heart, lungs, liver, kidneys all checked out very healthily.


My Abby hasn't had either grain or any other plant material in 6 years with no detriment to her health. My 3 1/2 year old Thor has NEVER had grains or other plant material in his life.


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## JeanninePC99 (Jul 24, 2007)

This woman drives me nuts. She's an expert, but she's also a business woman. I told her Baxter was on CORE and wasn't doing well and she jumped at the opportunity to sell me something.

I don't understand why she didn't push the Orijen (esp since I mentioned considering it). She was really, really pushing the Nature's Variety because the freeze-dried meat process they use.

I want to buy Orijen, but I don't want to deal with her! Haha.


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## poohlp (Jul 10, 2007)

Some dogs don't handle grainless well. I tried it for about a year or possibly even a little longer and was never really happy with the results. Loose stools, diarrea, threw up more, more upset stomach in general. I tried the Timberwolf grainless formulas and the Call of the wild. In the end, I determined that for my dogs at least, choosing a food that had a small amount of high quality grains was better, so I chose Innova. Since I made the switch, my dogs have been much better.

So, I guess I think he grainless debate kind of depends on the dogs. If it works great, if it doesn't, don't feel bad about trying something else.


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## xkitxgirx (Jun 26, 2008)

If I were you I'd stick with the grain free, just try the orijen or maybe another brand of grain free, and if you still have issues I'd switch back to a grain inclusive. Some dogs don't do well on grainless, I'l never understand it but it's true. I've met dogs that do wonderful on it and dogs who just look sickly on grain free. It all depends on the dog.


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## MyRescueCrew (May 8, 2008)

My guys are on Innova at the moment, and I'll be switching them over to EVO shortly. Right now, Bo, Katie, Jake (who was on Cal. Nat.) Callie are on Innova Adult and Triumph is on Innova Puppy. I'm going to be switching them to EVO Small Bites soon, as I want them on the grain-free stuff. My ultimate goal, as soon as I can, is to go completely RAW.

As far as Wellness, last year my guys were all on Wellness for about 6 months. Personally, mine hated it. Half would refuse to eat much of it at all, and it gave the other two gas. I switched them to Core, and they liked it a little more, but weren't crazy about it. That's when I switched to Canidae, which is what they stayed on until a couple weeks ago when Canidae lost my business due to the formula change and going in with Diamond.

Good luck in your choice, I personally love Natura products and trust them over pretty much any other company -- and I've been there and done that with just about all of them, including Wellness, Eagle Pack, NV, Merrick, Canidae, and Solid Gold (which I actually loved, except my guys coats went to hell on SG).


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## FKL85 (Jul 23, 2008)

I feed Evo Red Meat.

Innova makes Evo. The primary difference is Evo is Grain free and has more meat sources.

My dog loves it. It has her looking great, good tone, lots of energy and great coat.

She gets an egg with her morning serving and a spoonful of yogurt with her evening serving.


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## kenRC51 (Mar 7, 2008)

I just switched Stitch off Canidae ALS to Innova Evo red meat large bites 2 months ago. Stitch seems to like the Evo a lot better than Canidae. I do notice that Stitch is seading alot more now, but i do not think it is because of the food. 

What do you guys think?


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## JeanninePC99 (Jul 24, 2007)

How do you guys decided how much your dog "likes" a food? I guess I'm lucky...Baxter loves food, any food. He's a good little eater who never sticks his nose up at anything.

The issue for me were:

a) Scratching paws and nose after eating, classic sign of allergy
b) Holistic/nutrition guru saying dogs need "a little" grain

*Ken*, what do you mean that Stitch is eating a lot more now? Are you free feeding, meaning keeping his bowl full of food all the time? You might want to switch to regular, structured meals.


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## kenRC51 (Mar 7, 2008)

Jeannine, I did not say Stitch is eatting alot more. I said that Stitch like the Evo alot better then Canidae. I only feed Stitch enough for her to consume in 5 mins, and if she dosent finish it I pick up the bowl and do not feed her till the next day. 90% if the time Stitch finishes her food.

How can you tell if your dog likes the food. There is a few ways you can try. One, is that you put a few different kind of food. For example, you have 3 different brand of food, you would put a little of each brand in 3 different bowl and feed you dog during feeding time and see which one the dog goes to first and finish it up right away. I have never done this before. 
The only way I finsh out if Stitch like her food is untill I buy a different brand of food. For example, Stitch was on Canidae ALS and she like the food and eats them all up. One day I saw my local pet store that has a sale for 20% off the whole store. I heard many good things about Evo so, I decided to give it a try. I bought three 28lbs bag. This pet store will take return on dog food no question asked, thats why I bought 3 bags even thought Stitch never tried before. So when I first mixed Stitch Canidae with the Evo, she seems more excited to eat her food and finishes it up alot quicker then normal.

Since then I plan on staying with Evo red meat large bits for a while.

I heard many people that has skin allergies with the golden retriever (I think thats the dog you have right?), it might be hard to find a dog food that would work for that type of problems. California Natural make allergy food for dogs, they use less ingredient in the kibbles.


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## JeanninePC99 (Jul 24, 2007)

The questiona bout how you tell if a dog likes food was sort of rhedtorical. As I said, I don't have that problem at all. Baxter loves everything.



> I do notice that Stitch is seading alot more now,


This is what prompted my comment, Ken. Reading around what I thought was a typo (seading), I thought you were saying he was _eating_ more.


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## kenRC51 (Mar 7, 2008)

JeanninePC99 said:


> The questiona bout how you tell if a dog likes food was sort of rhedtorical. As I said, I don't have that problem at all. Baxter loves everything.
> 
> This is what prompted my comment, Ken. Reading around what I thought was a typo (seading), I thought you were saying he was _eating_ more.


Jeannine, Im sorry I should of read my post again. It was a type o, what i was trying to say was that I noticed that Stitch is sheading alot more. I dont really think it is beacuse of the food. I think its because its summer time over here and some dogs tend to shead during the summers.


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## InverseLogic (Jun 1, 2008)

Lol, sorry, but it's spelled "Shedding". It was just bugging me. The more you know!

Anyway, I definitely need to get them off Canidae now. I think Ringo has developed a small hot spot on his foot since the formula change.


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## kenRC51 (Mar 7, 2008)

hahaha, Im a bad speller. My dogs some times have hot spots too. I brught Stitch to the vet and the vets says that it might be from food allergies, flea bite, or it just come with old age. I know that it is not food allergies because if it was then the hot spots will come out more often. I dont think its because of fleas, I use K9 advantix. Have you hear of dogs that gets hot spots when they get older? What do you do with the hot spots on your dog?


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