Innova

[SunnyGirl]

so I read in a different post that Innova is a good dog food.. they do sell it near me lso so I could easily pick some up but when i visited their site they had a lot of different types of food there like Innova EVO and others. is a certain type the better one? or are they all good? thanx!

[Saje]

They are all good but EVO is processed differently and most people find that their dogs do extremely well on it. Renee and Mordy will probably tell you more about it.

[gaddylovesdogs]

They are all good, but IE is probably the best. The only thing I don't like about it is they act as if their kibble is better than raw :rolleyes:. (I'm a raw/kibble person)

[Renee750il]

Gaddy, the reason it can be better than raw is because it is balanced and complete. Most people who feed raw really don't have a concept of what makes a satisfactory raw diet, so no, their dogs are not being fed as well as they would on the EVO.

Another thing to remember with raw feeding is that all raw meats should be thoroughly frozen before thawing and feeding. There is a thread here that discusses that. There is a parasite (or bacteria - can't remember specifically) that can be deadly under that wrong circumstances that is killed by deep freezing.

[Mordy]

Most people who feed raw really don't have a concept of what makes a satisfactory raw diet, so no, their dogs are not being fed as well as they would on the EVO.

i think that is definitely an important point to bring up.

there are a lot of people out there who just feed a "whatever diet" without putting much thought into actual nutritional requirements.

and for what it's worth - a friend of mine who has been a (very educated) raw feeder for over 6 years fed her 3 dogs innova evo for 2 weeks recently (she was on the road with one dog and her hubby had to feed the two others at home), and she said as much as it made her mad to admit it, her dogs did better on the evo than on an all raw diet.

[Renee750il]

And you know, Mordy, I missed the fact that Innova is manufacturing from organic sources. I've talked about it in other threads, but the meat you buy from the store or butcher shop isn't what you think it is.

We raise Black Angus beef cattle, and you'd be appalled at the stuff they want us to shoot into our cattle; hormones, antibiotics, chemicals, ad nauseum. We don't. The beef we eat tastes and looks nothing like the junk you buy. I understand the poultry industry is far worse, feeding poultry meals made from all sorts of sources, adding hormones and chemicals to the diets. Finding true organic meat sources for the end-consumer is extremely difficult and very expensive, unless you find an independent farmer who will sell you a beef (on the hoof) and take it to a slaughterhouse for you.

[gaddylovesdogs]

It is important to research a diet before feeding it, and we have certainly done that. We use our holistic veterinarian's raw meat diet recipe(s) that are completely balanced. It certainly is easier to feed kibble and I do recommend IE, but it is IMO dumb of Natura Pet to act as if feeding kibble is better for my dogs.

[Renee750il]

They aren't acting as if feeding kibble is better for your particular dogs; those are very general ads, and for the vast majority of dogs it is true. And if you don't have access to real, unadulterated, organic ingredients even the best raw diet contains toxins not found in the Natura products. I've sat through the specialized ag seminars for beef producers and had to keep my mouth shut while the researchers, market experts and other "authorities" spouted about what is required to receive top dollar from the stockyard and feed lot sales - and the highly touted "certified Angus" is among some of the more adulterated product.

I'm certainly glad my dogs aren't eating anything regularly that comes from a grocery store or butcher shop. I only wish the ingredients in MY food were half as good! I'd probably be healthier, too, if I just had a bowl of my dogs' EVO a couple of times a day . . . :eek:

[Saje]

LOL I'd like to see that! Will you eat it with milk? Nice doggy cereal. :)

I'll have to agree with you, Renee. Innova is a very impressively ethical company. And the crap that is meat these days is one of the reasons I"ve given them up. Blah.

[gaddylovesdogs]

I'm not saying I don't like their products---I love them and recommend their foods and treats---but I am saying IMO raw is healthier than kibble/wet. And yes, they do indeed act as if IE is better than raw. We picked up a pamphlet for it at a local kibble store and they certainly did act as if their food is better. I'm not saying I don't like their foods---I'm totally impressed by the ingredients---but I am saying I don't like the way they act about it.

[Renee750il]

LOL I'd like to see that! Will you eat it with milk? Nice doggy cereal. :)

I'll have to agree with you, Renee. Innova is a very impressively ethical company. And the crap that is meat these days is one of the reasons I"ve given them up. Blah.

Only with organic whole milk, lol! I wonder if it will stay crunchy, even in milk?
:p

[Saje]

Proabably. You could do a test though. :)

[Khristine]

because i'm a noob.. is this soft food, solid food? can puppies eat it? lol :D

[Renee750il]

They make a canned food, as well as puppy formula. You can visit the company's website at www.naturapet.com to see their products and read about the ingredients. :)

[Khristine]

please don't yell at me people! but .. what should i be looking for in ingredients? i mean i'm not very knowledgable about dogs/dog food.. but it's a good time to start if i want my pup to be strong and healthy right?! .. soo yea! :)


plus when my puppy was sick he had to be put on iams and eukanuba vet formula .. but he's on purina mighty dog right now.. before he was sick i heard canidae was good so i bought it.. it said puppy.. so i thought he could eat it, but he was to young to eat it, i guess it was too hard for him... will innova give my puppy diarrhea? because purina's mighty dog seems to give him not diarrhea, but very soft stools.. :( and its sooo smelly!

[SunnyGirl]

This is a great site that tells u waht is good in foods and what u should avoid I found it and luv it! here ya go

http://www.mordanna.com/dogfood/index.php?page=identify

And hey ppl what is IMO raw?

[Renee750il]

Your vet did you a great disservice by putting your pup on Iams and Eukanuba. A lot of vets sell it - but it's garbage. It's not your fault; you would think vets would be a little concerned about learning something substantive about nutrition other than the information they get from the large manufacturers. The Purina Mighty Dog is pretty bad, but probably not much worse than the Iams/Eukanuba.

Some dogs and puppies need time to adjust to a different food, and your pup will probably need some adjustment time when you switch him to a good food.

The Innova ingredients are a good example of what to look for; if you hold other foods to those standards you won't go wrong.

The two simplest things I tell people to look for is that the ingredients are organic and human grade. Those are always a good place to start.

And don't worry, we're not going to yell at you! ;) Mordy will probably have some more good guidelines for you.

I'm curious, was there anything other than it being hard that led you to think that your pup wasn't old enough for the Canidae?

[Renee750il]

This is a great site that tells u waht is good in foods and what u should avoid I found it and luv it! here ya go

http://www.mordanna.com/dogfood/index.php?page=identify

And hey ppl what is IMO raw?

Hey, Sunny, that is a good site; it's our Mordy's site! :D

'IMO raw' is someone making a statement (In My Opinion) about feeding a raw diet. ;)

[Khristine]

Your vet did you a great disservice by putting your pup on Iams and Eukanuba. A lot of vets sell it - but it's garbage. It's not your fault; you would think vets would be a little concerned about learning something substantive about nutrition other than the information they get from the large manufacturers. The Purina Mighty Dog is pretty bad, but probably not much worse than the Iams/Eukanuba.

Some dogs and puppies need time to adjust to a different food, and your pup will probably need some adjustment time when you switch him to a good food.

The Innova ingredients are a good example of what to look for; if you hold other foods to those standards you won't go wrong.

The two simplest things I tell people to look for is that the ingredients are organic and human grade. Those are always a good place to start.

And don't worry, we're not going to yell at you! ;) Mordy will probably have some more good guidelines for you.

I'm curious, was there anything other than it being hard that led you to think that your pup wasn't old enough for the Canidae?

Omg i didn't know i was feeding my pup bad food! well you know since i don't know much about food and what's healthy/good.. i thought the vet would offer something really good, so that's what she said.. and she was the one who said my puppy wasn't old enough for Canidae and also said that i shouldn't give him solid food till he's really big.. but didn't tell me how old he should be...

Well I was thinking since I'm almost done with his purina food anyways, if i should scoop up some Innova tomorrow.. also is it okay to mix solid food & canned food? (for example the Canidae and the Innova, cause I still have the canidae and i don't want it to go to waste) ..

I heard that Canidae makes their coat shiny, and their stool isn't soo smelly! .. I'm a gullable person, so that's why i bought it! and since i thought the vet knows best she told me eukanuba/iams was great for him cause it's high in calorie.. and so i thought it was! ..

Thanks Renee750il for saving me and my puppy! i only want what's best for him!

[SunnyGirl]

Thanx Renee lol I thought it was another Innova food lol Good luck with your pup Khristine!

[Khristine]

Thanks Sunnygirl! I'm going to get him some innova first thing tomorrow :D

[Renee750il]

Be sure to check your PMs, Khristine. Mordy said she was going to PM you. Glad you're getting some Innova for your pup - isn't his name Oreo?

[Khristine]

Yes his name's Oreo! :)

I actually read my PM and replyed to Mordy! Thanks Renee a lot! on my way to the store at 10am for some innova! i'm actually excited even though it's raining :)

[candy722]

i tried Innova for almost a month and I can tell TOki's hair has improven. I used to feed him Nutro ultra and his hair would always be dry. I know Nutro Ultra have pretty good ingredients too but don't know why his hair is always dried out. I don't know why they don't sell Innova at petsmart.

[YorkieLover]

Alright guys, here's my deal... I bought a huge bag of Canidea so all 3 could eat the same (6mo's and 2 6yr olds, approx.) Well they all 3 love it and poops are good and not smelly. But.... they all 3 seem to be licking their paws alot. They've been on it for about a week or longer. I'm also mixing in Merrick can (just a tiny bit since the guys don't have many teeth) it is the buffalo kind and someone mentioned that "buffalo" could be causing the paw licking... Someone jump in there and tell me what to do.. thanks.

[oriondw]

We've been feeding our dog innova for past 6 months or so and he seems much better then before. We used to switch between foods because we couldnt find one right for him.

[Renee750il]

That's a strange one, YorkieL. I don't know why buffalo would make them lick their paws; I'd be more inclined to look at what they've been walking on, but you could get a can or two of something else and see if it stops.

Do their paws look any different, especially the skin between their toes?

[candy722]

How is Canidea? I also bought a bag of that to try it out after Toki is done with Innova.

[Khristine]

They didn't have innova at the store i went to, and i still had a whole brand new bag of canidae left.. so i gave it to Oreo..

Oreo is liking it, to tell you the truth i really like it because it makes his poop not smelly :D but what i've heard is that it's good for the coat as well :p

[Renee750il]

The Canidae seems to be a pretty good food. Truthfully, I don't think it's in the same category as the Innova, but good if you can't get the Innova. Some people have very good luck with it when they're dogs have allergies. I think Tl_Ashmore started feeding her dogs the Canidae and it's helped the allergies some.

[Khristine]

i called another local pet store and they have some innova, so when Oreo's done with the Canidae i'll try the innova so i can see the difference.

Oreo has skin problems, so hopefully these foods will work for him ;)

[Renee750il]

I believe the California Natural line of foods by Natura Pet (they make Innova and Karma as well) is supposed to be geared toward dogs wil allergies. I'd try the Innova first, though. It really seemed to be the best of all their products, particularly the Innova EVO.

[candy722]

Okay the 2 petstore that I found carries Innova but no Innova Evo. Is there a difference between original and Evo? It's the one that has a sun on the background with a hound dog and red bag. Is that okay or Evo is better?

[Renee750il]

I do like the EVO better, but the regular Innova is still great stuff. I'm surprised they don't carry EVO if they carry the other. Did you ask them about it? I know my feed store runs out of the EVO much more quickly than any other feed they carry now. Every once in awhile I end up getting a bag of the adult Innova. Mine seem to like the change every now and then and it doesn't bother them at all.

[YorkieLover]

Renee - you might be right about the paw licking coming from what they are walking on. I don't believe the older boys had ever been outside considering the first time we took them out they both froze and looked like they didn't know what grass was. Maybe they are getting used to the grass feeling or something. They all 3 seem to love the canidea so I'm going to try a different kind of the "merrick" I just want to be careful so we don't have any upset stomaches.

[Renee750il]

Aw, poor little fellers - every dog should be able to run and play outside, especially on those warm sunny days! They may be "tasting" all the new smells on their feet from the outdoors. Just keep an eye on them - watch for redness or other irritation on the skin between their toes.

[Barb04]

Okay the 2 petstore that I found carries Innova but no Innova Evo. Is there a difference between original and Evo? It's the one that has a sun on the background with a hound dog and red bag. Is that okay or Evo is better?

See if your pet store can order the EVO for you. My store carries all Innova products except EVO, but they order it for me and for other customers too. For some reason they only do it my orders not keeping it in stock.