Innova vs. Innova EVO

[courtney323]

Another thread on this forum sparked my curiosity.

What is the difference between Innova and Innova EVO? I was told by our local shop owner (who really prefers RAW above all else) that EVO was slightly better than traditional Innova.

Is this true? What are the differences? Which is better for my 2?

Madeline is almost 4 years old and almost 60lbs
Lennox is between 2 - 3yrs old and about 70+ lbs

Thanks

 

[kit02]

Innova EVO has very high fat and protein levels.
Regular Innova has 24% protein and 14% fat while EVO has 42% protein and 22% fat. And Evo is grain free while regular Innova has grains.

They are trying to market Evo as feeding similar to a raw diet but the conveniences of a kibble. You can check out their web site for more information...

I was told by our local shop owner (who really prefers RAW above all else) that EVO was slightly better than traditional Innova.

I wouldn’t necessarily call it better, it’s different. And it may work very well for dogs that are grain intolerant.

As far as this being good for you dogs, I don’t know too much about max protein requirements for adult bigger dogs so I’m not sure what to suggest there but while higher protein may be fine for adult dogs and is more comparable to a high protein raw diet, IMO I would be wary of feeding this to a growing puppy.

 

[courtney323]

I agree that it probably should not be fed to a growing puppy.

Madeline seems to have issues tolerating some grains. What I notice is that she is very sensitive to corn. She has pooped blood before (yuck), thrown up, bad gas, and itchy parts on her skin. These issues seem to go away completely when she's on a premium kibble.

She is also a Demodex suvivor and so, it's really important to me to give her the best diet possible (outside of BARF). This is what attracted me to the EVO.

Lennox on the other hand, can eat anything and everything.

But I would still like to get as many expert opinions as possible on the EVO, so keep them coming!

Thanks!

 

[ason]

I have recently switched Sophie over to EVO. It has been 2 weeks. I am still mixing at 3:1 and next week it will be straight EVO. She has a bit of a hair problem in that she has some thinn spots on her back that are dark on the skin. From reading here, I thought that a better food might fix her up without all the meds that the vet wants to give her.

She loves the food. She eats it so fast that it scares me to watch her. She is 7 months old which I don't know if it is a good thing to feed her such a high calorie/fat diet at this age. I only feed her 2 cups a day. She has had some loose stools with it, and thats why I cut her ration back to 2 which seemed to help. As far as the hair problem it doesn't seem to be getting better. in fact, some days I think its worse. I guess it takes time.

As far as the EVO food goes, they say you feed less which I have done but Sophie still always seems hungry after. If I give her a bit more, then her stools get to loose. It seems hard to find the proper balance. She has less eye boogers, seems to shed less, and smells better though. hopefully her system will get used to it and it fixes the hair problem.

 

[kit02]

She is 7 months old which I don't know if it is a good thing to feed her such a high calorie/fat diet at this age. I only feed her 2 cups a day.

Her major growth spurt is probably over but if it was me I personally wouldn't feed this until after she's completely done growing.
I would switch her to the regular Innova for now and add some oils to her diet for her coat, like salmon oil for example.
ason - did the vet say what is wrong with her?

 

[ason]

She had the demodex mange test when she was younger and it was positive. At that time the vet said that it should clear up on its own with good food. It seemed to get better but never totally went away. Now it seems worse. The Innova feeding wizard chart that I looked at must be for an adult dog not a puppy. It says 1 3/4 cups to 2 1/2 cups for a 46 pound dog based on the activity level. Its winter so we aren't quite as active. I just figured that I would try the better food route before I did all the meds.

 

[ason]

I went to the Innova site ant I was using the adult dog feeding chart. Oops! No wonder she seemed hungry. They say 2 1/2 - 3 1/3 cups for puppy. She didn't lose any weight though.

 

[kit02]

ason - if you haven't already I would do a search for mange. You'll find a lot of info.

Regular Innova is still a premium quality kibble and would be just as good as EVO, unless your dog is grain intolerant. Regardless of what Innvova reps recommend, I personally wouldn't feed this to a puppy that is still growing. Read what gmacleod wrote in this thread http://www.boxerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67580

My Owen recently got a minor case of localized mange. I'm trying to treat it naturally 1st and hope it doesn't get too much worse. I'm feeding a 1/2 homecooked diet (using recipes out of Strombeck's book) mixed with Solid Gold kibble, topical treatments off this link http://www.akitarescue.com/demodectic_mange-a_natural_treatment.htm and an immune booster. This link has a lot of other natural things you can try also.