Innova Evo

Too much protein and fat for the average dog IMO.  Wolfie did OK on it (he is VERY active), but found that his elevated BUN (blood urea nitrogen) and high urine pH 8.6 was due to being on the food---he also had a foul odor to his urine.  Keep in mind this is with adding water to the kibble, so he definately was drinking enough.  Everything went back to normal when I switched foods...

i'm sure i'll get flamed for not being perfect here, but i've fed both my dogs evo for years now and i'm very, very, very happy with the results.  i don't add water, my dogs absolutely LOVE it.  i've had full panels done on both of them and their levels are completely within normal ranges.  the stools are small, hard, and low odor.  i noticed an improvement in muscle tone in both of them. 
 
keep in mind, my dogs get a lot more excersise than your average housepet.  they're not working dogs, but we run several miles a day together, and they are regular swimmers.
 
i don't know if i think there IS a perfect dog food anymore.  if you are seeing good results and your dog is happy and healthy, keep it up.

Hate to tell you but don't feel so safe.  Nutrapet CEO admits on video that they use a Menu food plant to make the canned EVO.   I am seriosly considering discontinuing using their products due to their association with an animal-testing company like Menu..  ANd I have used them for 5 years,  Calif Nat, Innova, EVO.  Its a bummer cause my dogs love the canned EVO and Innova.

Seriously now guys.
 
I CHALLENGE you to find the perfect food for all dogs.  Name ONE brand that all dogs do SUPER on.... .... well?... come on...
 
Exactly.  No. Such. Thing.
 
Innova Evo is a good dog food made my a reputable company.  Yes, they are manufactured by Menu (cause their plant can't accomodate such production).  Heck SOLID GOLD (which is what I feed) was made by Diamond.  Remember that recall about 2 yrs ago for aflatoxin? 
 
Unless you homecook... there will be somethings you cannont control.
 
But then agian.... remember the spinach recall?
 
I say if Evo's working for you DO IT   Glad you're having such great results!

guess i'm one of those searching for the perfect food!  just started transitioning my ol' boy on it...too early to even begin to tell.  he gets a lot of exercise but have to temper some of it because of his age.  think i will have to definitely monitor the amount closely to keep him weight proportional.

I've posted it before so sorry to bore the regulars Otto gets the Evo dry mixed with a little evo wet or innova puppy and he loves it. I recently added Honest Kitchen for dinner and he likes that too He looks beautiful and we always get compliments about how great he looks (which Otto loves!!!). I think using this recall or the fact that a company used menufoods to manufacture their canned is a bit short sighted. The best we can do is keep with companies whose philosphy we agree with and hope they continue to do the right thing. Remember they don't even know exactly what happened with the recall yet and finding something in the food doesn't mean it was the culprit. There is still testing to be done and most of the foods recalled were not implicated in the deaths, just taken off as a precaution. If you truly are that worried and want a "safe" product that has no way of being contaminated, you won't ever be happy. Unfortunatly we all must have a certain degree of trust in those that provide our food (whether it's raw or kibble). What feels the most "safe" for you indidually may very well be different from me. I don't see any reason to distrust natura based on their use of menu foods, especially as they are honest and forthcoming about their manufacuture facility contracts, unlike some other companies. If that isn't enough for you there are lots of great options out there, but IMO searching for the perfect anything is a quest which always leads to disappointment.

an absolutely LOVELY post, ottoluv.  thank you very much.

i've had full panels

Wolfie's blood panels were fine...it's the urinalysis that was the problem (not something you would normally check).  Doing a blood panel wouldn't tell you much about how the protein is working w/ the kidneys. []

Before we knew Willow had trouble with chicken I tried it.  And, she could not poop on that food no matter what I tried.  She would try and try and she'd cry trying.  I had to stop. 

I'll chime in.  I've been feeding EVO now for 3 mos and I'm VERY happy with it.  I have 2 border collies (9 & 5), one PON (2), and one papillon (4).  I am also taking care of my sister's older pap (10 with 3 teeth left) and switched him over to EVO when he came over a month ago.  He was eating wet due to the lack of teeth, but after some shameless begging on his part, I let him eat some kibble.  Nobody has gained weight and everyone's poops have stabilized and they love it.  I transitioned over a period of a week, using canned pumpkin as a mixer, then they ate EVO with canned pumpkin for another 3 days...no issues at all.  The small bites don't give him any trouble at all.  The bcs and the younger pap are fairly active, but the older pap and PON are regular couch potatoes.  The older pap eats about 1/3 of a cup and the PON eats a generous cup.  My older bc, who was getting a bit "thick," has actually slimmed down and muscled up.  I do add some water to those that aren't big drinkers.  My older bc had elevated kidney levels almost a year ago and we went through a time of very close monitoring.  As it turned out, she must not have had enough to drink prior to the test (not a big drinker) and every test since then has been normal.  I also attended a canine nutrition seminar at a vet school that talked about feeding higher protein levels and felt a lot more comfortable with feeding EVO after hearing and reading the information the researchers shared. 
 
I also have a 12 week old bc pup who is eating Wellness puppy for now.  When she's an adult, as long as everyone else continues to do well, she'll be switched over. 
 
As far as the recall, it's only the wet food that is manufactured at the menu foods facility and they are planning to get their own facility in the near future.  I don't really feed the wet as my guys love just the kibble, but I add some from time and time and feel fine in doing so.  After visiting their website I think they're taking appropriate measures to ensure the safety of their food. 
 
Anyway...JMHO.  For the record, I have fed Eagle Pack Holistic, CA Natural Sweet Potato and Herring, Wysong and raw over the last 10 years.  I liked all the above foods, but I'm very pleased with EVO.  I liked raw as well, but stopped feeding it when I had my daughter 5 years ago.  I might return to it sometime in the future!
 
Laura