innova evo hard what for soft

Dear Kelly,

Thank you for contacting us about our products. The Innova EVO is balanced for all life stages, and therefore can be fed to puppies. However, it is not recommended for large breed puppies. Studies have shown that due to the high amount of protein in the EVO, it has a tendency to speed along the developmental stage in the puppies. For your other two older dogs, the EVO would be fine.

Here is an excerpt from a letter our Vice President, co-founder, and nutritionist Peter Atkins wrote that might help to further define the Innova EVO and large breed puppies/dogs:

Q. Is EVO Dog Food appropriate to feed to my large breed puppy?

A. No. There are specific products (e.g., Innova Large Breed Puppy) which are intentionally designed for the proper nutritional support of growing puppies with projected mature weights in excess of 60 lbs. EVO was not designed for this purpose.

Q. If it#%92s nutritionally dense and is effective for a small to medium breed puppy, why won#%92t it work for my large breed puppy?

A. For the large breed puppy the growth rate must be optimized not maximized, and the mineral balance must be tightly controlled to support skeletal growth. The most effective way in which to control these factors is through the judicious use of high quality carbohydrates.

Q. If I#%92m really conscientious, could EVO Dog Food work for my large breed puppy?

A. Yes, but generally not recommended. The alternative approach would be to limit the amount of food offered to puppies in an effort to control their growth rate. The challenge with this approach is that it requires a great deal of training and a strong “feel” for the proper size per age for the individual puppy.

Q. I work with puppies all the time, wouldn#%92t that make me qualified to know if I#%92m feeding too much or not enough?

A. Most folks, companion animal professionals included, simply don#%92t have the experience or psychic abilities to predict the perfect growth pattern for their pet. In the case of joint and skeletal problems, when the condition first appears, it#%92s too late; much damage has already been done. The other factor is our tendency to find rapid growth very gratifying. We feel we#%92re doing well by our animal. EVO Dog will tend to maximize growth. This could be harmful to the long term health and well being of your large breed puppy.

Q. Can I feed EVO Dog Food to my Adult or Senior Large Breed Dog?

A. Yes. Feeding EVO Dog Food to your adult large breed dog can work very nicely.

Q. What sort of guidelines should be considered if a low-carbohydrate diet is my preferred diet?

A. Evo Dog Food is a very small kibble, extremely palatable, and energy dense. Eating too fast and over-consumption could be real issues. We have however, recently have come out with a large bite EVO, for the larger size dogs.

Q. Why would my dog eat too fast?

A. EVO Dog Food is a very small, palatable, and nutrient dense food. This is not a problem unless your dog eats very rapidly with little chewing. One reason that large breed dog foods are bigger piece-size foods is force these dogs to slow down and chew.

Q. What can be done to overcome this eating behavior?

A. The best strategy to overcome this is to feed multiple small meals a day, thereby reducing the chances that your dog will be overly hungry at meal time. It will tend to slow there consumption and reduce the amount of air ingested. Rapid eating and consumption of air have been associated with “bloat” or GDV.

Q. If EVO dog is so energy dense, are the rest of the nutrients balanced for the needs of a large breed dog.

A. Yes – if fed at or near the recommended daily food allowance. This will assure that they receive the appropriate amount of energy and the rest of the nutrients (protein, fat, mineral, vitamins) are balanced according to the energy level of the food. Thus, if the dog is fed the weight appropriate amount of food, their daily nutrient requirements will be met.

Q. Will EVO Dog Food cause my dog to become fat?

A. Not by itself. If one treats EVO Dog Food like a lower energy food and feeds too much and your dog gets little to no exercise, then your dog could gain weight. On the other hand, if EVO dog food is fed to the appropriate level, your dog receives adequate exercise and plenty of fresh clean water daily, then they will likely not become overweight. In fact, they may become sleeker and better conditioned than if they were fed high-cereal foods."

I hope I have given enough information to adequately address your query. If you have any further questions or need additional information, please feel free to contact me at your convenience.

Please reference the original e-mail when responding.

Tammy Illges
Customer Service
Natura Pet Products
1-800-532-7261

Feeding high calcium diets with excess calcium is often blamed for contributing to bone problems in young, rapidly growing dogs. There does appear to be a link between the incidence of hypertrophic osteodystrophy (HOD), osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) and hip dysplasia, and the overfeeding of calcium. In recent studies, researchers fed dogs calcium at a much higher than recommended amount, and compared the incidence of disease in dogs that were fed normal or less than normal calcium levels. As would be expected, the animals that were overfed calcium showed increased incidence of skeletal problems including hip dysplasia.