Innova...how many dogs can not tolerate

Brookcove...I think you're onto something....i.e. lactose intolerant, didn't think there was enough in the food to cause issues, but from your description that sounds about like what I see.

Rivers has been tested for Giardia, Worms, unusual bacteria in his stools, all are negative.

Probably not a brilliant thing to do, but we switched him cold turkey to Canidae 3 days ago, he doesn't seem the least bit bothered by it, and in fact, I don't hear nasty deamonds in his belly like I had been before.  His behind does not seem to be as red/irritated either; i..e from passing a nasty stool.

It does sound like you are dealing with a food tolerance problem of some kind and dairy's the first one on my list with those symptoms. 

Remember to check the ingredients of treats, and also remember that yogurt and many probiotic products are dairy or include dairy ingredients.   Dried milk, dried cheese, and dried cottage cheese are all very lactose dense and I'm pretty sure most of the Innova products have at least the last two, and EVO has all three (but I haven't looked in a while).

I hope this helps!  Good luck.
 

I tried Shadow on Innova, once, for about two weeks. And for two weeks, he would have several sneezing fits in a row, several times a day. I put him back on what I reguarly feed and the symptoms went away. So, I feed him flavored sawdust and sweepings from the floor, something considered almost as poor as Ol' Roy, aka, Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Adult Lamb Meal and Rice. In my opinion, it was not necessarily a food allergy with Innova but likely a taxaxtion on his immune system and left him susceptible to an inhalant allergy. Innova is quite rich in ingredients with an ingredient list that looks good enough for humans to eat. Which, I think, was too much for him. His metabolism does best on very simple food. I think Innova is a fine food that didn't work out for us. Is it the best in the world? Probably not. Neither is it the worst. It's just another good food. And I would recommend Innova to others. But I would also recommend Eagle Pack, Nutro, etc. I tend to listen to my vet and the advice of other vets. If the dog is healthy eating the food and has good vet visits, that is the food to feed the dog.

Well, I've missed this thread completely.  I'm an Innova fan for both the dogs and cats.  I feel the food is great for the dogs, certainly.  But the biggest improvement in health as a result of feeding Innova can be seen in my cats.  Before I had them on Innova, the cats were getting Science Diet.  That stuff (imo) is a veterinarian's money maker.   I have one cat who lost his fur seasonally (allergies); and when he did have fur it was dull and dry.  All the cats threw up on a daily basis (more than just hairballs most of the time).  Since the switch, I rarely see hairballs; and nobody throws up anymore.  I was amazed.  And the one that lost his fur so frequently has the most beautiful coat now.  He still loses fur seasonally...but not nearly as drastic.

We'll be feeding Innova for a while. 

     Late to this thread but wanted to add it's interesting about the reports of loose stools and greasy coats. Innova puppy was one of the first holistic foods I used and the stool issues were horrendous. Not frequent, but large cow piles with fat deposits. Their coat was greasy on it - no parasites, but at the time I had two dogs & they both developed an overly oily skin coat on this food. Also worth mentioning was that I used to feed a now out of business food called Best In Show several years back. It was almost identical in formulation to Innova. We didn't have as much stool issues as we did w/ Innova, but again, very greasy oily coat. I've fed other diets that did a number on the coat, but funny that these two very similar feeds were the only one to produce such an abundance of oiliness to the skin. They had good coats prior to and after those foods, so I doubt it was a parasite issue.

Oh my....something about his face and his build remind me so much of my Misty.  We are completely unsure of her heritage...suspecting some collie, but not sure what all else!  She has a different look to her, yet there was something so familiar when I looked at him...maybe his eyes?

I'm wondering if THIS is what's going on with Ari.  The breeder had her on Innova large breed puppy - so we bought the same.  I looove the ingredient list but her stools are awful again.  We went to the vet and she came back parasite/worm free from her stool samples we gave them and he put her on Science diet something or other for 3 days (very bland type of food) and her stools really firmed up.  Now she's back on Innova and we are back to loose greasy stools and borderline diarrhea again within 2 days of switching back.  Hmmm.....other than that she's got a great looking coat and plenty of energy.

Noel won't even eat Innova.

Noel

I tried both of my dogs on Innova and they really liked it alot, but my BC mix started having really terrible issues with hotspots, and my Aussie mix had the smelliest greasiest cow pile stools I have ever seen..the kind of stools that you just can't pick up. I had to keep her away from the dog parks because there was no way I could easily clean up after her. The longer she stayed on the food, the worse it became...not quite diarrea, just really loose and nasty.They both would stink out the entire house with their flatulance ..it was pretty bad. After about 4 weeks I switched them back to Nutro and all was well again....but now I am afraid of all that I have been hearing about Nutro and I am considering a switch again. We tried Canidae for a few weeks too and both dogs could not tolerate it and really didn't like the taste.They both get a little bit of Natural Balance wet food mixed in with their kibble..they do well with that except for the Venison ...so I was thinking of trying the Natural Balance kibble..but all the local pet stores around here only carry the Venison. My Aussie mix is only a year old and gains weight very easily, especially now with 2 luxating patellas that require surgery, so I need to find a good weight management kibble for her. She cant excercise at all and won't be active until weeks after the surgery. Any suggestions?

caveninit

Any suggestions

I haven't had a problem with Nutro, yet, other than the fact that I can't seem to find the large breed formula locally, anymore. Which can be adjusted by adding more meat to the food.

But if you are looking for another brand with a stable history and somewhat comparable in formulas, you might try Eagle Pack. They make several formulas, from basic couch potato to Power, their formula that is used by some sled dog teams, including a winning team. Power will have a high protein/fat ratio, which is important in working dogs such as sled dogs, which pull weight at 16 to 20 mph for hours at a time.

I've fed samples of the chicken and rice formula to Shadow and they agreed with him.

You can look up on Eagle Pack website for a distributor or retailer near you.

Thanks Ron2..I will definately look into it!

Janet