Innova vs. Wellness

[animalhouse]

I currently feed one of my dogs Innova and the other Wellness ( the Innova made her sick). I'm seriously considering feeding them both Wellness. Is it as good as Innova or should I leave things the way they are? The only reason I'm consiering it is that Wellness is easier to come by. Right now I'm driving 45 minutes to buy Innova.

Thanks

[AngelBunny]

animalhouse:

We feed Wellness to our personal dogs and our fosters. We rotate between the different meat formulas to vary the amino acids. Both are good foods.

If I was in your situation and Innova was more convenient for me, I'd feed Innova. If Wellness was more convenient, I'd feed Wellness.

Six of one, half a dozen of the other, really.

[BarryMcD]

> animalhouse wrote:

> I currently feed one of my dogs Innova and the other Wellness ( the Innova made her
> sick). I'm seriously considering feeding them both Wellness. Is it as good as Innova
> or should I leave things the way they are? The only reason I'm consiering it is that
> Wellness is easier to come by. Right now I'm driving 45 minutes to buy Innova.

Selecting a kibble depends on two things: You philosophy and wishes about what your dog eats--based on the dog's activity level, etc,. and your understanding of what is in each brand.

The quick review:

WELLNESS: If you feed this, you believe your dog should eat lots of vegetable matter and that dogs are not really carnivorous but omnivorous. The sacrifice here is that you are feeding slightly less fat/protein and more carbohydrates. You'll need to feed more of Wellness because it has a relatively low ME (Metabolic Energy) which is the total amount of energy per day your dog gets from the food. Might be a good choice for an older or inactive dog. Poor choice for puppies: does not have the proper nutritional profile.

INNOVA: If you feed Innova, you believe your dog should eat primarily meat and be getting mega-nutrition (also known as "more than enough of everything.") A very high ME makes this a food that moderately or inactive dogs will probably gain weight on. High ME also means you will feed very little compared with other foods--which can be a problem for a large dog like a Rottie because they need a certain "volume." The Adult Maintanence is a poor food for puppies. The Puppy Formula is even worse for puppies. Large breed pups need moderate to low amounts of certain nutrients such as calcium, unlike smaller dogs, as they are growing. Innova has a very high amount of calcium and other nutrients that large breed pups should not have unless you want to encourage fast growth and jeopardize their skeletal system and make hip dysplasia more likely. I would never feed this to a pup under 1 1/2 years. For adults, may be appropriate for very active or sports dogs who need optimal nutrition and high calories. The stomach upset some dogs experience often disappears and is usually caused by switching too quickly from the old food, or from switching from a lower quality food.

RECOMMENDATION: If I were you, I would chuck both and see if Canidae is sold near where you live. No better food for a Rottweiler! The one formula is perfect for adults and also has a very good nutrional profile for large breed pups. Canidae actually has some things in common with Innova, but has a tri-meat formual which will guarantee a good mix of amino acids and avoids the mega-nutrition. I like to say that Innova is Canidea on steroids! If your dog is doing Schutzhund or pumping iron, go for the Innova--but wait till he grows to full size! For "normal" and moderately-high activity dogs, Canidae is the best you can get.

Learned this from 6 months of e-mails, phone calls, trials, and research, as well as practical experience with many dogs. Also, Innova and Canidae are about equal in the probiotics they provide. Wellness may have a little less. All contain no preservatives and are made from human grade ingredients.

[animalhouse]

Wow! That was alot of info. Canidae is not available anywhere that I can find. I think wellness is actually a good choice for my female after reading your post Barry because she has a neurological disorder along with a host of other medical/physical problems and tends to be less active. She also prefers fruits and veggies over anything else so I think i'll leave that alone. As far as my other dog (he is 2yrs), although is is not a sch dog he is extremely high strung and actually lost a few pounds when I switched him to Innova from Nutro. He looks great. Maybe he wouldn't do well on the Wellness so I'll keep him on the Innova. I will however look into Canidae but so far I really have't been able to find it anywhere but mail order.

Thanks AngelBunny. I do like the way shelby looks since switching her to Wellness (the "rescue" was feeding her Blue seal YUCK!!!) the wellness has actually improved her health tremendously!