A new food from Natura

[frontierrots]

There is a new Innova, it is called Innova EVO, evolutionary diet. This one is being directly marketed at Raw food feeders (though why they think raw feeders -as in those who feed ALL raw- are going to buy a cooked kibble....). They are marketing it as 1/2 the cost of raw, but safer. (see http://www.naturapet.com ). We sell Natura products so got a brochure etc in the mail this week.

It is the same ingredient list as Innova dry BUT without the grains or sunflower oil. And oh yeah, it's pretty pricey (though not as pricey as Karma)

If your dog eats raw and kibble and can tolerate Innova (mine can't normally) then this would be a good kibble to use since it has no grain and is low in carbs. It would also be a good kibble for dogs with cancer that need a very low carb diet. It also has a few less kcalories per cup than regular Innova

Turkey ,Chicken ,Turkey Meal ,Chicken Meal ,Potatoes ,Herring Meal ,Chicken,Fat ,Natural Flavors ,Egg ,Calcium Carbonate ,Garlic ,Apples ,Carrots ,Tomatoes ,Cottage Cheese ,Alfalfa ,Sprouts ,Taurine ,Lecithin ,Rosemary Extract ,Vitamins/Minerals


537 kcal/cup. 4.40 oz/cup
42% protein
22% fat
10% moisture

28.6 lb $42.50
13.2lbs $20.00

[Diane Heller-Vaccaro]

I'm concerned about the protein level 42%. For me that is very high.

[spidey]

Thanks for the heads up Diane! I'm looking around to see if anyone's tried it yet, but I can't seem to find anything. I might give this a try in our next food rotation.

Why does high protein concern you, (other) Diane? As far as I know there are no major drawbacks to a high protein diet, so I'd be interested in hearing about any you may know about. (I'll assume it's not kidneys you're worried about, since with dogs who have kidney problems, it's not protein, but nitrogen that's the problem, so they should be fed diets with types of protein which produce less nitrogen (nitrogen is a by-product of protein digestion), but do not need to be fed particularly low protein diets. It used to be the case that dogs with kidney problems were fed low-protein diets, but that is not normally the case anymore).

[frontierrots]

I don't think it's in many stores yet. Our distributer does not even get their first shipment of it til this Friday. We won't get another deliver for 2 weeks (we got one today) so we won't see even the samples til then

My dogs don't do Innova well so I doubt they will do this food well (they get cow pie stool on Innova unless I don't feed them enough to maintain weight)

However I may try it with 1 or 2 dogs just to see. It's God awful expensive next to the Healthwise, but then I'd have to feed less since it's almost 120 calories more per cup

[Diane Heller-Vaccaro]

High protein is associated with bone and joint problems if you go on OFA's website there is a section that explains why you should look for a lower protein in dog food. For anyone who has every had a dog develop Pano the first thing the vet will recommend is a food of 21% protein or lower. Another reason why many people no long feed puppy food because of the higher protein level. When feeding kibble I look for 24% protein. Anyone looking for a superior quality kibble in a low protein formula CA Natural Chicken and Rice is 21%.

[spidey]

I can't find anything on the OFA website about protein, do you know which section this is in?

I can't seem to find any actual data to back up the idea that pano is related to protein levels, but I might choose to feed a lower-protein food to a growing puppy anyway. This states that "Currently, a common rumor is that low protein, low calcium diets may prevent this condition. It should be noted that the energy level of low protein/calcium diets is often lower as well. If this is the case, a puppy will eat much more of the diet in order to meet its energy needs, resulting in higher total calcium consumption. It may be preferable to feed a puppy diet and restrict total quantity to keep the dog lean than to use a low protein/low calcium adult dog food."

[Patty1231]

I've seen on websites and on this forum about adding protein to a dog's diet for muscle building (along with appropriate exercise, of course). How does this relate to the high protein levels you are speaking of as being unhealthy?

[qhawkins]

It seems to me that raw diets would have at least as high of a protein level as this food? At least if you remove the water from the equation? (I don't know that much about raw, just what I've seen here.) Calories come from three sources: carbs, fat, protein. If you take out the carbs and don't add fat that necessarily increases the relative level of protein.

[frontierrots]

In a kibble that has no grains like Innova EVO, you need to be comparing it to a raw diet not other kibbles. You cannot compare grain based diets to meat based diets

Take Bravo Raw diets for example. Their mixes have meat and veggies no grains. Subtract out the water and you'll get figures that you can compare with EVO

dry figures are
Chicken mix 44.8% protein
Turkey mix 35.3% protein
Beef mix 48% protein

Currently my Bea eats 50-60% Bravo and the rest is Healthwise kibble which has oatmeal for a grain