Author Topic: HOLLY Please Help - I Have Innova EVO Questions  (Read 4109 times)

EllieAndBlu

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HOLLY Please Help - I Have Innova EVO Questions
« on: July 02, 2007, 10:54:26 pm »
Oh Guru of Innova - I have a couple of EVO questions...

Here is the situation.... Ellie and Blu have been on Nature's Variety Raw instinct for the past few months... all seemed to be going well up until about a month ago when Ellie started having bouts with the runs...  it comes and goes... I would give her pumpkin and a digestive supplement and it would clear up. There is no pattern to her tummy issues, that I can tell.

Oh yeah - she has also has stinky gas issues too... a problem she never really had before.

I took her to the vet on Friday and they checked her out, including her poop and all was fine with my girl.

Here are my questions (can you believe I am FINALLY getting to them....lol)

I would like to keep Ellie and Blu on a grain-free diet and if at all possible, the same food.

I am thinking about trying out EVO... what do you think?

Also - I noticed that there are a bunch of different kinds - which would you recommend? And is the low-fat a good choice for my couch potatoes!

Thanks for your help - you rock!!!   :-* :-* :-*

**modified to add - if anyone else has opinions - please feel free to post! :) 
« Last Edit: July 02, 2007, 10:56:48 pm by EllieAndBlu »

Offline People Whisperer

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Re: HOLLY Please Help - I Have Innova EVO Questions
« Reply #1 on: July 02, 2007, 11:07:41 pm »
I had the exact opposite situation with Lily. I put her on Evo first and she had gas and loose stools. When I switched to Raw Instinct she is doing so well: no gas and her poops are small and don't stink AT ALL. I am very pleased! Different dog have different needs I guess. The Dog Food market is finally getting better and there are choices and distributors! Good luck
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EllieAndBlu

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Re: HOLLY Please Help - I Have Innova EVO Questions
« Reply #2 on: July 02, 2007, 11:13:41 pm »
I had the exact opposite situation with Lily. I put her on Evo first and she had gas and loose stools. When I switched to Raw Instinct she is doing so well: no gas and her poops are small and don't stink AT ALL. I am very pleased! Different dog have different needs I guess. The Dog Food market is finally getting better and there are choices and distributors! Good luck

Well I have to say - I LOVE the small "Raw Instinct" poops - esp. since I am the house pooper-picker-upper, with seven resident dogs! :D 

EllieAndBlu

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Re: HOLLY Please Help - I Have Innova EVO Questions
« Reply #3 on: July 03, 2007, 12:38:42 am »
Oh Goddess of EVO - you rock!

I am thinking if Buddy is on it - it will be fine for Blu too - so no low-fat for my 9yr old boy.

Now I am wondering.... which to feed... the regular or beef? Any thoughts on that?

Also - I am curious - what is it about EVO that you like?

**modified to add: There is a secondary issue with Ellie that I find perplexing.... whenever she comes in from outside and its hot - she has a strange odor about her... not like a "I just rolled in dung" odor - but instead a musty type of odor... I thought maybe it was yeast in her ears - but the doc says they are "pristine". Could it have something to do with the food? it started about the same time as her sporadic bowels - any thoughts? **
« Last Edit: July 03, 2007, 01:23:05 am by EllieAndBlu »

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Re: HOLLY Please Help - I Have Innova EVO Questions
« Reply #4 on: July 03, 2007, 01:10:17 am »
Innova EVO is a great option, but have you also considered Orijen? Its an awesome grain free food. I have my cats on it now and I plan to put Boston on it once hes big enough. My sisters GSP, has been doing amazing since he's made the switch to Orijen as well. He struggled to keep on weight, never finished his food, and always had dandruff. Now he looks drop dead gorgeous, and he clears his bowl.

Food is such a individual thing. But just another good option to consider  :D

Offline sc.trojans

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Re: HOLLY Please Help - I Have Innova EVO Questions
« Reply #5 on: July 03, 2007, 01:27:36 am »
Just to play devil's advocate here, what makes you think it is the food?

It could be that there is something in that food that she is reacting sensitively to, but not likely given that she did fine on it for as long as she did and the problem was sudden.  

It is also common for dry dog foods to have a lot of bacteria - if you get a bad batch/bag, this can be a problem.  But it is not likely bacteria since you said you fed pumpkin and this helped.  True bacteria would feed on the fiber, and the body would have likely "flushed" harder if you will.  So the fact that the pumpkin helped in the intestine, points to another culprit.

I just had this problem in my house actually - horrible diarrhea and foul odor from the gut.  Very unusual at my house too.  Three dogs here - two girls are mine and raw fed and I have a foster boy here who is Nature's Variety Raw Instincts.  My girl got it first, then my foster boy the next day, and then my other girl the day after.....it was clearly contagious whatever it was - and it wasn't food related since they all eat different diets. Pumpkin also helped in my case, and a blood test and fecal test on the girl #1 showed no infection or parasite outside of the digestive tract.  So that left potential viral infection in the digestive tract, or the consumption of something somewhat toxic.  Consensus settled on the former.

All three dogs went on a bland homecooked diet while they healed - ground turkey and pumpkin or ground turkey and white rice. They got grapefruit seed extract to treat anything viral (or bacterial) as well as licorice root and olive leaf for the same.  They also got digestive enzymes, Digestinol for inflammation, and Primal Defense probiotic, plus two Standard Process supplements to cleanse the bowel:  Gastrex, and Okra Pepsin.  They are still getting the last two even though they are all back on their regular diets, including my foster boy.

My point is just that there may often be a bug - kids and dogs get bugs that can be from something they ate - but they need time to heal and changing foods may not provide the results you are looking for while the digestive tract is inflammed.  I have several friends who are reporting similar issues in their dogs as well right now....not sure what is up, but just be aware....
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Offline Nina

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Re: HOLLY Please Help - I Have Innova EVO Questions
« Reply #6 on: July 04, 2007, 02:39:43 am »
Before switching to a raw diet, Harley was on Evo and she really liked the original and the red meat, hated the low fat. The one thing I noticed is she gained a few pounds on the red meat diet.
I have just switched my cat to Orijen (also grain free like Evo), and she loves it. She seems to like it better than the EVO.

I would recommed Evo or Orijen. But for the EVO, from Harleys experience I would go with the Red meat or the original not the reduced fat.

Nina
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Harley(Lab mix)
Dilbert(Pyr mix)At the bridge
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EllieAndBlu

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Re: HOLLY Please Help - I Have Innova EVO Questions
« Reply #7 on: July 04, 2007, 03:12:04 am »
OMG - y'all rock!  BPO to the rescue... again! I don't know what I would do without y'all!

Thanks so much for the input... so much to consider and research. I am determined to give my girl the best chance at a long life of soccer playing, snuggles and good health!

Holly - THANK YOU for the yeast info -  very interesting stuff! I am really thinking  that is a serious possibility with Ellie...  and I know she could really use some immune rebuilding. She's had UTI's, etc.. since she was a pup, so I think her her immune system was compromised at an early age.

I just wish I could figure out if I should change her food...   oh this parenting thing is tough!


Offline Nina

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Re: HOLLY Please Help - I Have Innova EVO Questions
« Reply #8 on: July 05, 2007, 02:02:58 am »
After fighting the battle with Harleys skin issue's with I've gone to a raw diet for her and it has totally fixed the problem. It does cost about $20 more a month, because of the bones I buy ect but it is worth the extra cost to not see her miserable.

Nina
Nina and Tim
Calgary, AB, Canada
Harley(Lab mix)
Dilbert(Pyr mix)At the bridge
Jolene (cat)