# Trying to decide: Canidae Grain-Free vs. Innova EVO



## Baby Byron (Aug 20, 2002)

Hello everyone,

I'm a wee stuck right now. Have been reading a lot of negative reviews about Innova EVO change of formula causing all sorts of problems in puppers. We're moving to grain-free and I'm in between Canidae and Innova EVO.

Can I have a show of hands from our members feeding either formula and your observations?

Thank you,
Ana


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## GSDBESTK9 (Mar 26, 2002)

We feed Canidae ALS Grain Free to all of our dogs and they are all doing great on it. We too switched from Innova EVO because of the changes.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

I had fed my lot Canidae all life stages with four meat source. 

My parents dog was on the Canidae grain free. 

I would not recommend either to anyone at this point. They changed their formula drastically without letting people know. After several months (of complaints) they explained that you should transition them slowly -- Morons, we did not even know you switched it until we opened a bag that had a kibble that was lighter in color and flatter. By then the old stuff was history. No chance at transitioning slowly. 

And who would think that a formula change would be so drastic as to cause colitis in several of my dogs, most of them. And the feedback was pretty much universal at the time.

And when they switched formualae, they also switched from Pied Piper to Diamond as a manufacturer. 

So after struggling with getting them over the formula change, every other bag was a questionmark as to whether my dogs would be fine with it, or have a gastro-intestinal hissy fit. 

I have three four pound bags of it here in my house that I am torn about. I would give them to the shelter, but I do not want the shelter dogs to get sick. So they are sitting here.

As for Evo or Innova. Well, they are both made by the same company which recently was swallowed by a huge company. Things start out ok when that happens, and then the company says to cut this corner or that corner and the next thing you know, dogs are not doing so well on it.


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## roxy84 (Jun 23, 2007)

Baby Byron said:


> Hello everyone,
> 
> I'm a wee stuck right now. Have been reading a lot of negative reviews about Innova EVO change of formula causing all sorts of problems in puppers. We're moving to grain-free and I'm in between Canidae and Innova EVO.
> 
> ...


 
i dont care for the regular grain inclusive canidae, bit ive fed canidae grain free als and grain free salmon with terrific results....in fact, results pretty much the same as i get with acana and orijen. i prefer to feed acana and orijen simply because i have much more trust in the manufacturer.

if EVO was in your price range, then the acana or orijen should be as well.


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## Jax's Mom (Apr 2, 2010)

I fed Canidae to my last Boxer. It made me feel great that I was spending $70 a bag on human grade food food for her and she looked great. About a year ago she died at 6 (almost 7) of a hemangiosarcoma. Maybe the food extended her life, maybe it shortened it, but even the University of Guelph said on the necropsy report that all other organs were in perfect condition and she was in great shape, which is why it went completely undetected until the day she died.
Sorry about the buzz kill review


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## Baby Byron (Aug 20, 2002)

Thank you for all the feedback, guys.

We're trying Grain-Free Canidae right now for a couple of reasons:
1. It is a high quality kibble

2. It's available here without having to order (no shipping fees)

3. Reasonable cost considering we just went from 2 incomes to 1 (oh, the joyful economy...). I guess Canidae is a good compromise between good quality for the puppers and cost.

4. Canidae is still on a better price range for me now than Evo/Innova. So for now we'll roll with it and when things pick up in the future we might try Orijen. Or not. Puppers are head over hills with Canidae.

For all those reasons, weighing in the fact that we're a 3-big-dogs home, Canidae won.
But I do appreciate all your suggestions and I'll keep it in mind in case some food incompatibilities arise.

Cheers,
Ana


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## VaBeachFamily (Apr 12, 2005)

I switched FROM Orijen to Canidae Grain free ( don't forget to call them, they will send awesome coupons, and if your store doesnt do the buy 10/12 get one, THEY will honor it with proof of purchases! they have AWESOME customer service.. their newsletter a month or two ago featured Cullen and my pit bull, Gizmo!!! We have switched to full RAW, but I keep a small bag of Canidae ALS grain free here just in case, or for last minute travels!!!


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## blackviolet (Jun 17, 2010)

I've liked EVO in the past, but no one out here seems to have it. Same with Nature's Variety Instinct. I've never been able to try Orijen or Arcana. I've got Taste of the Wild, Solid Gold Barking at the Moon, Wellness Core, and now Canidae available to me. 

Taste of the Wild is one of the cheapest of the good foods, I think. I remember a few years back reading that TOTW had a lot of issues and was cited many times because of their food NOT meeting the guaranteed minimum criteria posted on the bag. In general, they didn't seem very trustworthy, though as I said, that was years ago, and you'd have to double-check to be certain of those facts.

Solid Gold and Wellness Core seem very similar, but Solid Gold is a tad cheaper per pound, and my dogs do GREAT on it. Even the cats try to steal food from their bowls. So I was hesitant to change. Canidae is similar in price, maybe a hint cheaper, but with the puppy, it has lower calcium/phosphorus levels.

I figure, if you go with a lower quality kibble for price, then when you find red meat that's cheaper per pound than your dog food, stock up, and supplement that into their diet as well. It sorta makes up for it, no?


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## roxy84 (Jun 23, 2007)

blackviolet said:


> Solid Gold and Wellness Core seem very similar, but Solid Gold is a tad cheaper per pound


personally, i dont consider solid gold on the level of Core. the only thing SG has thats grainless is barking at the moon, which uses primarily ocean fish meal, whereas Core has two different formulas, one using chicken and turkey (meals and meat) and the ocean using whitefish meal and salmon meal.


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## robinhuerta (Apr 21, 2007)

What "changes" have been made to the EVO food?
I have not read any reports regarding a product or ingredient change......can someone explain?


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## roxy84 (Jun 23, 2007)

robinhuerta said:


> What "changes" have been made to the EVO food?
> I have not read any reports regarding a product or ingredient change......can someone explain?


 
none. it is simply the fear that P&G will, over time, make profit maximizing changes that will affect the quality of the food. some folks are ok continuing to feed Natura products and taking a wait and see approach. some choose to look for something else to feed now, rather than waiting for what they believe are inevitable changes for the worse.

i think either approach is fine. depends on ones comfort level with the acquisition.


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## blackviolet (Jun 17, 2010)

roxy84 said:


> none. it is simply the fear that P&G will, over time, make profit maximizing changes that will affect the quality of the food. some folks are ok continuing to feed Natura products and taking a wait and see approach. some choose to look for something else to feed now, rather than waiting for what they believe are inevitable changes for the worse.
> 
> i think either approach is fine. depends on ones comfort level with the acquisition.


Well, that and the fact that they can change it and don't _have_ to tell you for six months. So you could be paying for premium food for six months, an getting less than you expect, because they haven't changed the ingredient labels yet.


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