Pros: Human-grade ingredients, no chemical preservatives
Cons: Difficult to find in stores, expensive to feed as a primary food
The Bottom Line: An excellent canned food to either supplement the dog's regular food or to feed as a primary food. The ingredients are top of the line.
SHeineman's Full Review: Innova Adult Dog Canned Food
I've written other pet food and treat reviews that explain what a picky Mom I am. I'll eat just about any junk food myself. But my two Cairn Terriers (Elly, age 4, and Parker, age 2) have it much rougher. I am extremely picky about what they eat. Even the premium pet store foods like Iams and Science Diet aren't the quality I demand in a pet food. Finding a good food can be difficult, but I feel I've hit the jackpot with Innova Canned.
Feeding a Canned Food
Why feed a canned food? Each person has different views on feeding wet, dry, or a mixture. I personally don't recommend feeding only a canned food. Some vets proclaim that dry foods are best for dental hygiene (i.e., the crunching of the dry food cleans the teeth). I don't find that this is true at all. My oldest Cairn has bad teeth, genetically I presume. By the time she was three years old, she had two dental cleanings under anesthesia. She'd primarily eaten dry food throughout that time. At around the time she turned three, I started supplementing her diet with raw marrow bones, and her teeth have remained clean. So, I say it's chewing of these raw bones that has done more for her teeth than anything (stay away from rawhide, pigs ears, etc. as these can splinter and cause blockages and choking).
Rather I find feeding canned to be inconvenient and expensive. A good quality canned food like Innova is pricey. A 5.5 oz can costs me 85 cents at the local pet supply store. A 13 oz can is around $1.50. Just one of my terriers would eat over a full 5.5 oz can per day, adding up to an almost $30 monthly bill for just one dog. A 20lb bag of a $24 food lasts around six weeks for both dogs!
When faced with prices that high, the tendency would be to look for cheaper brands, probably at the grocery store. These are full of fillers and chemical preservatives that have been linked to causing cancer in dogs. I will not do this.
So, I buy canned foods to supplement their diet, to give them a bit of variety. Pet food manufacturers and vets often claim that dogs don't like or don't need variety. I find that my dogs love to get a little something extra in their meal. Doing it frequently and in small amounts has not caused any digestive problems at all. I will add a bit of canned food or a bit of healthy human foods to their dinners. I may use Innova canned one night, a bit of chicken (never fried) the next, then some cooked veggies. They love this, and I fully believe that healthy human foods are wonderful for dogs. The table scrap warnings come from the icky bits of gravies, sauces, and fried stuff we have a tendency to feed ourselves!
Innova Canned Ingredients
Typically the first five ingredients in a dog food are the most important. They are the ingredients that make up the main portion of what your dog will be eating. Innova canned ingredients are:
*Turkey
*Chicken
*Spring Water
*Potatoes
*Brown Rice
The first two ingredients are meat. This is extremely important because dogs thrive on meats. And look at the grains...they aren't corn and wheat, which are inexpensive fillers. Potatoes and Brown Rice are among the best grains that can be put into a dog food.
I can't fail to list some of the other ingredients. Innova's trademark is a varied ingredient list made up of foods from all food groups. Some of this looks like stuff that would be on your own dinner plate: Eggs, apples, carrots, cottage cheese, and alfalfa sprouts.
The protein is 9.0%, fat 6.0%, fiber 1.5%, and moisture 74.9%.
Quality ingredients
Do a search online for dog food ingredients. The information you will find on what those ingredient listings really mean will disgust you. Thus I want a food that uses only human grade ingredients. Innova will only use human grade meats and grains in their food products. If I won't eat it myself, why should my dogs?
In addition, I will not use any food that uses BHA, BHT, or Ethoxyquin in their products. These have been linked to cancer in dogs. Many list these ingredients right on the bag. A dirty little secret is that often it is used and not listed as the meat is preserved before it gets to the dog food manufacturer, who is then not required to list it. I want a product that denies using these products in any form. Innova DOES NOT use chemical preservatives. Their food is preserved naturally with Vitamin E.
Feeding Amounts
Innova is sold in 5.5 and 13 ounce cans. I usually buy the 5.5oz as my dogs are small and I typically only give a spoonful for each meal. The 5.5 oz package's recommendation is 1/2 can twice a day for each 10lbs of dog. Thus, a 10lb dog would eat about a can per day.
As I don't use it as a full meal, I give about a spoonful and cut back their other food accordingly.
Taste Tests
Not a fair category with my Cairns and food. They eat anything! I will say that when they get Innova canned in their bowl, they have that bowl polished off within minutes. They literally lick it clean. And, after they finish their own, they sneak over to the OTHER dog's bowl to make sure that dog hasn't left any. They never do, but it doesn't hurt to check!
Combining with Innova Dry
Although my dogs no longer eat Innova Dry, I still highly recommend it. I reviewed it at:
http://ellynpark.epinions.com/content_6677302916
Switching to an Innova Product
If you've decided to switch to Innova whether canned or dry, I have a bit of advice that you may find helpful. Innova is an extremely concentrated and rich food. Switching to it immediately can cause tummy upsets and diarrhea. I recommend replacing only one quarter of your regular dog food with one quarter of the recommended amount of Innova. For example, if you feed two cups of Pedigree and the recommended amount of Innova is one cup, I'd feed your dog 1 1/2 cups of Pedigree and 1/4 cup of Innova. I recommend doing it like this because if you feed a grocery store food, the feeding amounts of that food are often double the feeding amounts of a super premium like Innova.
If your dog does well on the 1/4 mix, after 4-5 days, increase to 1/2 mix. Then after another 4-5 days, try 3/4. Do this until you are up to the full amount of Innova.
Availability
Innova products can be found at pet supply stores and natural food stores across the country. It can be difficult to find, but if you can't find a retailer in your area, you can search for one at Innova's website:
Combines lean meats, wholesome fruits and vegetables, natural whole grains, vitamin-rich potatoes and cottage cheese to create a nutritious and health...More at Only Natural Pet Store
Combines lean meats, wholesome fruits and vegetables, natural whole grains, vitamin-rich potatoes and cottage cheese to create a nutritious and health...More at Only Natural Pet Store
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