[bt5595]

My golden has been eating a combo of Innova large breed and Evo turkey chicken for about 3 years now. He is almost 4 years old. Couple weeks ago, he had severe vomiting 30 mins after eating out of a brand new bag of Innova & Evo. I took the food back to the pet store and they were nice enough to let me return it for a replacement and keeping the old food to send off for tests.

My dog did not improve and got so weak I took him to the vet who gave him IV fluids. He ended up having to go to ER to rule out intestinal obstruction vs gastritis. $2,000 later, we found out he has no obstruction but very severe gastritis. Took him home and fed him rice and chicken until he got better. Stools were normal and no more vomiting.

Recently we put him back on his Innova and Evo but he did not touch them, we know he is hungry because he is running around the house looking for food which we were not giving him. Eventually he succumbed to his hunger and ate a little bit yesterday and the day before. Since then he has vomited twice and has had diarrhea. Irritable bowel perhaps?

My question is do any of you have the same experience? I've always had good results with Innova and Evo up to this point. But recently I got notice that Natura has been under a lawsuit and the store clerk tells me they are now owned by Proctor & Gamble and they do not have to list any formula change in their food until 6 months.

I don't know what to feed my dog anymore. I also wanted the best for him and am now planning of just cooking for my dog. Any suggestions?

 

[Rainheart]

I am sorry this has happened... perhaps he developed a severe allergy to the foods. What are the main ingredients (proteins?) Whatever food you choose, you will want to steer clear of the those and try a whole new different protein.

I would suggest Purina Proplan Sensitive Stomach which is made from Salmon and barley.

 

[SheetsSM]

I've been feeding my girl Evo small bites chicken for nearly 2 years without issue. I'm getting ready to transition her over to Fromm as she needs something lower in calories. Never experienced any intestinal issues with her. My fosters are on Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach--one has a sensitive stomach (loose stools off & on) and has done well on Pro Plan. Good luck on finding a new food for your boy.

 

[cgriffin]

Sorry that your baby had to suffer so. I did not know that Innova has been on the market that long. I have only seen it recently in petsmart here, they introduced it as a brand new food, odd.
Like somebody else said before, check the label on the food you have and try to buy something that has different ingredients, trying to find what your dog could be allergic or very sensitive to.
I feed my dogs Taste of the Wild Sierra Mountain formula, which is with roasted lamb, no grains. My dogs do well on it and my Golden has a sensitive stomach also, but no issues with that food.
I wish you good luck in finding the right diet for your fur baby.

 

[Willow52]

Hank's been on Innova since we brought him home, I've never fed EVO though. I haven't noticed any changes, other than the price(!) since P&G bought the brand. Were both bags new? Possibly one had spoiled. Any off color or smell?

I would return both bags, or at least the newly opened one. Buy a small bag of each and try again. If he still turn up his nose, switch foods.

 

[BarkerNatura]

Hello-
I came across this post and thought I would offer some assistance. My name is Tammy, and I work for Natura. I’m sorry to hear what your Golden is going through! Since joining P&G in 2010, we continue to operate as we always have and our products are still made with the same ingredients.

We would be more than happy to speak with you personally if you have any questions. You can call our Product Advisor team at 800.532.7261 between 8 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. CST Monday – Friday or email [email protected].

 

[MyBentley]

In my experience, if a hungry dog repeatedly refuses to eat a kibble that he had been eating just fine, then there is a high chance that something is wrong with that specific bag of kibble or an entire production run of a kibble. Even if there were a slight change in formula, a dog wouldn't typically refuse to eat it.

As far as Natura products, they may still be using the same ingredients, but the sourcing of the ingredients may well have changed. That could potentially affect the quality of the product. There is just no way to know.

If your dog has been eating the exact same food for three years, now might be a good time to feed something new anyway. It's always good to have a backup food; plus some diversity of nutrients can be healthier for a dog. I do some home-cooking for my dogs; but like to give them kibble for breakfast. It's just easier for me and I like them used to kibble for when I board them.

 

[Gator]

Holly has been on Innova large breed adult food for about a year now (their large breed puppy food before that). The only change I noticed recently was the size of the large bag went from 33# to 30# - Holly still enjoys the kibble and hasn't had one problem with it, ever.

 

[Goldens R Great]

I'm sorry to hear about your dog and the issues he is having. Several years ago I was feeding my dogs Royal Canin Potato and Rabbit. (One of my dogs had to be on limited ingredient food so I ended up feeding both dogs this food.) They absolutely loved it and I even used it for treats. I bought a new bag and the next morning one of my dogs refused to eat it. I thought possibly she was sick and just didn't feel like eating, but the next day my other dog refused to eat it too. I thought I had two sick dogs! I called the company and asked them if they had changed the ingredients and they did tell me they changed the oil. I never could get my dogs to eat the food again and ended up switching to Natural Balance Potato and Duck. I would suggest maybe calling the companies directly and asking if anything had changed with the ingredients.

You also might want to read my first post. It's pretty lengthy so I apologize for that! Just do a search for my posts. My dog Annie had all kinds of vomiting issues with her food - she's the reason we switched to a limited ingredient food - and they (multiple vets) never could figure out what was wrong with her. They finally decided it was simply a food intolerance issue. The vet put her on prednisone to get her straightened out, we switched her food to a limited ingredient food with a novel protein and she never had her vomiting issue again.

I did copy and paste this from the www.peteducation.com site:

"Food allergy or intolerance?
There is a distinction that needs to be made between food allergies and food intolerances. Food allergies are true allergies and show the characteristic symptoms of itching and skin problems associated with canine and feline allergies. Food intolerances can result in diarrhea or vomiting and do not create a typical allergic response. Food intolerances in pets would be similar to people who get diarrhea or an upset stomach from eating spicy or fried foods. Fortunately, both food intolerances and allergies can be eliminated with a diet free from offending agents."

They have a really nice article on their site re: Food Allergies and Food Intolerance which you can read in its entirety.

I wish you all the best with your boy!

 

[Willow52]

Holly has been on Innova large breed adult food for about a year now (their large breed puppy food before that). The only change I noticed recently was the size of the large bag went from 33# to 30# - Holly still enjoys the kibble and hasn't had one problem with it, ever.

I just opened a new bag this week of the Innova Large Breed Adult (the green bag with the Great Dane) and it's 33 lbs. If the next one I buy is only 30# with the price jump...WOW.

 

[Gator]

I just opened a new bag this week of the Innova Large Breed Adult (the green bag with the Great Dane) and it's 33 lbs. If the next one I buy is only 30# with the price jump...WOW.

I buy most of Holly's Innova from the couple who own the boarding kennel where Holly always stays. Last time I made a purchase, I picked up the bag and, when loading it in the car, noticed it just didn't feel right (oh, by the way, the new 30# bag looks exactly like the old 33#bag - green with the Great Dane). Seeing that it was only 30# I went back inside and mentioned to the owner that one of the changes made by P&G obviously was to make the bag size smaller. She wasn't aware of the size change and couldn't believe that the distributor didn't mention it - and the cost to her remained the same. She had one bag of the 33# size on the shelf so I swapped the "new, improved" 30# for the old stand-by 33# bag. A few weeks later I happened to be in PetsMart and, sure enough, the Innova Large Breed Adult food was in green 30#bags with the Great Dane's picture.

 

[Willow52]

I buy most of Holly's Innova from the couple who own the boarding kennel where Holly always stays. Last time I made a purchase, I picked up the bag and, when loading it in the car, noticed it just didn't feel right (oh, by the way, the new 30# bag looks exactly like the old 33#bag - green with the Great Dane). Seeing that it was only 30# I went back inside and mentioned to the owner that one of the changes made by P&G obviously was to make the bag size smaller. She wasn't aware of the size change and couldn't believe that the distributor didn't mention it - and the cost to her remained the same. She had one bag of the 33# size on the shelf so I swapped the "new, improved" 30# for the old stand-by 33# bag. A few weeks later I happened to be in PetsMart and, sure enough, the Innova Large Breed Adult food was in green 30#bags with the Great Dane's picture.

I just checked on Innova's website, the large bag is now 30#. I guess I happened to get one of the last 33# bags. Not only has the price jumped from $52. to $63. they've made the bag smaller by 3#. I'm going to start looking into a new brand for Hank.

 

[Gator]

I just checked on Innova's website, the large bag is now 30#. I guess I happened to get one of the last 33# bags. Not only has the price jumped from $52. to $63. they've made the bag smaller by 3#. I'm going to start looking into a new brand for Hank.

We are with you on that one! Good luck.

 

[Willow52]

Well, after reading many reviews on the GRF I've decided to try ProPlan Skin & Sensitive Stomach, not because he has either that I know of but most using it are pleased. With the price of high-range dog foods going higher I want to try a mid-range food and see how he does. My Maggie was sensitive to corn so I want to stay away from that (I know it may not be an issue with Hank but it has become an automatic thing to me). I bought a small bag last night at Petsmart and added a little this AM to his regular food.

I'm happy to have a place other than dog food website to get reviews. Thanks!

 

[Gator]

Well, after reading many reviews on the GRF I've decided to try ProPlan Skin & Sensitive Stomach, not because he has either that I know of but most using it are pleased. With the price of high-range dog foods going higher I want to try a mid-range food and see how he does. My Maggie was sensitive to corn so I want to stay away from that (I know it may not be an issue with Hank but it has become an automatic thing to me). I bought a small bag last night at Petsmart and added a little this AM to his regular food.

I'm happy to have a place other than dog food website to get reviews. Thanks!

Anything new to report?

 

[Willow52]

Anything new to report?

Not really. I've just been mixing in a handful of the Pro Plan with the Innova.

 

[Phoebe's mom]

I feed innova large breed puppy and mix it with wellness large breed puppy (until the bag is done) and I have had no problems. I am getting to the end of this bag and have bought another one and now I'm nervous! Hopefully the same doesn't happen.