Switching to Innova Evo? High protein diets, canned foods

I have been trying to find a good kibble that both of my dogs will eat. My oldest dog ( 2yr old Chi) is very picky. Our newest is a mixed Chi, larger, about 6-9 mths old. He will eat most anything. Right now they are both eating Merrick dry puppy plate and some Merrick canned about once a day or every other day. First question.....is canned food healthy/unhealthy for their teeth? I have heard that at the vets, but really don't buy it....sorry, but I don't see how munching on dry kibble will "clean" their teeth. :shrug: They both love Merrick canned, esp. my picky eater....she gobbles up the chicken dishes. Pretty expensive, though. :rolleyes:

I have gotten a lot of samples lately, because I would like to go ahead and switch off the puppy food. I am debating switching over to just adult Merrick, or another brand. Most of the "good" brands are available to me....right now, I have samples of Timberwolf Organics chicken, Innova, Innova Evo, and Solid Gold small kibble. I have let them sample the Timberwolf and Evo......Teddy (youngest) likes them both, seems to prefer the Evo; and my picky eater gobbles up the Evo (as much as she will gobble kibble, anyways :rolleyes:

In switching to a high protein diet like Evo, how gradually do I need to go? When I mix it with their normal food, she is picking out just the Evo and leaving the rest, so she is getting all Evo anyways. The good eater picks out the Evo first but will eat the rest if he is hungry. Are there any contraindications to a high protein diet like Evo? Both are very healthy, but my picky eater does tend to gain weight easily. Do most people feeding high protein or Evo need to feed more or less? Any comments or recommendations about the other foods I mentioned above? My good eater did like the Timberwolf pretty well (but maybe not quite as well as the Evo) and my picky eater didn't lower herself to sample it, though I did just offer it to her a couple of times. I was also considering switching her on over to dry adult Merrick and Teddy to Timberwolf organics.

Give me some help and recommendations! I don't think I spent this much time and research on my daugher's formula and baby foods! :D :D

You might have to feed less... My Boo got a bit pudgier in the beginning but seems to have levelled off, even though I didn't lower the amount I was feeding (he's 90lbs and getting 2.25 cups a day and I didn't really want him eating less than that... :o).

For switching, what if you mixed in the merrick canned for now? Mix the two dry foods together and then mix in a little of the merrick canned really well. :shrug: If he's digesting the Evo alone ok, he might be ok to switch cold turkey (there are a few that can do it...). :shrug:

As for the teeth, some studies say that the quality of the food is more important than the texture. If you have a high quality wet food, there's no doubt it does more for the teeth than a cheap kibble loaded with sugars.:shrug:

If you have a high quality wet food, there's no doubt it does more for the teeth than a cheap kibble loaded with sugars.

i agree! also quality canned foods generally contain more meat than their dry counterparts so mixing the two help the wallet and your pet's health... you can give a raw soft bone to chew on once in a while so your dogs "brush" their teeth & gums :thumbs up

Mixing the dry along with the wet canned doesn't always work great for my picky little girl. She eats the canned, then sucks all the gravy off the kibble and spits it out.:rolleyes: Our new baby boy will eat anything....I love dogs that are easy like that. :thumbs up He is the one I think might have the most tummy upsets anyways.....I will try and switch him over a little slower if I can. They both get Merrick natural bones and hooves and plenty of rope toys to chew anyways, plus we brush their teeth a couple times a week, so I am not as concerned about their teeth anymore. I just want to find some quality foods that they will both eat! :fingerscr

I did just bought some Nature's variety raw frozen chicken.....I am going to research it some more, but I think after they are both switched over and seem to be tolerating the Evo well I will rotate the raw with Evo kibble, or maybe all three, kibble, raw, and occasional cans of high quality dog food like Merrick or Candidae.

That is one bonus with small dogs....you can get the $$ without worrying about the price as much (not that I would skimp on them) because it takes them a month or more to go through a 6lb bag. :D :dog:

That is one bonus with small dogs....you can get the $$ without worrying about the price as much

:frustrated: don't i know that! :frustrated: i love my big bears but... yeah, can't spend what i want on their food, i wouldn't be able to pay my rent! :eek:

:frustrated: don't i know that! :frustrated: i love my big bears but... yeah, can't spend what i want on their food, i wouldn't be able to pay my rent! :eek:

....:thumbs up Heehee.....I just wouldn't feed my husband. The fur babies gotta come first, you know. :dog: I guess I would have to feed my 'daughter or people might talk. :eek:

I'm not that familiar with Akitas, but in the pics I have seen of them they are beautiful dogs. I would love a larger dog (love all of them) but while we have a lot of property, we don't have a fence, and the layout of our land doesn't really make it feasible. I have some disabilities and probably wouldn't be able to supervise a larger dog to make sure it got enough exercise safely. Right now, my daugher and I can take the midget dogs out a couple times a day for 10-15 minutes, and that plus just running about the house is plenty enough exercise for them.

If things were different, I would love to have a pitt-bull or pitt-mix. My first dog growing up was a little white pitt named Fred. He was the sweetest thing. :love: That was too many years ago, before all this media hype nonsense about pitties. :mad:

s'ok... i love to share the beanies! :D :love: