Evo Dog Food
June 16, 2010
Filed under Dog Food Reviews, Evo
The manufacturer of EVO dog food formulas, Natura Pet Products, credits itself with creating the “first ever grain-free, low carbohydrate dry pet food”. The EVO dog food formulas are tailored to mimic the diets of dogs in the wild. The low-carbohydrate formulas were designed to help pets maintain healthy body weights and provide a diet for dogs suffering from Diabetes mellitus and other health concerns. In May 2010, Proctor and Gamble acquired Natura Pet Products. Natura Pet Products is also the maker of the following foods:
- California Natural
- HelathWise
- Karma Organic
- Mother Nature
- Innova
There are currently 7 EVO dry dog food products in the market. Four of these formulas have been designed to meet the standards of the AAFCO nutrient profiles for all life stages and two formulas have been made for adult maintenance (EVO Herring and Salmon Formula and EVO Weight Management Formula).
EVO dog food formulas are formulated based on a high-protein, low carbohydrate, and grain-free formulated to meet the dietary needs of pets with food allergies, overweight pets, and diabetic pets.
The first five ingredients in EVO dog food formulas are dominated by animal-based protein sources in the form of meat and/or meat concentrates. The various EVO dog food products may contain two or more of the following viable meat sources—beef, lamb, lamb meal, buffalo, venison, turkey, chicken meal, salmon, herring, chicken, and turkey meal.
Aside from protein-rich meat sources, EVO also incorporates plant-based protein to further increase the protein level of the dog food formula.
EVO formulas combine raw meat sources and meat concentrates to ensure that protein levels are maintained. Although desirable, fresh meat sources contain a considerable amount of water which can be lost during the manufacturing process leaving only a small fraction of its original weight. On the other hand, meat concentrates provide about 300% more protein compared to fresh meat sources.
EVO lives true to its quest to produce the first-ever grain-free, low carbohydrate dry pet food with potatoes as the main source of carbohydrate. Potato is a starchy complex carbohydrate with a low glycemic index which means it is able to control blood sugar levels.
Unlike certain dog food brands, Fish meal sources are named—herring meal or salmon meal. These ingredients are also excellent sources of meat-based protein which can further add to the protein levels in the dog’s diet. Another point to keep in mind is EVO’s incorporation of ethoxyquin-free fish meals.
Linolenic acid and essential omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids are provided by chicken fat.
Probiotics are also incorporated. These contain beneficial microorganisms that enhance the digestion and absorption of nutrients while boosting the function of the immune system.
The minerals which have been added to the EVO dog food formulas have been chelated to make absorption and assimilation easier.
Because of the high protein content (about 48%) and EVO’s grain-free formula, many dog owners have favorable feedbacks. Most reported that their dogs have shinier hair coats, good body development, and tons of energy. Even dogs with sensitive stomach and food-based allergies do well with EVO. EVO is a low carbohydrate, high protein dog food that contains no grains. It contains plenty of vitamins,minerals, and Omega three and Omega six fatty acids.
Evo and all of Natura’s other formulas are considered high quality foods and are featured in the Whole Dog Journal. None of their products contain artificial ingredients, fillers or by-products. In addition, they are also corn, wheat and soy free.
The negative feedbacks mostly arise from the purchase of EVO by Procter & Gamble, a company which has been associated with negative reputation among many dog owners.
Overall, we believe that Evo is one of the best dog food brand’s on the market today, its quality ingredients and high protein content make it a top choice. We strongly recommend Evo Dog Food.
Please visit the links listed below for Evo dog food reviews by formula.
Have a comment or question about our Evo dog food review? Want to share your experiences with others? We welcome your comments!
Evo Dog Food Formulas:
- Evo Turkey & Chicken Formula
- Evo Red Meat Formula
- Evo Herring & Salmon Formula
- Evo Weight Management
Evo Dog Food Consumer Ratings
| Dog Food | Votes | Consumer Rating | |
| 1 | Evo Turkey & Chicken Dog Food | 37 | |
| 2 | Evo Dog Food | 188 | |
| 3 | Evo Red Meat Formula Dog Food | 63 |
.
My yellow lab was on Evo for most of her life. She loved the food and always had a great coat. However, last spring she woke up one day will normal energy but wouldn’t eat her food. I had to really coax her to eat and she had vomited a couple of times. I tried switching her food, and her apetite waxed and waned for the next 2 months. Then one day she had tremors and I rushed her to the vet. Her assessment was normal but labwork showed that she was in renal failure. We tried eveerything but she passed away 9 days later. She was only 5 years old!
Has anyone else heard or experienced renal failure in their dog after feeding Evo for years? The vet doesn’t know why she had renal failure and I’ve heard that high protein diets like Evo can be hard on their kidneys.
I started switching our dogs over from Wellness (with which I was extremely happy) to EVO because I was told it was equivalent in quality and came in larger sized bags (for feeding 3 small dogs). Our dogs have a very predictable routine for feeding – twice a day, and about 1/3 cup per meal. Our dogs have just recently started having indoor poop accidents and diarrhea. They ask to be let outside frequently (too frequently) and have been whining to go out in the middle of the night. This is a huge change, and I haven’t even completely switched them over from a mixture of the former food with the new food. I’m taking it all back to the store today. Even if they won’t give me my money back, I will dump this stuff and go back to Wellness. On that food I saw a significant improvement in their coats, breath, and overall health. I’m worried about what I’m seeing here. The dogs have gas and smell ‘ripe’ – which I thought may just be a temporary reaction to the new food. But it doesn’t sound like it is going to be getting any better. We have two Havenese (one 15 lbs, and one 12 lbs), and a poodle mix (about 15 lbs.). Thanks for writing in everyone. I thought I was just imagining things.
i’ve also heard that high protein diets can have negative effects on a dogs’ renal function…i’m an r.n. and know it certainly does in humans so it makes sense it would in dogs too…i think my dog has recently developed allergies so i want to switch him to a new food and was considering EVO until i read all these remarks…he used to be on orijin until his renal function was off and the vet said to take him off the high protein orijin…
not sure where to go now, perhaps “GO!” as it also has no grains, corn, or other allergens…
any advise??..thx for all these great comments
dorothy
We have two bichons who have been on EVO canned food for nearly 2 years. Suddenly they both are having vomiting every time they eat this food. I am going to switch to another kind but am going to baby them with cooked chichen and rice until they feel better. Should there be a recall?
I did a little bit of research and there seems to be a lot people thinking high protein is not good for kidney. But it’s not true. This was repeated so often that it became self-sustaining and axiomatic.
If you all have time please look at this
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=protein_myth
And also, you do not feed your dog the same amounts of kibble you fed with your previous brand. This is because EVO still has a very high protein compare to Wellness and the digestion rate for EVO food is normally about 90% to 95% compare to other brands. It’s the something like powerbar(just an instance), if you eat too much you will go in laxative effect. It’s because your body can no longer absorb the rich nutrients.
Michelle: Did you take the same bag of food for other dogs to try on. I have this same situation with Innova food, so the first suspect is always the food. Did not find the food to be rancid or fungus inside, so feed the food to another dog and the food works out to be fine.
Just my opinion as I also did a bit of research onthis matter as well.
Did no one notice that procter & gamble bought out evo and it was after that so many people started having many problems with the food . I fed evo to both my dogs and had excelent results than I changed to Fromm and Instint alternating every 12 bags and looking for another to add to the rotation . No hot spots ,no dry skin ,on gas or upset stomachs . Good luck hopes this helps .
I have been feeding Dry Evo (Chicken) and large breed puppy made by Evo for many years. I have never had a problem with it UNTIL NOW.
2 of my dogs are on Evo Chicken and losing weight. Nothing has changed in their life to cause this. I have 2 others that have a weight problem (fat) and they are on weight reduction by Evo. They are maintaining their weight but not loosing.
I was told P&G were not to change formula for 1 year after they bought the company and I believe that year was up in January.
Wow I just bought EVO, California Natural and Innova and fed it to my dogs. Now I read this and feel so bad I gave them this. They didn’t really like it so I mixed some cooked chicken in it to get them to eat it. They were on Orijen dry until they changed their formula and now all 3 of my dogs have diarrhea every day. I did add their old food with new so that wasn’t the problem. I don’t like where Orijen on their website has the better selenium yeast and on their bags it has sodium solenite. They say the label is wrong but it has been over a year and still the new bags coming in says sodium selenite. How are they getting away with this? I guess it’s back to home cooking and Party Animal can. I am switching to ACANA dry dog food it’s also made by the company that makes Orijen but less protein. I wish my dogs would have liked Dogswell Nutrisca or the other holistic/organic dry food. Too bad about EVO, Innova and California Natural, I was so excited to see they added the more expensive selenium yeast.
Nan, you might want to see if Victors Dog food http://www.victordogfood.com/ is available in your area. They are one of the pioneers of using selenium yeast in their formulas. I’ve been using it for awhile w/ my dog(s), and have had a good deal of success so far.
I’ve been feeding my 3 year old Snoodle-Pom (11 pounds) EVO kibble for over a year, 1/4 cup per meal and twice a day. He has been fine until the last 3 weeks he started having soft stool (very soft & wet). I stopped giving him treats, just the Evo food only and cut back half size (now only 1/4 a day), but he still have soft poop. I am going to change to new food but don’t know which brand should I choose???
A few years back we switched our now 4-yr-old GSP from another food to EVO because he was up to 4 cups/day & loosing weight. With the EVO Turkey/chicken he gained muscle, energy, and his coat is so shiny you need sunglasses to look at him.
But seriously, the food is good. I have been collecting the ingredients & analysis labels ever since the P&G takeover & NOTHING HAS CHANGED. Also, my dog remains on the food because (you guessed it) NOTHING HAS CHANGED. In face, we now have our new puppy on it as well.
So stop listening to rumours, hysteria, & hearsay. If there is a GI problem with your dog, take a look at his total health picture instead of automatically blaming the food. Take charge of your dog’s health instead of listening to the people wearing the tinfoil hats.
Hello every one, I was feeding my dog evo for a while but recently he has been having problems with his stool. I took him to vet told me to feed him rice with chicken for a while till stool returns to normal then try feeding him again alittle bit at a time. I did as I was told his stool cleared up try to mix his food in with the chicken and rice and again problem persit, went back to vet explained what was happening that is when he told me it was the food.. now I read all the articles and it confirms everything I was thinking , so for now I will continue cooking his food till I find a better alternative.. thank you all for comments.
I’ve had my JRT on Natura products for nearly 6 yrs. 1st Calif Nat, then up until June 20111 Evo. Due to major surgery and the need for higher protein; Necessary for recovery post-surgery. I’ve saved ingredient labels right along and nothing has changed. My JRT is doing wonderfully, his overall health and recovery he’s bounced back 100 percent.
Vets are very quick to blame diets, in order to ‘sell’ what ever junk food they’re promoting in their office @ a hefty profit!. The simple fact remains, most vets have very little pet nutrition education if any. But I’m with BeeJay on this on; take control of your pets overall health. Do your research, educate yourself. In some instances you may need to shop for a new Vet.
I’ve had dogs for aver 40 years of every size and shape.The only experience that I’ve had with EVO was with the Red all meat. My german shorthaired pointer love it and did very well on it but my wives standard poodle had loose stools everywhere and finally we went back to feeding Canidae. I really believe that it’s not the food it’s the dog. Some just can not handle the protien level. I really believe that the more meat protien the better the animal does.
I just started feeding Evo to my 6 month old French bulldog puppy. He’s been itchy since I’d gotten him from the breeder and I thought it was the Pro Plan grain diet he was on. He’s always had an active digestive system but after the complete switch he’s had an upset stomach. No vomiting, just a very loose stool. The only thing I’ve changed is his food. The itching isn’t as bad, but, the trade off isn’t worth it. I thought it was just a characteristic of breed, but after reading all the comments, I can see it’s the food. I feel so bad that I’ve done this to my little guy.